Carl Mason

Waveny Pool: Family Passes To Be Sold Only to New Canaan Residents This Summer

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Given high demand from locals and new restrictions that limit capacity, the town will not sell Waveny Pool passes to nonresidents this summer, officials said Wednesday. On the first day of pool sales, the town sold 219 family passes online to New Canaanites, as well as 21 individual passes, 15 nanny and 20 senior passes, according to Recreation Director Steve Benko. 

Under new state orders, given the size of Waveny Pool itself and approximately 11,500 square feet of lawn around it, the facility is allowed to have a total of 320 people at one time and no more than 240 in the main pool, as well as 40 more in the kiddie pool area, Benko told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their regular meeting, held via videoconference. No one will be allowed to linger on the concrete decks around the pool itself, and six feet of social distancing must be kept both in and out of the pool, Benko said. “At this point, I think we have to give preference for use of the pool to our residents, as much as I’d like to offer some spots to nonresidents,” Benko said. “Let’s see where our sign-up goes.

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New Plan for Waveny House Forecourt Calls for Removal of Memorial Trees

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Trees planted outside Waveny House in memory of a former first selectman and a New Canaan youth who died in an accident would be removed under a plan brought forward by an organization that takes on landscaping projects within the park. Recreation Director Steve Benko noted last week that two cherry trees that would be removed under the Waveny Park Conservancy’s plan had been planted in memory of Charles Kelley, first selectman of New Canaan when the town acquired Waveny. “And there’s a place there with a plaque with [Kelley’s] name on it,” Benko told Conservancy board President Caroline Garrity and board member Jane Gamber during the May 19 Parks & Recreation Commission meeting, held via videoconference. 

“His daughter and her family still live in New Canaan, so I don’t know if you would speak to her about removing those trees. But they were planted in his memory. And there’s another dogwood tree—if you are standing in front of house looking left toward the trees there, there’s another dogwood tree, by itself.

Government

Rec Director: Town Waits for Word on Waveny Pool Reopening as Walkers Take to Public Parks, NCHS Track

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Residents have taken to the trails at public parks and the New Canaan High School track in large numbers since town officials reopened the facilities for walking nearly three weeks ago, officials said Wednesday. 

An online booking system for singles tennis at the NCHS courts also has seen more than 30 courts used on average this week, according to Recreation Director Steve Benko, who has an attendant overseeing the facility. 

“Hopefully the next step is to get some of our fields reopened in a limited capacity, limited fashion,” Benko said during the Parks & Recreation Commission’s regular meeting, held via video conference. 

“Just to go out and throw a lacrosse ball or kick a soccer ball or throw a football. That has been the one challenge. We have got people who want to get out on the turf fields, who climb up the fences or climb under the fences at Dunning [Stadium]. And we have to throw them off once in a while.”

The comments came during a general update from Benko. 

During her own update, Commission Chair Rona Siegel praised Benko and his department as well as Parks Superintendent John Howe and Public Works Director Tiger Mann on their nimbleness and diligence through a time of uncertainty, as new directives come down from state and local leaders. 

“Watching all the work and changing signs and things that have been going on, I’m utterly impressed and speechless,’ Siegel said. “I know it hasn’t been easy, and I see that also during this time you are getting a lot of work done,” she added.

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve Request To Spend $7,500 on Non-Refundable Deposit for Ice Rink Materials

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Though they haven’t yet recommended a specific trial site, those pursuing an open-air ice rink in New Canaan are readying to purchase used equipment for the facility that will save hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved a request to put $7,500 in privately raised funds held in a town account toward a 60-by-120-foot ice rink and accessory equipment. The non-refundable deposit is for a rink that the Fairfield County Hunt Club is selling for $75,000, according to Gene Goodman, who has spent more than one year as a member of the Parks & Recreation Commission spearheading efforts to study what would be needed to create an outdoor rink facility and where it may go. “Having looked at every site in this town, every site has its plusses and minuses,” Goodman told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held in Town Hall. “No one is an absolute clear hands-down winner.

Government

Budget Cuts: Town To Reduce Funding for Landscaping Work Around Several Public Buildings

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Town officials are looking to cut back on landscaping work around a handful of public buildings, including Vine Cottage, Powerhouse Theater, Carriage Barn Arts Center, Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School. The proposed budget for next fiscal year removes about $15,000 paid annually to outside contractors in recent years for more frequent weeding and mulching that the Parks & Recreation Commission had pushed for, including during “spring cleanups.”

John Howe, parks superintendent in the Department of Public Works, told members of the Commission during their Jan. 8 meeting, “The hard part I see is that we have been able to have these buildings look great throughout the year.”

“And we are kind of going backwards,” he said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. “Are we in better shape now than we were five years ago? Yes, by a long shot.”

The cutbacks come as the Board of Finance guides municipal departments to reduce operating costs by 2%.