The Wilton recreational department ultimately decided to install the docks at Wilson Lake. The department’s initial hesitation surrounded the idea that the docks would draw too many visitors to Kineowatha park during the pandemic. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal

WILTON — The Wilton recreational department has decided to offer summer youth programming with modifications and open Kineowatha park facilities. Director Frank Donald has yet to make a final decision as to whether Bass Park will host its summer concert series.

Softball for girls ages eight to 12-years-old will start July 1 and run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Boys’ baseball for ages seven to ten-years-old will begin July 2 and run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The sign-up fee is $25.

Wilton’s summer baseball and softball teams ordinarily participate in a league consisting of teams from surrounding towns. This year will primarily consist of drills and in-house scrimmages Donald said, due to lower enrollment and other towns canceling their summer programming.

“When we did sign-ups originally, we did them right before all of this outbreak took place, way back in March. So some people have decided this is worse than they thought and their kids aren’t going to play,” Donald said in a phone interview.

While current enrollment indicates three softball teams, there is currently only enough boys signed up for one baseball team.

“It’s more than we want for one, but not enough for two,” Donald said. “But we’ll make it work.”

As a safety measure, the department is urging softball and baseball participants to bring their own equipment this year to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“If they don’t, the rec. department has bats and helmets,” Donald said. “We’ve got wipes and disinfectants and stuff there if kids end up having to share bats and helmets.”

The department decided to cancel T-ball and swimming lessons this year because of the inability to prevent close contact during coaching and teaching.

“It would be like herding cats to try and keep those guys spread out,” Donald said laughing about the five and six-year-olds at T-ball practice.

The sport soccer summer camps that Wilton typically offers will take place with basketball tentatively running from July 27 to 30, field hockey from August 3 to 6, and soccer from August 17 to 20. Donald is still searching for a coach for the tennis camp.

“So we’ll give them some semblance of a summer, and parents are just desperate to get their kids out and active. The kids want to get back with their buddies,” Donald said. “I think overall what we’ve seen at least in Wilton, is there was obviously a certain amount of people that were conservative and concerned about it, but it seems like the longer we go, the more people want to get out and do their thing and get back to more or less a normal situation.”

Wilton resident Rachel Gigliotti has struggled to keep her 12-year-old occupied so far this summer and was enjoying a Friday afternoon at Kineowatha park.

“We’ve been out of school for a while, and its hard to find stuff to do other than swimming,” she said while sitting on the beach and watching her daughter swim in Wilson Lake.

The Main Lodge at Kineowatha Park in Wilton is now open to the public with a limit of eight people in the building at a time as a safety measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The lodge offers water sport rentals such as kayaks and paddle boards. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal

The main lodge at Kineowatha which reopens June 29, will offer kayak and paddle board rentals to the public and will have a limit of no more than eight people in the building at a time. The park will also start enforcing increased, non-resident admittance fees which are $5 per person, $10 per car or $50 for a season pass good through Labor Day.

Gigliotti, who has taken advantage of Wilton’s swim program in the past for her daughter, was happy to hear about the park fee increase. She hopes the extra funds raised will go towards the recreational department’s summer programming and park maintenance.

Jay resident Kristina Adams has been frequenting Kineowatha Park with her family every Sunday since the weather has been hot. She anticipates coming to the park less often once the entrance fees are enforced.

“I’m not going to pay $50 when I am only coming here once a week. Now, if I was coming here every day, it would make sense because we would utilize it, but I wouldn’t pay it,” Adams said while soaking her feet in Wilson Lake. 

While Adams understands the increase because the park needs maintenance, she said it will inevitably pose as a deterrent for her family. This is part of Donald’s hope with the enforced fee, to limit the number of people on the beach and using the facilities during the pandemic. He also hopes to bring in extra revenue since the recreational department has lost money from canceled programming.

“And so what we were trying to do, was do it on an honor system basically and just very few people were coming in to pay,” Donald said. “And it seemed to get worse over the last couple of years and this year, with no swim lessons, it seemed to be a good year to reinstall that; to be a little more aggressive with having someone out there checking fees and checking licenses and that sort of thing.”

Penny Gould from Livermore Falls, who was watching her children jump off the docks into the lake at Kineowatha park,was unphased by the increased fee. She did express concern for those who may not be able to afford the entrance price.

“Its understandable to be able to maintain this park. I feel like, if people have a hardship, that needs to be considered especially with COVID and a lot of people being out of work,” Gould said.

The last decision that the Wilton recreational department has to make this summer is whether or not to hold concerts at Bass Park. Several performers have already canceled.

“If too many of the performers are not going to want to come, then I don’t know if it makes sense to do any of the concerts,” Donald said.

Since Bass Park is an open area, Donald is concerned about ensuring that concerts would adhere to COVID-19 gathering guidelines of no more than 50 people. The department will be posting updates regarding summer programming and concerts at Bass Park on the Wilton Recreation Department Facebook page.