SHARE

Parks Super Ensures Grass Is Cut, Beaches Raked

When Ken Hughes turned 14, his dad said he could choose his own birthday gift. Ken opted for a ride-on tractor mower. "My dad thought I'd pick a go-cart, but I'd always wanted a Toro mower," says Hughes, who started his own landscaping business when he was just 13.

These days, you might still come across Hughes sitting on a lawn mower, except that the ones he rides now have 16-foot cutting blades. Ken Hughes works for the City of Norwalk and is the parks superintendent, playground inspector and the city's arborist.

Hughes and his crew of 17 full-time groundskeepers are responsible for maintaining all of Norwalk's parks, school grounds, beaches, public docks and boat launch areas. That's more than 50 sites. "We mow more than 1,200 acres of grass each week," he says. The department also takes care of the town tennis courts and basketball courts, and they line and drag 25 to 30 sports fields every day during the playing season.

"In the summer we bring on part time help for the beaches," Hughes says. Workers bring in sand, which needs regular raking and cleaning. Staff carpenters repair fences all over town. They have also worked at Fodor Farm, the community garden on Flax Hill Road, building a new barn and outdoor meeting deck. The department plumbers keep busy repairing the more than 3,000 irrigation heads in the parks and playing fields, and they also repair the public bathrooms and water fountains.

"Playground safety is a top priority," says Hughes, who recently got his certification as a playground inspector. His job includes making regular safety checks of all the playgrounds on town property in Norwalk.

After graduating from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor's degree in landscape design, he started his own design-build business. "When you're a small business owner, you're always working, there's no time for anything else," he says. "Then this job came along. I love that it's so varied."

Are you a small business owner? Do you ever wish you could find your dream job working for someone else?

to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE

Follow Norwalk Daily Voice

Get important news about your town as it happens.

Something went wrong. Please subscribe again.