Town Attorney Tim Lewis presented me and the Town Board with a legal opinion advising us that we can legally rent the Fitness Center at Woodlands High School and incorporate the fitness center into Greenburgh recreation programs.
Shortly after Woodlands and the Greenburgh schools announced plans to curtail hours at the Fitness Center, I suggested that the town rent the excellent facility and incorporate the fitness center into our recreation programs. A member of the Town Board questioned the legality of the proposal. I am pleased that we can enhance residents quality of life and fitness by renting the space. I will urge the Town Board to say yes to the proposal.
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But why would you spend money to rent it when there are already other town facilities available? If there's spare cash around for rent, why not use it to market and upgrade the other town facilities already available?
The fitness center at woodlands has been enjoyed by many Greenburgh residents. It is sad that a community asset is not being taken advantage of. Taxpayers paid for the center. It doesn't do anyone any good to have it locked up and not used.
This is just a backdoor subsidy to Greenburgh 7. Again, Feiner playing favorites. What guarantees do we have that anyone will actually be able to use the facility? Feiner doesnt care -- he lives in gated community with its own recreation facilities.
Just because it can be legally rented doesn't mean it has to be. If the town has extra money floating around, why not use it to buy a few weed-wackers and a street-sweeper. That way the entire town can be served for an ongoing neglect rather than one neighborhood's fitness when there are already two other town fitness centers which are not even that far from Woodlands. I'm all for fitness, but when the town management makes a choice every day not to do its routine maintenance, I think it's important to look very carefully where money is going.
Until storm grates are cleaned regularly, median strips are cleaned regularly, and roadway shoulders are cleaned (the most elementary of a municipal highway department's expectations), I just don't see how we can support extras like optional rent for a third fitness center.
Why would one think that Feiner is playing favorites. The fitness center must have cost a lot of money when it was put up.Feiner wants to save the initial investment made by the residents of Greenburgh, MAybe if the idea came from his lordship Sheehan no one would have said a word. You know some of the Feiner haters are making this town a mockery.No matter what this man tries to do,there are those that always find a way to throw a monkey wrench into the plan. Yes there are many fitness centers in Greenburgh, how many people could afford their charges.Wake up we are all trying to save money. By charging the users of this facility,the rent could be paid easily,and I'm quite sure the charges will be no where close to the private centers.We have to try,to save the initial investment.
"Wake up we are all trying to save money."
Yes, so use the other two PUBLIC fitness centers that the town provides. Plus, I really don't think we really want the town and the school district to be in financial business together.
"The fitness center must have cost a lot of money when it was put up. Feiner wants to save the initial investment made by the residents of Greenburgh"
This is a Greenburgh Central school district investment, not a townwide investment. Plus, there are so many other concerns that pertain to the town as a whole that need to take priority over this situation. If the people in the neighborhood near Woodlands want to take this up with the school district, that's certainly their prerogative. But this is by no means of townwide concern, and certainly not worth paying rent for.
This center has to be saved ,Yes the people in central seven made the initial ivestment to be used by their residents,but at the moment there seems to be a problem that needs a lot of attention If there is a way to save this facility from closing down, let's do it. If the outside residents want to use it their charge would be somewhat greater than the locals. Let's give it a try. If the towwn attorney say's it's ok let's help Feiner complete this task.
Will the center be open to all town residents or only town outside village residents? What rec card will be used for admittance? What rec cards are only issued to TOV residents?
"If the towwn attorney say's it's ok let's help Feiner complete this task."
Yes, it's legal, but is it a prudent use of Town funds? (Intended as a rhetorical question.)
I hope that Greenburgh Central spends absolutely no time considering this fitness center rental proposal; there are many more essential issues that GC needs to attend to.
First of all, the fitness center was set up initially using money from a grant, not taxpayer money. It was to be used by the students of Greenburgh Central 7. If the town has extra money, why not use it somewhere else - maybe to upgrade town fitness centers?
the town council would rather see the taxpayer dollars go to law firms, not to programs like a fitness center. This gets me mad, mad, mad.
Will the Town purchase additional insurance to cover the significant additional liability it will accept? Greenburgh Central's insurance will most certainly not cover the facility during the hours the Town operates it - even if it is a Central student who is injured.
And who will monitor if adults are healthy enough to use facility?
And what if pedofiles go there and start wandering around campus? There are many student events in the evening.
Greenburgh Central 7 has enough to worry about without discussing this much further. They're in austerity. It should remain closed unless students or Greenburgh Central teams need to use it. If the other fitness centers are so bad & the town has $$ -- upgrade them.
It's an election year and Feiner is trying to garner as many votes as possible. Nuff said?
An earlier blogger was correct. The fitness center at Greenburgh 7 was built with a grant. But more importantly, every person in that building has been fingerprinted as required under state law. This is done to protect the students from preditors. Who is going to pay for every user of the fitness center to be fingerprinted?
If everyone has to be fingerprinted does that mean that people with a record will be excluded from using the gym?
Again I ask what school does Mr. finer and townboard members send their kids too. I bet its not Greenburgh. Nobody from any villages should be allowed to use greenburgh facilities or parks and rec. If the board does not stand up for greenburgh residents than they are not leaders.
Feiner is the only member of the Town Board with a child of public school age. Where his daughter goes to school is irrelevant - schools and towns are governed by State law in entirely different ways. Much of the friction has come where the lines of authority are not clear and the politicians have tried to usurp power not granted them. Ask the Town's controller, for example, how much the Town earns in interest on the money collected as school taxes before the Town turns it over to the school district. Ask the assessor's office why they will not even discuss revalution to rationalize the difference in assessments between the school districts. Ask the Supervisor and Mss. Barnes and Jeuttner (they are the only survivors from that time) why the Town attempted to create a conservation district overlay which included most of the land owned by a school district. Ask the building inspector why he attempted to close down a building site supervised by the NY State Department of Education. And finally, ask the unelected leader of Fair-Harts, Hal Samis, why it was such a good idea for the independent Hartsdale school district to refuse to build a High School and then merge with Fairview.
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