Citizens Offer Comments On

 Strategic Plan For Parks And Rec

By John Voket

In a twist to the popular cliché, “If you build it they will come…,” Newtown’s Parks and Recreation Department and commissioners called all who would come to a strategic planning focus group before they made any decisions to build anything. The Tuesday gathering of nearly three dozen residents at the high school’s lecture hall provided an opportunity for residents to get to know one another while offering input as part of the process toward crafting a strategic plan for the future of town parks and recreational programming.

The session was the first of two meetings slated for this purpose. The second is set for next Monday, November 1, at 7 pm, at Newtown High School.

Parks and Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian said in a recent interview that these sessions will help define how her office and the appointed commission that oversees all town parks and recreation matters plots the future course of programs, improvements to existing facilities, and the possible development of new facilities.

Wendy Rubin, a consultant and facilitator from Leisure Life Consulting, was on hand Tuesday evening to help moderate the first two-hour session, during which she and several department staffers and commissioners received comments and ideas for the department’s strategic planning process.

“That process involves conducting focus groups to gain public input on what people want from us, what they envision for their public park facilities five, ten, 15 years down the line,” Ms Kasbarian said. “We’ve been doing a lot of talking, but it’s just that…talk.

“We’re trying to move away from what we and the Parks and Rec Commission think needs to be done, and getting input from the people who live in town and use the facilities,” she told the audience Tuesday.

Ms Kasbarian recently said that over the years, she and her staff members have heard thousands of ideas from participants and parents whose children are involved in community Parks and Recreation programs. And these two sessions are an opportunity for town residents to come forward and help to influence the kinds of facilities and activities they would like to see, or see eliminated for that matter.

Ms Rubin began the session by thanking attendees and explaining why their input was important to the Parks and Rec strategic planning process, even though the questions they were asked, and issues they were asked to prioritized, were more about their general long-term concerns and the quality of life in Newtown.

She also praised department commissioners and staff for initiating such an involved and comprehensive process.

“Very few parks and recreation departments in Connecticut have a strategic plan; as a matter of fact, very few Connecticut cities and towns have strategic plans so your town and department should be commended for their efforts,” Ms Rubin said.

There followed an introduction period where participants were offered the opportunity to introduce themselves and talk for a moment about their reasons for attending. While many of the residents appeared to have come alone, several initiatives were clearly represented.

A Variety Of Interests

Several audience members said they were involved in youth sports, soccer in particular. There was a faction representing the ad-hoc culture and arts commission, someone who was interested in bike trails, Reed School PTA President Marina Moscovici, Newtown Youth Services Director Tony Tozzi, even the popular Heather Law, a Parks and Rec associate who contracts the KidsFit program for the department.

Following the introductions, Ms Rubin got busy going through a two-step process of learning first about the quality of life in Newtown, and second, about residents’ long-term concerns for the town and their families.

Audience members were asked to make a list of the things they liked most about living in Newtown. After a few minutes, Ms Rubin went from person to person until all the thoughts were noted on posters, which were then pasted about the hall.

Comments about the positive aspects of Newtown were prolific. Lake Zoar, the flagpole, concerts on the green, the two local farmers’ markets, top-notch emergency services, the Senior Center, and a strong sense of community and resident stability were among the three pages of comments that were logged.

After this segment of the session, residents were given colored stickers and asked to go to the boards and prioritize their top four attributes. While some quickly approached the lists and quickly applied their dots, others chatted and debated where they would mark their top choices.

The second segment asked residents to clarify their concerns about the future, whether it involved the broad perspective of world affairs or their own family and community. Respondents articulated concerns including the state of the local education system, drug and alcohol abuse among young people, the lack of variety among youth activities, proposed residential development and condominium projects, and the lack of centralized facilities for parks and recreation activities.

Resident Lisa Floros was upset about what she deemed rampant residential development that was partly to blame for the department’s shortage of funds and program variety.

“Parks and recreation services are being taxed to the hilt because we have let this town develop the way it has,” she said.

Ms Moscovici also decried the lack of diversity in youth programs, especially for young people who were not particularly interested in conventional activities and sports.

“I’m concerned about the limited advantages for our youth. You need to get into a car to go anywhere in town,” she said. Ms Moscovici said if the town took advantage of opportunities at Fairfield Hills, a centralized community center could combine the best of recreation, arts and culture, even the possibility of some limited retail and commercial boutique-style businesses to serve those coming to, or waiting for those attending programs at such a facility.

Other residents, however, were not as warm to the Fairfield Hills suggestions. While some thought the Dickinson Park area was more central to residents, others were concerned about possible traffic generated in the neighborhoods surrounding Fairfield Hills if an all-in-one recreation or community center was located there.

“I live on Queen Street, and if it ever gets [built] at Fairfield Hills, my street turns into a highway,” said Jill Bontatibus-Beaudry.

Although some concerns and ideas about Fairfield Hills took the focus group off task for a few moments, Ms Rubin quickly redirected conversations back to the matters at hand. As the group finished discussing their overall concerns, she closed the session explaining how the data was going to be used.

Ms Kasbarian also used the closing to ask participants to spread the news about the focus groups, and to encourage their friends and neighbors to attend the November 1 session.

“I was very happy with the turnout,” Ms Kasbarian said later. “The group was very vocal, and this is what we needed.”

She reminded residents who are unable to attend the Monday session that their feedback can be provided to her in person at the department offices in Town Hall South, by phone at 270-4340, or by email: barbkas@snet.net.