Q and A from the MBEA Board Regarding the Manhasset Bay Park District and the Renovations Currently Under Consideration

Q. What is the Manhasset Bay Park District?

A. The Manhasset Bay Park District (referred to below as the District) is a special district organized under the auspices of the Town of North Hempstead for the purpose of establishing and maintaining the Manhasset Bay Park (also known as the Merriman Park and the Pine Street Park) for the sole benefit of the 250 homeowners whose homes lie within the District boundaries. The District residents consist of the Manhasset Bay Estates Association (MBEA) members with a Port Washington (ZIP Code 11050) mailing address, but exists an entity entirely separate from the MBEA. The District was established around 1980 to purchase the land that became the Park from the Port Washington School District. Had neighborhood efforts to establish the District, led by the MBEA, not succeeded, there would be sixteen or more houses on the site instead of a park.

The District raised the funds needed to purchase the land and establish the Park by issuing a bond. Since the Park’s inception, about $70 of the property taxes paid each year by all homeowners in the District have gone towards paying off this “purchase bond” and towards routine maintenance. This tax does NOT provide any funds for major expenditures such as the proposed renovations described below. By 2009, this bond will be paid off. The District does NOT receive funding from any other source, including the MBEA.

Executive authority over the Park rests with the Town, but the Town looks to District residents (speaking through the MBEA or directly as individuals) for guidance on all matters related to the Park.

The Park is officially a local neighborhood park to be used by District residents only, not a public park designed to accommodate visitors from outside the District. In fact, the District has the legal right to restrict access to the Park to District residents only (and tax the District residents to pay for the cost of doing so), although it has not chosen to exercise this right.

Q. Why is the Town proposing to renovate the Park in 2006?

A. The Town is proposing to renovate the Park as described below because District residents, acting both individually and through the MBEA Board, have asked the Town to. The MBEA Board, in turn, became involved in promoting the renovations at the urging of MBEA members. In meetings, surveys, and direct communications with the MBEA Board, members have spoken loudly over the past few years about the deteriorating condition of the Park, especially the playground and ball field, and the need to do something about it.

Q. What renovations are being proposed?

A. The renovations currently under consideration include:

- Complete replacement of the playground with a modern, safe, sanitary, OSHA-compliant set of playground apparatus.

- A new basketball court (the Town has judged the current court as unsafe).

- Several new benches

- New asphalt walkways with pavers for borders (this is a cost-saving downgrade from the Town’s original idea to use pavers for the walkways themselves).

- A new ball field including a new backstop.

- An irrigation system, which would give the Park summer grass conditions much closer to those of most neighborhood lawns, at a very low cost per District resident.

Q. How does the Town know that residents want these renovations?

A. At a well-attended meeting called by the Town in May 2005 to discuss the renovation proposal, District residents expressed near-universal support for most of the items in the proposal. The Town has recently asked for more input on the proposal, both via email and in person at the upcoming Town Board meeting on Jan. 24^th. The MBEA Board encourages all District residents to participate.

Q. What will the renovations cost?

A. The Town projects that the current renovations will cost about $200,000, to be obtained through a bond issue that would cost each District resident about $101 for ten years. This means that after 2009, the resulting tax would only be about $30 more than what residents are still paying towards the purchase of the Park back in 1980. The Town is open to suggestions on how to reduce this already low amount even further by modifying the renovation plan, but most of the cost will be for the items that have so far received the most support (a new playground and new ball field).

Q. Does the MBEA Board have any concerns about the renovation proposal?

A. The MBEA Board supports the proposed renovations, but has a couple of concerns, which it has already expressed to the Town, and plans to repeat at the meeting on Jan. 24^th:

- The new playground equipment should blend in well with the rest of the Park, and the residential neighborhood immediately adjacent to it. This means that brightly colored equipment should be ruled out, in favor of equipment with colors such as dark green and brown.

- The renovations have been under consideration for years now, and to our knowledge have so far garnered overwhelming support. Therefore, the renovations should begin with as little further delay as possible.

Q. How can I make my opinion count during the renovation process?

A. If you haven’t already done so, please send your comments directly to Supervisor Kaiman at KaimanJ@northhempstead.com or 516-869-7700, and to Councilman Pollack at PollackF@northhempstead.com or 516-869-7698.

Also, please send your answer to the following question to MBEA Board member Steve Darnell at sdarnell@mbayestates.org:

Are you generally in favor of the renovations proposed by the Town and listed above?

Thank you very much

- The MBEA Board