Construction on new senior center
slated to commence soon
The final plans for the village’s ongoing senior community center project on Golf Club Lane appear to have been finalized, with work planned to commence soon, as revealed at the Garden City Board of Trustees July 23 meeting.
The proposed Senior Community Center will utilize the current Senior Center located at 6 Golf Club Lane, which is to be expanded upon with a section located on a neighboring piece of property.
“We’re hoping that we will finally be putting shovels in the ground,” said Garden City Mayor Nicholas P. Episcopia.
Ray Calamari, senior architect at de Bruin Engineering, the firm handling the project since September 2014, gave an update on what appears to be the finalized senior center plans.
“It’s looking good…we had a meeting and picked off things that we felt were not necessary to bring down the budget of the construction, and we were successful…our bid for the newly-priced items was about $1.228 million, so we’re under our engineer’s estimate,” he said. “Plus, we broke the contracts in two, the roadwork and the renovations to the home. I checked with both contractors to make sure they didn’t forget anything, and they’re both confident that they can do the work within the budgets that they’ve given us.”
Both contractors have expressed enthusiasm for starting construction as soon as the contracts for the jobs are executed; Calamari noted that work could commence as soon as August.
“We’ve given them 120 days to complete the work,” he said. “So, hopefully early next year, in the springtime, we’ll be having a nice ribbon-cutting ceremony.”
Trustee John A. DeMaro gave an update on the concerns he said the department of recreation and parks had been receiving by residents in regard to the Garden City pool, located on Cherry Valley Avenue.
“This board has attempted to bring discipline and rigor to the management of the pool,” he said. “While many residents enjoy the pool, overall membership has been declining, and some of the explanations offered as to why include a shift in demographics, competition from other facilities, changing recreation patterns, and general customer dissatisfaction with the experience.”
DeMaro noted to the board of trustees that, if the trend of decreased membership at the pool continues, fees to join may have to be raised or services offered on-site cut. Currently, the pool funds its operation independently though revenues acquired by memberships, and DeMaro said that it would be a good idea for this business model to continue; however, he also said that the village should nonetheless offer some additional financial assistance as well.
“The bathroom facilities are in need of significant renovation…the last renovation was done many years ago,” he said. “We should opt to do it in one fell swoop, so there will be a full renovation after the current season ends. The pool should continue to cover its own costs, but we believe this is the best way to help the pool continue to be sustainable and improve the experience for members.”
Episcopia supported this course of action, saying that, “People who go there enjoy it. It’s an attractive facility not only for the people who use it, but also as a sales tool for marketing our village, and that’s important.”
In other news from the meeting, Episcopia welcomed three bright, young additions to the Garden City Volunteer Fire Department—Jack Joseph, Kyle Marshall, and Stephen G. Rudolph, Jr., all who whom have completed their training and are ready to serve their community.
“We all think you made a great decision,” he said. “This is a wonderful volunteer fire department with great chiefs, great officers and tremendous morale. We think you made a very smart choice to join the Garden City Volunteer Fire Department. Thank you.”
And lastly, long-time Village Auditor James E. Olivo announced that he would be retiring, declaring that the July 23 board of trustees meeting would be his last.
