Village Board Work Session

Village of Nyack 9 North Broadway, Nyack, NY 10960 Village Board of Trustees Workshop January 12, 2023 6:30 pm Agenda 1. Update on Memorial Park capital projects (with Parks Commission) Summary Memo from Administrator Stewart: The Village has obtained three grants from Rockland County for improvements at Memorial Park from Rockland County. (County Executive Ed Day and the County Legislature set aside substantial county ARPA funds for parks and green space improvements, available through a competitive grant process.) The village Parks Commission and the Parks Conservancy have advised on the grant applications and overall planning process and support letters were obtained from a wide range of local organizations. The goal of this work session and presentation is to provide a status update on planned projects and identify some design challenges and opportunities we have to addresss as we move forward with improvements to this amazing park. We will provide a slide presentation with more details at the work session. 1. Improved ADA pathways from driveway to bathrooms, playground and splash path, as well as a proper gate on driveway that will provide for pedestrian access while excluding vehicles. ($200K) 2. Improved playground equipment (was playground resurfacing grant) and water fountain. ($200K) a. Please note that while the grant request originally was for resurfacing of the playground with a small amount of money for equipment, the county has advised the Village should focus all this grant on equipment and make a follow up request for resurfacing. 3. Improved lawn between gazebo and stairway, plus rehabilitation of grass over over eroded hillside up towards Piermont Rd with plantings to encourage pedestrian diversion to existing stairs. ($158K) a. Baseball Field - Please note we have consulted with Parks Commission and Little League and both recommend retaining and rehabbing the existing baseball field. Also, recommendation is to convert the entire infield to clay for ease of maintenance. Nyack Valley Cottage Little League provided feedback and support to planning process. b. Pathway alignment question – the current gravel path cuts across the middle of the lawn and is needed for routine vehicle access for park maintenance. The Master Plan called for this path to be moved to the northen perimeter of the lawn area, a design question that needs resolution and may add some cost. 4. Other grants: the Village submitted NYS CFA applications for a waterfront walkway linking bridge to fishing pier and for repaving the marina parking lot. Both were rejected. However, the Mayor worked with Assemblyman Zebrowski to obtain funds for paving the lot and this funding is committed. 12.12.2022 To: Village Administrator Andy Stewart Nyack Village Board Re: Renovations in Memorial Park Hi, Andy. Per your request, here is the Nyack Parks Commission’s recommendations related to two specific potential projects in Memorial Park. 1. Removal of the sandbox in the children’s playground. As part of the renovation of the children’s playground, the Parks Commission has no objection to removing the sandbox, for several reasons. One is that there has long been a concern about the health and safety of sandboxes due to the potential for germs, bacteria, animal feces, insects, and other types of detritus. This is especially true of sandboxes that aren’t covered every night, and maintained on a regular basis. Both the NYC Parks Department and the Central Park Conservancy rake the sand daily for debris and change the sand at least once a year, and we don’t think the village has the capacity to do this. Also, many parents already limit their kids’ access to sandboxes for these reasons. Another consideration is more practical: Sandboxes can’t be placed on the new rubberized surfacing that will be installed, as the sand has a corrosive effect on the surface. The current playground plan calls for all the play elements for smaller kids and toddlers to be placed in one area, so it’s easier for parents with more than one child to supervise their kids. A sandbox would have to be located elsewhere, outside the toddler play area, making it more difficult for a parent with more than one small child. That said, kids do seem to enjoy the pirate ship-like structure that surrounds the sandbox. It would be great if the play area could contain some ship-like play piece after the sandbox is removed. We hope to continue this discussion during the playground workshop in January. 2. Removal of the ball field and backstop. This presents a bit more of a challenge, and the Parks Commission isn’t yet convinced that the ball field is under-utilized. While the field isn’t currently used by Little League teams for official games, all the parks commissioners say they do see it being used by parents and some coaches in a more ad hoc manner. One question we have is if the field isn’t used more because of its poor condition rather than a lack of interest/desire. We also want to note that since the hospital isn’t re-installing the MacCalman ball field that was on Midland Avenue—it will simply be a grass field— the one in Memorial Park is now the only remaining public ball field in the village. (Also note that 1,500 Nyack residents filed a petition that opposed losing the ballfield when the idea was proposed.) While we understand that the “great lawn” grant could cover turning the ball field into more grassy open space, we don’t feel that the decision should be made simply due to expediency. Once removed, the ball field will be gone, if not forever at least for a considerable amount of time. We are also not yet convinced that enough people don’t want to use the ball field, and with several new apartment buildings under construction in town there may be an increased need/desire for one. And given the amount of open space already in the park, we are not sure that replacing the ball field with another grassy area is a needed improvement. Another argument we’ve heard for removing the field is that kids often climb on the backstop, but we feel this is more an issue of parental supervision that one of inherent danger. Kids like to climb things. For these reasons, the Parks Commission believes that greater outreach to the community is warranted before removing the backstop and ball field. Other than the grant, there is no reason for the decision to be made without additional input, and a real assessment of the ball field’s actual use. Perhaps if the village improved the ball field and did a better job maintaining it, more people, or even teams, would want to use it. If not, we can revisit the issue next season with a clearer vision that removing the ball field is in the public’s best interests. Respectfully, the Nyack Parks Commission