Longtime New Canaan Parking Commission chairman appointed to Parks and Recreation
NEW CANAAN — The Board of Selectmen appointed Keith Richey, recent chairman of the Parking Commission, to the Parks and Recreation Commission on Monday.
Richey has been on the Parking Commission for 22 years, much of it as chairman, and said First Selectman Kevin Moynihan “has a policy” not to reappoint members to town commissions or boards if they have served 20 years. “It is a policy that I wholeheartedly agree with,” he said on Monday.
Moynihan was not available after the meeting and Administrative Officer Tucker Murphy did not confirm whether the first selectman has a fixed policy on tenure, but said, “I do know that he feels strongly that we should always encourage new members who bring fresh ideas and may represent a certain demographic to the town boards, commissions and committees.”
Richey will be taking a seat on the 11-member commission, which was left open after Commissioner Laura Costigan stepped down.
After serving on the Parking Commission since 1999, “I felt that I had contributed all I could in that role and was ready to move on,” Richey said. Moynihan and him agreed “over a year ago” that he would leave the Parking Commission when his term expired.
Richey will be a “very valuable as a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission as he is an avid user of the town recreation amenities,” Murphy said.
The new Parks and Rec commissioner said he still wanted to contribute to the town and, when an opening on the commission charged with promoting healthy lifestyles through recreation came up, “it seemed like a good fit.” He enjoys the parks and considers them “some of New Canaan's greatest assets.”
He regularly plays tennis and paddle ball at Mead Park and Waveny Park; helps the Exchange Club with its annual Christmas tree sale at Kiwanis Park; walks his rescue dogs in the town’s various parks; plays an annual softball game at Waveny and attends various events at the Waveny House, he explained.
“I look forward to entering the Parks and Recreation Commission as a junior member, learning the ropes and trying to add value in the critical decisions they make,” Richey said.
“I'm thrilled,” Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission Rona Siegel said Tuesday. “With Laura Costigan’s departure, it is great to have another member and one that has so much experience working on another New Canaan commission.”
Richey’s name was put forward for Town Council at the Republican Caucus in 2021, but did not get the nod.
He is also known for having an 85-foot cell tower constructed on his property on Soundview Lane.
He has been a 30-year member and former president of the Exchange Club; a member and former president of the New Canaan Men's Club; a member and occasional performer at the Grid Iron Club; a former member and president of the New Canaan Dance Club and a member of the Poinsettia Club.