A ‘SLIGHTLY-OFF-THE-ROCKER’ SUMMER
CANDLEWOOD LAKE MARINA OWNER CITES ‘ALMOST UNPRECEDENTED’ DEMAND FOR ALL THINGS BOAT
Marc Rogg thought activity on Candlewood Lake might slow this summer. After all, many have their COVID-19 vaccines and traveling elsewhere is safer. But the owner of Echo Bay Marina in Brookfield said now he’s expecting another busy summer.
“Just the customer demand for everything — from boat slips to boats to boat rentals — seems almost unprecedented in the 26 years I’ve been doing this,” Rogg said. “We think it's going to be another what we consider slightly off-the-rocker summer.”
Last summer, Candlewood Lake was an escape from the house and the monotony and stressors of COVID-19, although there was concern about spread of the virus after an uptick in parties on boats. But with the state and certain municipalities’ inland
beaches closed, the lake was inaccessible for some, leading some to swim in reservoirs and other nontraditional areas deemed dangerous.
But some towns along Candlewood Lake plan to open their parks this summer, although COVID rules are still being worked out. The state is permitting swimming at its shoreline and inland parks.
Municipalities remain cautious, although most outdoor COVID restrictions, including masks, lifted May 1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that it’s safe in most cases for people to remove their masks outside.
“We just want everybody to be safe,” Danbury Mayor Joe Cavo said. “We don't want the opening of the park to become an issue where we have to start shutting stuff back down again.”
COVID-19 rules
Some towns with beach access to Candlewood plan to open their parks this summer, but towns are waiting on the state before they determine what COVID-19 restrictions might be in place.
Danbury plans to open its town park around Memorial Day after keeping it closed all last season. The city’s health and parks and recreation departments are still figuring out what capacity and spacing might look like, as well as how Danbury would enforce that.
“We don't have all the answers yet, but we’re formulating our ideas and it’ll be a cooperative effort between a few departments,” said Nick Kaplanis, director of the Parks and Recreation Department.
One issue Danbury is considering is how to prevent overcrowding in the bathrooms, Cavo said.
FirstLight Power, which owns the lake, plans to open Dike Point Park, which was closed last summer, and the islands, which were closed last August due to large gatherings.
Dike Point will have a reservation system, as always, because it gets “extremely crowded,” said Len Greene, FirstLight’s spokesman.
“We’re looking at Dike Point as a typical summer,” he said. “Obviously, masks may be required by the state, which we would obviously want to follow, as well, but we're trying to keep everything open this year as opposed to what we saw last year.”
New Milford isn’t sure of its plans due to the “rapidly changing COVID-19 policies,” said Daniel Calhoun, parks and recreation director.
“We will be working closely with the New Milford Health Department in regards to park policies,” he said in an email.
In New Fairfield, rules are subject to change, but the town aims to open its parks on Memorial Day weekend, with no reservations required, said Linda Lull, director of parks and recreation.
Residents were required to reserve spots last summer and keep 15 feet apart, which meant one park allowed 10 families and another permitted about 15 families, she said.
“This year we will not have a need to do that because we'll be at a six-foot distancing,” she said. “We’re leaving it up to patrons to distance themselves, whereas last year we measured out spaces.”
Brookfield set up squares indicating where households could sit on the beach last year. Reservations were required limiting the park to 25 households, and only Brookfield residents were permitted, said Mary Knox, parks and recreation director.
She said that worked well last year, but she’s waiting for state and local guidance to determine this year’s plan. She hopes to decide by mid-May whether the town can offer swimming lessons and the swim team at the park that were canceled last year.
“This year going in, it’s really the balance of meeting the needs of the residents and social distancing requirement we need to follow, as well as program needs,” Knox said.
New Fairfield hopes to hold its annual decorated boat parade on July 16, pending approval from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The event was open only to New Fairfield residents last year, but the hope is that everyone could attend this summer, Lull said.
Patrons may be asked to wear a mask when they walk through a building to get to the New Fairfield park, Lull said.
Kaplanis expects Danbury will recommend park patrons wear masks.
“That’s a tricky thing,” Kaplanis said. “We just want to keep everybody safe.”
One reason Danbury’s park stayed closed last summer was the lack of lifeguards. The city is hiring now.
“Most of the kids, students, I had the previous years have aged out,” Kaplanis said.
At Echo Bay Marina in Brookfield, customers are required to wear masks indoors, practice social distancing on the docks and cannot tie up multiple boats together, although some of those rules may change based on state guidelines, Rogg said.
He’s expecting a “semi-normal” summer.
“We’re sort of hoping for a no masks outdoor season,” Rogg said. “But as we all know, this COVID, it zigs and zags a little bit unexpectedly, so we’re keeping our fingers cross that peopled can spend time outside and be together.”
What won’t change is capacity for boat rentals. Capping capacity at 10 keeps everything “saner,” Rogg said.
Lake safety
With pool clubs closed and other activities limited, Candlewood Lake and state parks saw a “surge” in users last summer, said state Rep. Pat Callahan, R-New Fairfield. People had stimulus checks to buy boats, too, he said.
“It’s great,” said Callahan, a former member of the Candlewood Lake Authority. “Everyone should be outside. Let’s just obey the boating laws and not trash the island.”
That often wasn’t the case last year, he said. He found a lot of garbage when he volunteered with a group called the Lake Patriot to clean the islands and open spaces around Candlewood Lake.
He proposed a bill to better train lake patrols, who he said are “vital” to teach boating laws and keep the lake safe, along with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Rogg noted people were “rambunctious” last summer, and it was hard for staff to rein them in.
“It was a difficult summer because people were sort of determined to have fun, regardless of what obstacles were in front of them,” he said.
Last year, marina staff worked 65 hours a week and overtime bills were “unprecedented,” he said. Two additional staff members were hired this year.
Candlewood Lake Authority plans to increase patrol presence, as long as towns approve its proposed budget increase, said Mark Howarth, executive director. A $100,000 donation from FirstLight helped pay for a new, additional patrol boat, which is expected to arrive in May.
Boat and personal watercraft purchases, as well as enrollment in boating education classes, are on the rise, so the authority is preparing for a “potentially busy season,” Howarth said.
The other recreational areas FirstLight owns, including Bulls Bridge in Kent, Shepaug Recreation Area in Southbury and Falls Village Recreation Area in that town, will be fully open, Greene said.
Bulls Bridge and Falls Village have been popular swimming spots, even though swimming is not permitted or safe there, which has led to drownings, Greene said.
Two New York men died last June after going under in the Housatonic River nears the Bulls Bridge power plant.
But Greene said he hopes people will be less likely to swim in these places because they have other options.
“The more we can keep things open, the better,” he said. “That helps with the overcrowding. That helps with all the issues that come with overcrowding, and that also helps with public safety.”