Southwick Hires Parks and Rec Director, Awards $478,898 Pickleball Court Contract

SOUTHWICK -- June 8, 2026, Southwick Select Board unanimously hired a new Parks and Recreation director and awarded a nearly $479,000 construction contract for pickleball courts at Wally Park at its June 8 meeting. The board voted 3-0 to appoint Kristen Gibson, a travel agent and Southwick parent who cited firsthand experience attending town events, as Parks and Recreation director after conducting a live interview; the position had been vacant long enough to cause the cancellation of this year's Easter egg hunt. The board also approved a $478,898 contract with Omasta for construction of pickleball courts, a pavilion, and lighting at Wally Park, with substantial completion targeted for mid-September, though a one-month asphalt curing requirement before sports-court coating is applied could push final surface work into October or spring 2027. In other action, the board authorized the chair to execute a $1.1 million fire engine contract with Sutphen Corporation, renewed its managed-services agreement with Wally Computer Associates at $11,051 per month contingent on receipt of a network map, and appointed Jennifer DiPietro to two open-space subcommittees after correcting a procedural error from the prior week's meeting.