Itinerant Park & Rec Dept. Due To Move Again

By Steve Bigham

The Parks & Recreation Department is expected to make a move back to Town Hall South later this year.

Barbara Kasbarian’s department moved out of Town Hall South nearly four years ago and has been at Canaan House on the campus of Fairfield Hills ever since. The P&R office was among several town agencies forced to leave Town Hall South after the building became overwrought with flooding and general deterioration.

However, the lower level of Town Hall South no longer leaks and, thanks to a handful of alterations and a fresh coat of pain, appears to be habitable once again. The town’s social services department was moved into the building last month. Parks & Recreation would be located in the former offices of the building department should the move take place, according to First Selectman Herb Rosenthal.

The move, if finalized, would take place in late summer or early fall. Mr Rosenthal said the town’s land-use department is expanding and would move into the vacated Parks & Recreation space just across the hall.

Would this be a permanent move for Parks & Recreation?

“Maybe yes, maybe no. It all depends,” Mr Rosenthal said.

The future of Newtown’s municipal space remains up in the air these days as the town tries to decide whether or not it wants to purchase Fairfield Hills and its more than 1 million square feet of space.

The Parks & Recreation Department has had its eyes fixed on Plymouth Hall on the campus of Fairfield Hills for some time.

Plymouth Hall once served as the recreational facility for the hospital’s residents and staff. It comes complete with gymnasium, auditorium, bowling alley, canteen, music room, and numerous rooms for arts and crafts. Several kilns still remain in the building.

The recommendation of the Fairfield Hills advisory committee is that Plymouth Hall be designated as a multi-generation community center and a consolidated site for many Parks & Recreation indoor programs. The two-story building has plenty of space – 52,270 square feet.

Mrs Kasbarian sees Plymouth Hall providing residents with the kind of recreational facility never before seen in this town. Her department often receives calls from new residents who are surprised by the lack of municipal recreation facilities in Newtown.

“Plymouth Hall would serve more members of the community. We would be able to offer more varied programs. We wouldn’t have to rely totally on schools for our space. We could offer daytime and nighttime programs with no worries about cancellations,” Mrs Kasbarian said.

Currently, Parks & Recreation relies nearly 100 percent on the schools for program locations. Often, programs are cancelled due to school activities, which take precedence. Mrs Kasbarian says Plymouth Hall would allow Parks & Recreation to expand its current list of programs and hold them all in-house. In addition, she said, the facility could provide residents with treadmills, free weights, bikes, rowers, etc.

The estimated cost to realize Plymouth Hall as a multi-purpose municipal building would be $4.3 million. That cost includes $3.8 million for renovations and upgrades, $270,000 for asbestos and lead abatement, and $169,000 for parking lot construction. The estimated cost to purchase Fairfield Hills from the state is $5.5 million.