VOL Accepts Bids, Approves County Agreement on Flint Park

by Judy Silberstein

(July 26, 2007) At a quiet summer session on Monday, July 23, the Larchmont Board of Trustees voted unanimously to implement a number of major initiatives that have long been in the planning stages. Among other actions, the board accepted bids that will get renovations at Flint Park started as early as August; approved an agreement with Westchester County that will provide $2,550,000 for an artificial turf field and further improvements at Flint Park; and hired a Village Engineer to fill a long-term vacancy.

Flint Park – First Phase of Renovation to Start After Years of Planning

With little fanfare, the board approved a $1.5M bid from Vernon Hills Contracting for development of a waterside environmental area at the back of Flint Park and renovation of the adjacent grass ball fields - a project that has been under consideration for a decade. "That is a big accomplishment," noted Mayor Liz Feld.

A total of eight bids were received, with Vernon Hill considered “the lowest responsible bidder,” following scrutiny by the treasurer, board, and its park consultants. The goal is to get started in August on the environmental area and have that phase finished by September. To minimize disruption to school and community sports programs, renovation of the grass fields will be held off until after installation of the artificial turf field that is part of a separate project for the rest of the park.

The board also approved a separate $29K bid to install a new sidewalk on Locust Avenue on the block leading into the park. An additional $2K will go towards planting a grass border. That project is timed to occur in August, after camp ends and before school starts.

The $1.5M bid from Vernon Hills was in line with estimates that had evolved over the past four years based on concepts stretching back to 1997 and championed by former Mayor Ken Bialo during his administration from 2002 to 2006. Though the earliest budgets were in the $250K range, by 2003 the estimates were closer to $1M. (See: Preliminary Plans for Flint Park: More Parking, Fields & Water Access.) By 2005 the budget was approaching $1.5M for plans that had been expanded and refined by park and design consultants based on input from numerous community groups.

At the same time, the start date for the project kept being moved forward. Under Mayor Liz Feld, the plans were again revised as part of a larger project at Flint Park that included the addition of an artificial turf field.

The final plan for the back of the park calls for a much wider, longer and more elaborate waterside area than originally conceived, with the grass ball fields getting a different orientation and better drainage. A Little League field was removed from the grass area, but it will be possible to schedule some baseball on the artificial turf field, particularly in the summer. (See: Support Solidifies for Revised Flint Park Plans.)

Funding for this phase of Flint Park improvements is coming largely from grants and donations and from bonds issued in 2004. The grants include $120K in “seed money” received in 2002 from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund; $150K from the New York Department of State; and $25K from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The Village of Larchmont raised $650K through a bond sale in September 2004 for the grass ball fields. $150K was pledged by the soccer, lacrosse and baseball leagues in 2005; however, the baseball portion of that may be earmarked for improvements to the Little League fields at Lorenzen, a project that dovetails with work at Flint.

Another portion is being raised through the Flint Park Conservancy.

“We're thrilled that the project is going forward,” commented Conservancy President Catherine Kortlandt by email. “The nature area will be a great place to walk and educational for our kids.  Field drainage problems have plagued the park for years and will finally be addressed. The conservancy had already pledged $50,000 and hopes to contribute substantially more,” she added.

Board Approves IMA With Westchester Paving Way for $2.55M Legacy Grant

And then there is the rest of Flint Park, where improvements, including the new artificial turf field, are likely to cost an additional $3.5M. At least $1M has been pledged by Fields for Kids, a community group that is conducting its own private fundraising.

However, the largest share of the funds will come from a $2.55M grant from the Westchester County Legacy program, the exact terms of which have been under negotiation for months. (See: Residents Weigh In on Adding "Legacy" Field at Flint Park.) On Monday night, the board accepted an intermunicipal agreement with the county, contingent on lawyers ironing out a few minor details, that finalizes those terms. "It's not the last step," explained Trustee Anne McAndrews after the meeting, "but we're getting pretty close."

“I’m very pleased,” said Blythe Hamer, from Fields for Kids, who was reached after the meeting. “We’ve all been thinking this would happen and have been hoping it would happen but are very pleased to hear a formal agreement has been approved by the board.”

As expected, the board is agreeing to take over from the county ownership and responsibility for maintaining the 1.14 mile of Palmer Avenue that runs through Larchmont Village. Larchmont has also agreed to "pursue the development and implementation" of 35 units of "work force housing" by December 31, 2012. The board has discretion in determining the residents of these units, but they must be affordable for a tenant whose income does not exceed 80% of the county median.

Mayor Feld said she and Trustee Marlene Kolbert have long advocated for developing affordable housing in Larchmont. Perhaps to allay whatever fears may attach to the term "affordable housing," the mayor invited Town of Mamaroneck Supervisor Valerie O'Keeffe to the microphone to describe the July 17 celebration of a major milestone reached by the Hommocks Park Apartments, the Town's 53-unit workforce housing project built in 1992. (See: Hommocks Park Housing Now Making $40K Payments.) After years of meeting all of its financial obligations, including repayment of bond financing and building a reserve for maintenance, the apartments were now able to make a $40K payment in lieu of taxes.

How likely is Larchmont to reach the 35-unit goal by 2012? The county agreement allows extensions and provides credit for "tangible efforts," such as units under development.

However, since Westchester County first developed affordable housing goals for each municipality in 1991, Larchmont Village has not made any progress towards its assigned goal of adding 35 units by 2000. Since then, the new target was increased to 105 units by 2015. Lack of buildable space is a major constraint, noted the mayor, but all possibilities are on the table, including rehabilitating older buildings and encouraging development over parking areas near the train station.

What is definitely not under consideration by the Village Board, stated Mayor Feld, is any part of the Esposito Builders' two-building complex proposed for a lot behind Palmer Avenue. That proposal, which currently includes 5 affordable units, is making its way through the Planning and Zoning Boards, but the mayor stressed that the Village Board plays no part in approving or disapproving the application.

Board Hires A Village Engineer

Effective July 23, Larchmont has a new Village engineer, Laurence Murphy, whose resume includes many years in water management with United Water of New Rochelle, the Water Department in Norwalk, Connecticut and the Westchester Joint Water Works in Mamaroneck. He also has experience in design, planning and construction of municipal buildings and facility upgrades.

Water issues will be a major aspect of the job, which comes with a starting annual salary of $115K. Larchmont contemplates a number of major water-related projects that require engineering oversight. For starters, these include: replacement of a deteriorating water main at the Chatsworth Avenue Bridge; controlling floods along Pine Brook Drive and elsewhere and eliminating "dry-weather flow" ice patches. He will also be called upon to help with many upcoming infrastructure projects, such as the many projects at Flint Park and streetscape renovations in the Palmer Avenue business district.

Larchmont Village has been without a resident engineer since 2004, and whether to find a replacement or rely solely on consulting engineers was among the questions debated during the contentious 2005 Larchmont Village elections. (See: The Mayor Debate.) The winners in that election, Liz Feld, Marlene Kolbert and Jim Millstein, strongly favored an in-house engineer, but the spot remained vacant until now.

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