New Canaan Parks & Recreation proposes 2.99% operating increase, seeks capital funds for irrigation, pickleball and Waveny improvements

New Canaan’s Parks & Recreation Department told the Board of Selectmen it is seeking a 2.99% increase in its operating budget and asked for a series of capital approvals to complete irrigation work, repair playgrounds and add new recreational courts and facilities.

The department presented a proposed operating total of $3,853,656 and outlined drivers including settled union contracts, the winding down of a Lapham Community Center grant, and higher costs for fertilizer, social security and meal allowances. John Howe, director of Parks & Recreation, said the department moved some line items formerly under Civic Activities into Parks and added a new outside-services line for portable toilets.

Howe and staff described program-level finances and a self-sustaining recreation fund that returns about $100,000 to the operating budget while preserving a reserve for program continuity. Parks staff reported steady program use: before-and-after school serves about 1,600 children annually, summer camps run three sessions with roughly 375 participants per session, tennis programming serves more than 1,200 participants per year, and paddle tennis reported about 6,500 winter participants. Pickleball attendance was estimated at “definitely over 4,000,” with staff noting difficulties measuring out-of-town usage.

On capital, the department requested several equipment replacements (mowers, a tractor and a vehicle), and larger infrastructure projects: completion of irrigation upgrades for Mead Park, Sachs and Connor schools (a request that aggregates previously authorized but unspent funds and a $175,000 request to finish Saks/Connor); Waveny trail reconstruction (a $60,000 request tied to matching a Conservancy project); playground repairs focused on Kiwanis ($30,000); bleacher and fence repairs at Dunning and Dunning Stadium (estimates vary, bleacher repairs cited up to $100,000 but staff said a lower number is possible pending proposals); and four lit pickleball courts at Waveny (budget estimate $200,000) with the Park & Rec Commission exploring whether six courts would fit the site.

Howe noted the timing on some projects is driven by external constraints: irrigation at Saks must occur in summer when school is out, and several approved capital authorizations from prior years remain unspent. Selectmen repeatedly asked staff to reconcile previously authorized-but-unspent capital before adding new requests; one Selectman asked the staff to return with a reconciled list of prior approvals and remaining balances.

The department also presented a $103,978 budget reduction for Waveny House operations, continuing a multi-year effort to reduce that line, and sought $581,115 for the Steve Benko Pool operating budget (2.92% increase), noting the pool drew 46,650 visitors last year and staff plan a consultant review of the 21-year-old facility.

Why it matters: several park capital projects affect public access and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and are time-sensitive. Staff said the Department of Justice has an active accessibility agreement with the town covering several recreational sites, creating scheduling constraints (work must be completed in specified windows) that may make certain projects higher priority.

Selectmen asked for clearer cost breakdowns (bids, old-authority balances) before approving new capital and asked staff to return in about two weeks with reconciled unspent-authority detail and firm bids where available. No formal capital votes were recorded during the Parks presentation; final capital decisions were deferred to later budget sessions.