Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Rec topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parks officials seek up to $75,000 from Greenburgh recreation fees for Nature Center welcome center
Summary
The Nature Center at Greenburgh requested a $75,000 release from town recreation fees to help fund a proposed $350,000 welcome center pavilion aimed at safer school‑bus loading, visitor orientation and added education space; the planning board deferred a recommendation until members can review the architect’s detailed budget.
The Greenburgh Planning Board heard a presentation on June 4 from Parks Commissioner Joe LeCasse and Alex Dunn, executive director of the Nature Center at Greenburgh, on a proposed 1,200‑square‑foot timber pavilion welcome center that the nonprofit says would improve bus loading, wayfinding and education space.
"The welcome center would ... stop traffic so the buses could stop and then the children could get off," Dunn said, describing the project's intent to make school visits safer and to provide year‑round visitor amenities. LeCasse said the Parks & Rec Advisory Board passed a resolution in March recommending use of $75,000 from the town’s recreation fee fund to support the project.
Dunn told the planning board the full project budget is $350,000, that $275,000 has been raised from donors and that the nature center would cover any costs above the requested $75,000. He said the team hopes to be in permitting soon and would share a detailed architect’s estimate by the end of the week.
Board members pressed for clarity about contingency and construction estimates, including whether the timber kit and on‑site assembly costs were fully reflected. "That estimate is coming from our architecture firm," Dunn said, adding that the kit itself was roughly $100,000 and other site work accounted for the remainder.
Planning staff explained the board’s role is advisory: the Planning Board may recommend release of recreation fees, but the Town Board makes final funding decisions. Several members said their usual practice is to recommend disbursements as "up to $75,000" to avoid obligating the town if the project comes in under budget or fundraising covers additional costs.
Rather than forwarding a recommendation at the June 4 meeting, the board agreed to wait until members receive and review the architect’s budget. Staff will circulate the documentation ahead of the June 18 meeting so the board can consider a formal recommendation then.
The applicant said permitting work will continue in parallel and that the Nature Center will return with any additional required details; no recommendation was sent to the Town Board at this meeting.
