WILTON — The Board of Selectpersons on Tuesday listened to another plea to change the location for swim lessons.

Louis Webster previously requested the change from Kineowatha Park to the swim area across from Bass Park, where the lessons used to take place.

The board referred the request to the Recreation Committee and Recreation Director Frank Donald, who at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Webster’s request is based on the difficulty for parents and grandparents to walk down to the shore at Kineowatha to watch a child swim.

Kineowatha Park has a steep banking that is challenging and dangerous for anyone with a disability, an injury or who is obese, he previously said.

Recreation Committee members and others have voiced more concerns about moving than staying, Donald said. Young children crossing the road from Bass Park to the water is their main concern.

“There’s zero support to move to Bass Park,” Donald said. The committee is open to ideas to continue lessons for 180 children at Kineowatha, he said.

There would also be expenses to moving, including a changing area, bathrooms and a way to secure the docks, he said.

The town acquired Kineowatha Park in 1974 and started swim lessons there about 1977, Donald said. In all these years, he said he has not had complaints although some have said the banking was difficult.  

Swim director Jordan Schanck agreed that he has not received complaints, even when a child with cerebral palsy had to negotiate the banking for lessons.

Some vehicles have been allowed to drive down near the Boy Scouts building to walk over to the swim area, Donald said.

It would cost thousands of dollars to put in a road to the shore at Kineowatha, Webster noted.

“It’s a no-brainer,” he said of the site near Bass Park. “It’s more user friendly with less liability.”

But, the more shallow water and sandy beach at Kineowatha allows younger children a better opportunity to learn and allows their mothers to help, Schanck said.

“Jordan, you do a fantastic job,” Webster said. “But it’s not just about the kids. It’s about parents and grandparents.”

Webster said he wants to see an article on the town meeting warrant. To do that he needs to get 185 signatures on a petition and bring it to the board by April 17, Town Clerk Diane Dunham later said.

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