Thursday, March 29, 2007

SHOULD A TENNIS BUBBLE BE PLACED AT RUMBROOK PARK?

The Town Board has not taken any action on the proposal to award a private contract to company to place a bubble over the tennis courts at AF Veteran town park. The Board has been reviewing the proposed bubble for a few years. The town was offered substantial rental income every year. A private company had also offered to build a club house for tennis players (at no cost to the town) and to renovate our tennis courts.
The problem: A & B budget disputes--caused by the litigation (Edgemont resident vs. villages).
Another option was suggested today by a citizen: that we issue an RFP to place a bubble over the tennis courts at East Rumbrook Park (a federally funded park). This would generate much less revenue for the town since it is a smaller facility. However- it's an option with different issues. What do you think?

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are inviting suggestions as though suggestions can be acted on by the Town Board. Before you start entertaining suggestions, you should ask Sport Time what they are willing to do. Otherwise this is just a waste of time.

Anonymous said...

It's sad that the Town Council allows obstructionists to hijack good government.

Anonymous said...

Feiner misleads the public when he says the problem in getting the bubble deal done is caused by the litigation that was brought.

The problem was instead caused by the legal position that Feiner had the town take in response to that litigation.

The "Edgemont" resident had argued that the town board had the discretion under state law to open its parks town-wide -- including the tennis courts at Veteran Park -- but that if it did, all costs and revenues for such facilities had to be charged not just to the unincorporated areas, but to the town as a whole.

Feiner had the town take the position that even if it were in the best interest of the town to do so, the town could not under any circumstances allow any of its non-federally funded parks to be open town-wide.

The tennis courts at Veteran Park are not federally-funded.

That means that even if Sporttime promised the town millions of dollars in revenue, which would obviously be in the town's best interest, the town would be barred by law from letting anyone outside of the unincorporated areas use those courts.

Unless and until the town's arguments are rejected by the court, and all appeals are exhausted, for Sporttime, that's a deal breaker.

Would doing the bubble at Rumbrook be a way around this? It might.

Because Rumbrook is federally funded, the town may not discriminate based on residency, which means Rumbrook is already open town-wide.

The litigation as far as Rumbrook is concerned would then determine only whether the costs and revenues of the "bubble" belong in the A or B budgets.

Whether Sporttime would have any interest at this point is another story entirely.

Anonymous said...

The Bubble should be placed at Rumbrook Park and Veteran Park.
Also while we're at it lets team up with Greenbugh #7 and get the old football field completed together so both the school and recreation dept.could use it.

Anonymous said...

We have a non functioning town council that doesn't want to come up with solutions.

Anonymous said...

No, we have a dysfunctional and corrupt supervisor who blows off meetings and refuses to work with them or anyone else.

Anonymous said...

Sheehan & Bass try to prevent the Supervisor from doing everything. Watch out Steve -- Francis wants you out too!

Anonymous said...

I think the idea of having the Bubble for Central 7 kids is a great idea. So we should locate it near the school. We need to start giving back to these kids or were going to continue this terrible circle of fear and crime in our district.

Anonymous said...

I would like a driving range and/or bubble at the Veteran Park. I think it would stimulate membership and why do all the Town trucks and recycyling have to be parked there?

Anonymous said...

The Town truck have to be parked there because, in trying to save money, the Town garage turned out to be too short.

Anonymous said...

But the Veteran park is only for Unincorporated Gburgh, who are the trucks for ?? and its just ugly and bad management.

Anonymous said...

Let's get this done. Tennis bubble equals quality of life

Anonymous said...

"Tennis bubble equals quality of life"

Hahahahhaaaaa ... I think we need bumper stickers that say that! If the quality of my life, or a town's life, had anything to do with a tennis bubble, that would be pretty pathetic.

Okay, but seriously ... just issue an RFP.

Anonymous said...

A tennis bubble is quality of life at no cost to the taxpayers. The town would generate money. My taxes, your taxes would be impacted in a good way.

Anonymous said...

Sport Time has said no bubble because of the lawsuits. They are not putting in any money while the legal situation is unclear. It is a waste of time to be making comments about what you would like.

Anonymous said...

The Town had plenty of opportunity to settle the lawsuits and allow Sporttime to go forward with the tennis bubble. But the Town put politics ahead of people and never even made a proposal.

Anonymous said...

The town couldn't settle the lawsuit. If it could have, it would have. It doesn't just involve Bob Bernstein, it involves every resident of the town, both the unincorporated area and the villages. Sport Time knows that.