Syosset Central School District seeks voter OK to acquire Stilwell fields and fund $10.5 million upgrades

Unidentified Speaker, identified in the transcript as the meeting—reator and presenter, told residents the district is proposing to acquire 35 acres of cleared fields at Stilwell in a plan the district says would expand athletic fields, offer environmental-education opportunities and create community amenities such as a one-mile perimeter walking path and an outdoor performance lawn.

The presenter said Nassau County would convey the 35-acre field portion to the district while leaving the roughly 270-acre wooded preserve in county ownership. The county, he said, would also convey $3,000,000 that had been earmarked for improvements. The district—xpects two private developer pledges of $1,000,000 each (named in the meeting as Sagamore and an 80 Jericho Turnpike development) and plans to borrow the remaining funds, producing an estimated construction cost of about $10.5 million with a contingency shown in the project materials.

Officials described the primary upgrades as multiple synthetic-turf fields, regrading of uneven grass fields to improve drainage and safety, new LED stadium lighting sited to reduce neighborhood light scatter, a…