Bedford Town Board meeting features Recreation and Parks 2026 recap

By JEFF MORRIS

Tuesday’s Town Board meeting featured a complete wrap-up of the Recreation and Parks Department’s 2026 season, presented by Superintendent Chris Soi and departmental colleagues, including Assistant Superintendent Kimberly O’Brien and Recreation Supervisors DJ Goldman and Greg Pitz. 

They walked the board through the department’s new partnerships and events, senior services and transportation, five summer camps serving several hundred children, and a growing pool membership across three hamlets.

Besides the department’s activities, programs, events and accomplishments, the presentation also looked ahead to recommendations and priorities for 2027.

Programs and special events

Soi described more than 14 new programs in 2026, including Escape Room, World Cup watch party, Star Spangled Splash, Aqua Zumba and Cardio Splash. He said these were all programs that were offered and had sufficient registrations to run.

Others were Schools Out field trip; fishing boat rental; the upcoming Trunk or Treat, which he said the department has rebranded and taken the reins on; dog obedience program; youth trauma etiquette class; youth career coaching class; and extended Katonah Classic Stage programming. 

Soi also highlighted Tri-Festa, which was in its second year at Bedford Village Memorial Park, with expanded kids’ activities, food trucks, live music and the first Tri-Hamlet Challenge. He said a post-event survey is open on the department’s homepage and social channels.

Upcoming events for the remainder of the year Soi noted are Trunk or Treat on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Bedford Hills train station; Puzzlepalooza, Friday, Nov. 13, 6 to 8 p.m. at Bedford Hills Community House; Holiday Market, Saturday, Nov. 21 (two weeks earlier than usual), 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Bedford Hills Train Station; Holiday Ice Skating, Friday, Nov. 27 (the day after Thanksgiving), 12:45 to 2:45 p.m. at Harvey School Ice Rink; and Breakfast with Frosty, for ages 8 and under, Saturday, Dec. 12, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Bedford Hills Community House. Registration is required for that, and for Puzzlepalooza, via the online portal or the Recreation office.

Facilities and improvements

Soi pointed out a number of facilities and capital projects that were undertaken in 2026. The Bedford Village pool house was repaired and repainted; the Katonah Memorial Park stairs at Summit Road were replaced this past week by parks crew; the main hall of Bedford Hills Community House was repaired, repainted, and floors refinished, and a new stage lighting control board was installed. He noted it has been five years since the Community House reopened. There is also a new senior bus, with a wheelchair lift, replacing the prior van that did not have a lift.

Ongoing is the Katonah Memorial Park playground renovation, with equipment delivery scheduled mid-October; closure expected the last week of October or first week of November; installation first week of November with a five- to six-week schedule, targeting mid-December. It will have new artificial turf surfacing.

Seniors

O’Brien described the senior and active-adult program, with home-delivered meals, a social group, health and interest presentations, local shopping runs and charter trips. She said to call 914-666-7203 to join the mailing list or request transportation. 

A weekly social group meets at the Bedford Hills Community House, and there are different activities on different days, including game days, shopping bus trips, other local outings, chair yoga, visiting nurse, and a monthly book club at the Bedford Hills Free Library.

There are also numerous other charter trips and special presentations for seniors. The senior bus serves social, shopping, and charter trips, and will pick up riders for charter trips at home and return them. In response to a question from Bobbi Bittker, O’Brien noted bingo pick-up was offered in the past, but demand dropped and the service ended. She said residents can call to request it again.

Summer camp

Goldman recapped the camp season, which at its peak had 533 campers at five sites. He said there are 115 seasonal employees specific to camps, including 18 leadership team positions, with directors, assistant directors, specialists, and a traveling EMT. There were 88 counselors, 51 senior counselors and 37 junior counselors for the summer of 2026.

Bedford Hills Day Camp had 163 campers, up from 156 in 2025; Bedford Village had 133, up from 128; Katonah had 164, up from 154; Tiny Tots had 33. Teen Travel getaway camp had 39, up from 25, and reached the maximum that fits on one school bus.

A quick summary of revenues and expenditures for 2026 had total revenues of $471,697 for camp fees and the trip to Quassy Amusement & Waterpark, compared with $433,918 the previous year. Goldman said the 2025 budget was $455,100, with actual expenditures last year of $412,530. The 2026 budget is $460,400 and the expenditures so far are right in the neighborhood of $440,000, said Goldman, with several expenditures still to be made. 

Goldman said they received approximately 100 responses to an end-of-season survey across all five camps. Specific to Tiny Tots, which was held at West Patent Elementary School for a second year, there were requests to return to Katonah Elementary School, which was unavailable because of several construction projects. He said they will reach out to the Katonah-Lewisboro School District in an attempt to secure that location for 2027. They will also be looking to institute a new registration platform for all of the camps. 

According to Goldman they were able to employ a music specialist, and he wants to assess whether hiring an athletic specialist could also potentially be a good addition, again guided by survey requests. Also based on feedback from the survey, they are exploring an opportunity to provide week-to-week options for families. He said he is looking to expand special events and entertainers, based on the enthusiastic responses he’s gotten.

Town pools

Pitz said it was his second year supervising the three pools, in Bedford Hills, Bedford Village and Katonah, sold as a single community membership, which he called a great value.

There were 1,618 memberships, up 6%, with about 45,000 pool visits, and $360,000 net revenue, up 3.5% over the prior year. There is a 130-person seasonal pool staff. 

There has been continued growth in swim and dive teams, said Pitz, with overall participation in the Northern Westchester Swim Conference up 14% in 2026.

He cited Aqua Zumba and Cardio Splash as new programs successfully introduced in Katonah and Bedford Hills, and said he would like to add a program in Bedford Village. Another big success was the Star Spangled Splash held on June 26 in advance of Rev Up 250, which had more than 250 attendees enjoying karaoke, BBQ and a cannonball contest.

For 2027, Pitz said he would like to add split-session memberships with dynamic pricing; a preseason tri-hamlet swim meet in June, with a rotating host; have improved on-site internet connectivity; and add more community events, such as luaus and karaoke, at each pool.