Troy parks committee recommends emergency purchase of 0.675-acre parcel adjacent to Herlinger Park

The Parks and Recreation Committee of the City of Troy recommended that city council authorize the director of public service and safety to purchase a 0.675-acre parcel of abandoned railroad property from Pensco Trust Company for $205,000 and to execute related documents, with committee members requesting that council consider the purchase as emergency legislation.

The purchase is intended to allow the city to combine the parcel with Herlinger Park and enlarge the park footprint to accommodate amenities that city staff and council have discussed, including a playground replacement (previously funded with ARPA dollars), a resurfaced basketball court, additional parking, perimeter fencing near the shelter, curbing and sidewalks to improve accessibility, and the possibility of a permanent restroom. Staff said the property was appraised at $205,000, the owner has verbally accepted the offer contingent on council approval, and the current tenant is expected to vacate around midyear; the building on the parcel would be demolished after acquisition.

City staff told the committee they will solicit engineering and design services to craft a master plan for the larger park footprint. Staff said engineers will evaluate how the parcel could be used — for example, to site a small practice baseball or softball field, or instead to expand parking — and to study how nearby street alignments (including a discussion about vacating or reconfiguring Crawford Street and widening Herlinger Way) would interact with the park redesign.

Staff also identified an adjacent strip of abandoned canal land owned by the state that staff believe could be transferred to the city, which would increase the area available for park improvements. The city has not yet received a formal recommendation from the Park Board; staff said they will discuss the acquisition with the Park Board the following day.

Committee discussion focused on design and site constraints, timing and tenant vacancy, and whether fencing would be required along the railroad right-of-way. Staff referred to a similar situation at Archer Park and said the engineering design would take the proximity to the railroad into account. The committee agreed to move the recommendation forward to council and to request emergency consideration so the city can close and record the property promptly and include the parcel in upcoming design work.

Next steps are council consideration of the acquisition ordinance and the engineering procurement; staff said design would return to the committee and board for further review and formal recommendations.