Darien panel reviews parks plan, Great Island

Parks and Recreation · Meeting of October 14, 2026

Darien's Parks and Recreation Committee reviewed land-use plan edits and got updates on Great Island and 2027 fee hikes. Committee member Patty Bumgarner said the Environmental Protection Commission voted 3-2 to approve a boardwalk near the Great Island entrance, and that the Parks and Recreation Commission accepted a $6,087 donation from Darien Little League toward $12,174 in safety netting at McGowan Field, with one member opposed. Jenny Schwartz, of the Great Island Parking Design Committee, said the parking project is "about 60 percent" designed, with costs estimated between $4.6 million and $6.5 million.

Staff reported 2027 beach permits will rise from $58 to $60 and that September flooding destroyed roughly $250,000 in parks equipment. Committee member Diane Conlaw said political signs crowding Freight Park were "the worst I have ever seen."

In the full story:

• The complete report — 888 words

Source: the Parks and Recreation meeting of October 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

DARIEN — October 14, 2026 — The Darien Parks and Recreation Committee reviewed proposed changes to the town's draft Plan of Conservation and Development, got an update on the Great Island parking and boardwalk project, and heard that town recreation fees will rise for 2027.

Committee member Patty Bumgarner told colleagues the Environmental Protection Commission voted 3-2 last week to approve a proposed boardwalk near the Great Island entrance, and that the Darien Parks and Recreation Commission voted to accept a $6,087 donation from Darien Little League toward $12,174 in protective netting at McGowan Field, with one member voting against. Jenny Schwartz, a Board of Finance member who also sits on the Great Island Parking Design Committee, said the parking project is roughly 60 percent through its design phase, with cost estimates ranging from about $4.6 million to $6.5 million.

The Full Story

Bumgarner, who attended a Darien Parks and Recreation Commission meeting on the town's draft Plan of Conservation and Development ahead of the close of its public comment period, walked the committee through edits made to the parks chapter. Changes included renaming the "Diller property" to Diller Park and removing language crediting friends groups with helping maintain Selleck's Woods and Woodland Park. The commission also decided Highland Farm should not appear on a list of designated parks, since the property remains under the Board of Selectmen's jurisdiction rather than the Parks and Recreation Commission's.

Bumgarner said the discussion began after Parks and Recreation Commission member Lori Boer stated the commission has no lighting plans of its own.

"The Park and Rec Commission has never discussed any plan for lighting fields, nor do they have any plans to do so, and that any such plan would need to originate with the commission." [00:04:08] — Patty Bumgarner, committee member, recounting a statement by Lori Boer

The committee also discussed a plan recommendation, numbered 8.19, urging the town to "consider eliminating additional sports fields and expand the use of existing lighting" while weighing disturbance to neighboring homes. Bumgarner said the Parks and Recreation Commission decided it could live with that language and voted to refer the recommendation to the Planning and Zoning Commission unchanged.

On Great Island, Bumgarner said the Board of Selectmen voted to allow up to 12 events a year on the property, operating dawn to dusk, modeled on the special permit already in place at Highland Farm. The Environmental Protection Commission then voted 3-2 to approve a roughly 350-foot wood boardwalk near the island's entrance, intended to keep pedestrians off a stretch of causeway shared with vehicles headed to a planned 80-space parking lot.

"And in the end, they voted, and it was three to two. So three to support it, two against it." [00:49:25] — Patty Bumgarner, committee member

Schwartz said the parking design, developed with landscape architecture consultant Reid Hildebrand, remains iterative, with Chief Administrative Officer Jim Charneski basing the island's activity rules on the existing Highland Farm template.

"We're about 60, a little more than 60 percent of the way through the design phase." [00:53:11] — Jenny Schwartz, Great Island Parking Design Committee member

Parks and Recreation Department staff reported that the 2027 fee schedule, approved in September, raises most charges in line with 4.2 percent inflation. The beach permit will rise from $58 to $60, weekend beach fees from $70 to $73, youth sports participation fees from $15 to $20 per sport, kayak storage from $200 to $250 per rack and community garden plots from $30 to $40. Staff also said flooding in the parks garage on September 13 destroyed roughly $250,000 in equipment, that storm-damaged trees at Tilly Pond were cleared internally, and that repairs to a damaged paddle court will cost about $3,000. A 2027 fireworks display has been booked for July 11, with a rain date of July 13.

Committee member Diane Conlaw raised concerns about political campaign signs crowding Freight Park, saying she counted more than 50 before stopping.

"This is the worst I have ever seen. We have been in town for 51 years." [01:31:25] — Diane Conlaw, committee member

Conlaw cited parks commission rules barring signage without approval and asked that the town notify the Democratic and Republican town committees before the next election cycle about limits on how long signs can remain in parks.

Committee Chair Adele closed the meeting by announcing she will not seek re-election as chair next year, thanking members for a year that included roughly nine meetings on major projects.

Why It Matters

Rising park fees and shrinking athletic field capacity affect what Darien families pay to use town recreation facilities and where youth sports are played. Casey Field at Cherry Lawn Park will sit idle this fall to let overused turf recover, already shifting soccer drop-off scheduling that had been straining parking. The Great Island project, now estimated at $4.6 million to $6.5 million for parking alone, is moving toward a Planning and Zoning special permit application even though its design will not be finished for roughly another year, meaning public hearings on how the island can be used still lie ahead.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Approval of June 3 meeting minutes Tally: Approved unanimously

Source

DarienTV - On Demand & Live Stream: Parks and Recreation meeting, October 14, 2026