Footer Featured Widget

Rona Siegel Elected Chairman of Parks & Recreation Commission

By |

The Parks & Recreation Commission on Wednesday night elected Rona Siegel as chairman of the advisory body. 

Voting 8-0 with two people abstaining, the Commission cast its vote during an organizational meeting at Town Hall, conducted by First Selectman Kevin Moynihan. 

Sally Campbell, who has served as Commission chairman since May 2013, said prior to nominating Siegel that she would remain in the group through the year but that she would not seek the chairmanship. 

“I think it’s time to move on,” Campbell said. “I have been chair for countless years and on the Commission for countless years. I have been very happy with how we work, our Commission, with each other, how we work with [Public Works Director] Tiger [Mann], who has been terrific, and John Howe with Parks and Steve [Benko] in Rec, and I think we made a big impact.”

Campbell continued, saying, “I think it’s time for a change and change is always good, so I just wanted to put that out there. And if I can I would make a recommendation for chair, that would be Rona Siegel. She came onto the Commission two years ago and she has been very impactful since then and there has been nothing that she’s taken on that she has not done brilliantly.

Government

Town Officials Call for Less Conspicuous Garbage Dumpsters in Parks

By |

Town officials said last week that they’re addressing an aesthetic problem whereby those entering local parks in some cases are accosted by the sight of garbage dumpsters. 

The town many years ago switched from trash cans dotted around fields at parks such as Waveny and Mead, to having dumpsters, according to Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Sally Campbell. That effort was “very critical to reducing the amount of trash on the fields and in our parks,” she said during the Commission’s regular meeting, held Oct. 10 at Lapham Community Center. 

“However, we find that every park we drive into we are verbally assaulted by City Carting on the dumpsters,” she said. The answer, according to Commissioner Hank Green, who has looked at how nearby towns handle their dumpsters, will involve putting up three-sided fencing around them. “It should be a pretty easy fix,” Green said.

Government

Officials To Clear ‘Sledding Hill’ Lawn at Waveny of Invasive Species, Prune Trees

By |

The nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and improving Waveny Park is to embark on a new project focused on the sledding hill that runs east of the balcony behind the main house and down toward the pond, officials say. The Waveny Park Conservancy this year is focused on “redoing the pond and all the landscaping surrounding the pond,” Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Sally Campbell said during the group’s June 13 regular meeting. As such, the Conservancy is seeking to clear of invasive species and brush the lawn that flanks the main central path down to the pond and to prune and clear of vines a set of white oak trees in the same area, according to Campbell. Plans also call for the removal of an “alien tree” on the lawn, she said. With those projects done, and the revitalization of the pond itself on the Conservancy’s roadmap, the vista and experience of walking down from Waveny House will be greatly improved, she said.

Government

Officials Consider Installing Cameras in Irwin Park To Catch Irresponsible Dog Owners

By |

While the New Canaan Police Department cannot spare an officer to patrol Irwin Park exclusively, authorities are recommending use of motion-activated trail cameras to help catch irresponsible dog owners who don’t pick up after their pets, officials said Wednesday night. According to Sally Campbell, chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission, video footage that matches dog owners with their cars would be the “best way” to identify violators. Police have “asked us to explore with IT what time of camera to use and the only a type of camera we are able to use is a game camera,” Campbell said during the commission’s regular meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “So we acquired a few of those and are trying to figure out how to best use them.”

The comments come as the commission explores ways to address a nasty problem at Irwin Park—as well as Waveny, among other public places—where people with dogs do not pick up after the animals. The commission formed a committee to work on the problem.

Government

Parks Officials Approve Formation of ‘Dog Litter Committee’

By |

To address the ongoing complaints about dog owners and walkers failing to clean up after their pets at Irwin and Waveny Parks, the Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously approved at its meeting Tuesday night the formation of a committee of six volunteers who will be permitted to place “Shame on You” flags where animals’ feces are left behind and administer waste bags to those who need them. The Dog Litter Committee members approved by the commission include: Jean Scheidl, Linda Gordon, Lise Schoenfield, Lynn Tilon, Meredith Landis, and Christina Thompson. Commission member Francesca Segalas—who formed a subcommittee with members Hank Green and Steve Haberstoh to help coordinate the “Dog Poo Initiative”—spoke on behalf of the Dog Litter Committee members, who were not present at the meeting, about how Irwin Park visitors are responding to the flags. “The reception has been very positive. There’ve been a few dissenters—maybe one in 10,” she said at the meeting, held in Lapham Community Center.