Government

‘We Think a Lot of the Misuse Will Stop’: New Fob Entry System Coming to Spencer’s Run Jan. 6

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Parks officials are preparing to activate a new entry/exit system for the dog park in Waveny to ensure that those using the facility are registered to do so. So far this year, where a punch-in code is required to enter Spencer’s Run, the dog park has just 175 dogs who are newly registered or renewed to use it—about 53% of them New Canaan residents. That’s compared to more than 400 registered dogs in the past, according to Parks & Recreation Commissioner Susan Lione. The new system will see users scan a town-issued fob to enter and exit. “We are hoping with the new lock, we will be able to track people and people will be registered, the number of people that are actually using it,” Lione said during the Commission’s regular meeting, held Nov.

Government

‘Probably the Worst Year’: Irrigation System Failure Affects Mead Park Tennis Courts

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Town officials say an unforeseen problem with a new irrigation system left the popular clay courts at Mead Park in poor condition this summer, though they’re expected to be back up to snuff in the fall. This was “probably the worst year, as far as I’m concerned, we’ve had with conditions, barring the years we didn’t open until June,” Parks & Recreation Director John Howe said of the courts. 

Addressing the Parks & Recreation Commission at its Sept. 10 meeting, he continued: “We ran into a few problems. With the new irrigation system that went into Mead Park … when they put it in, the pump controls went down. This caused us a lot of headaches. Conditions that weren’t great.

Government

Parks & Rec Approves Design for New ‘Waveny Playground’

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The Parks & Recreation Commission on Wednesday night voted unanimously in favor of the proposed design and layout of a widely anticipated playground at Waveny. Funded by private donors, the town and a state grant, the Waveny Playground will be set in a rectangle in the same area the new fitness area at the park, across the lot from the soccer fields and Orchard softball field. To be constructed next spring, the new playground will feature a main component that incorporates slides, climbing objects, sensory objects, swings, railings, musical instruments and more, according to Superintendent of Parks Ryan Restivo, who presented to the Commission with members of the Waveny Playground Committee. “It creates a little bit of everything to be inclusive,” Restivo said at Parks & Rec’s regular meeting, held at Lapham Center and via videoconference. Waveny Playground Committee members are Monica Capela, Lauren Connolly Nussbaum, Hilary Ormond and Meredith Tobitsch.

Government

New Facial Recognition Mini-Lockers at ‘Steve Benko Pool’: Parks & Rec Roundup

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Residents who take advantage of the Steve Benko Pool at Waveny this summer have a new amenity waiting for them. 

About 20 facial recognition-activated mini-lockers will be made available in a single unit outside the locker rooms for those who want to store something small such as a wallet and/or cellphone, according to Parks & Recreation Director John Howe. “When you use them you’ll go up and put your face there and then you go back and can get in and once you’re back in your face is gone, and it goes to whoever is next,” Howe told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission last week. “So they’re very simple to use. And they also have USB charging ports. So if you wanted to charge your phone while you were swimming, you could.

Government

‘We’re Really Excited’: Irwin Park To Get Dozens of New Trees

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Town officials last week voiced support for a plan to install dozens of trees in a popular park near downtown New Canaan. The Parks & Recreation Commission during its regular meeting April 9 voted 9-0 in favor of the New Canaan Garden Club’s plan to plant nearly 50 trees in Irwin Park. “We’re really excited,” Tori Frazer, co-chair of the Club’s Irwin Park Committee, told members of Parks & Rec at the meeting, held at Lapham Community Center and via videoconference. “It’s really going to enhance the beauty of Irwin.”

Parks & Rec Chair George Benington and members Gene Goodman, Hank Green, Keith Richey, Susan Lione, Douglas Murphy, Timothy Klimpl, Lindsey Heron, Melany Hearne and Brittney Singer voted in favor. Commissioner David Shea was absent.