Parks And Rec Director Is Still Pitching —

Hoping For A Recreation Center At Fairfield Hills

By Kendra Bobowick

The town has a “desperate” need for a recreation center, said Parks and Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian. The need is nothing new, however.

“We made our pitch years ago,” she said.

Her ongoing hopes and expectations are wrapped in the Fairfield Hills campus’s future plans, and the site’s renovations and improvements may hold some hope for a recreation center, she believes.

Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle confirmed that a recreation center is part of the Fairfield Hills long-range plan.

Ms Kasbarian raised her department’s needs early in the town’s Fairfield Hills discussions, she said. She and others are now “waiting on the authority,” which is currently assessing the area’s buildings and land use. Soil remediation and structural inspections have been ongoing.

The Plymouth Hall site offers a probable location for a recreation center after the hall is razed, Mr Geckle said, adding that demolition has not been scheduled yet.

Both Mr Geckle and Parks and Recreation Commission members share the understanding that the recreation center is not limited to Ms Kasbarian’s department’s needs.

“In the original master plan was a future recreational and cultural arts facility,” Mr Geckle noted. He explained that the building would serve “multigenerational” purposes and welcome cultural arts initiatives.

Ms Kasbarian shares his outlook. “It could be a community center, other groups could come in,” she said. Ms Kasbarian has spoken with Newtown Youth Services and members of the arts community about the idea, she said.

Committee members are now taking tentative steps into the planning, which includes visual concepts of a recreation center. Essentially, Ms Kasbarian believes the authority wants to see what Parks and Recreation envisions for a recreation center, she explained. “They asked for more concrete drawings.”

Acting Commission Chairman Edward Marks said, “I think they’re looking for a drawing or something to visualize what we might be looking for.”

Mr Geckle agreed that the authority wanted to view some ideas. “We do hope to see plans of what they are looking for,” he said.

Mr Geckle wants to see questions answered regarding the recreation department’s space and activities needs, ideas for an indoor pool, track, basketball courts, activities, and general use.

Commission members talked over some preliminary thoughts on what they might bring before the authority in the near future. Ready-made examples are the ideal materials, according to Ms Kasbarian.

“I am hoping we put something together that is just ‘cut and paste,’” she said, as commission members now look for existing prints and representations of recreation center plans. Schemes for recreation centers in nearby towns may be used as a model, she said.

Crushed For Space

Concerns about field and gymnasium space and scheduling for various teams and leagues is chronic, and the recent pool closing at Dickinson Pond is just one more example of her department’s struggle to accommodate Newtown’s athletic and recreation demands. Just last week, Ms Kasbarian shook her head at the low enrollment — roughly one quarter of its usual number — for Dickinson Day Camp, which she attributes to the loss of the pool this year. Failure to meet health codes prompted the closing.

Parks and Recreation Commission members entertained proposals of preliminary concepts as the need for a center again entered conversation.

Adding another aspect to the equation, Ms Kasbarian specified, “I am not just looking for a sports facility.” Growing athletic activities are just part of the overall need for space now straining Parks and Recreation programs. Offices and nonathletic items are also on the list of Parks and Recreation’s needs as Ms Kasbarian explained.

“I need big, open rooms where I can run programs,” she said. “We need classroom space also.”

She wants to relocate some activities held during the day at the building on Church Hill Road that serves as the Teen Center on weekend nights.

“We would like to move, we have no other place to run it,” she said.

Much of the Parks and Recreation athletic programming depends on facilities outside her department.

“We rely on the use of schools,” she said.

Also, the middle school students have been asking for a space of their own, she said.

As the Fairfield Hills campus awaits renovations, plans for the grounds and buildings are taking shape. Town departments as well as private interest groups are drawn to the Fairfield Hills property. From the Newtown Bridle Lands Association members — who in past months had spoken on behalf of equestrian trail needs — to town municipal departments including Parks and Recreation, the campus holds potential for additional equestrian trails and athletic facilities. Buildings on campus have also sparked an interest as future homes for gymnasiums, for example.

Ms Kasbarian hopes to present some ideas on paper to the Fairfield Hills Authority in approximately one month, she said.

Parks and Recreation officials surprised the Board of Selectman last year with a recreation center proposal, a $19 - $23 million center in place of a new $3 - $5 million swimming pool that the board members had expected.