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Councilman Bill Johnson made the original motion to have the study done. The motion was supported by Supervisor Ed Hauser as well as Councilmen Dick Hunt and Jim Benson.
Councilwoman Beth Coursen has asked that the promised Parkland and Facilities Master Plan be drafted before any major decisions are made. The rest of the board has preferred to move the town hall to Lathrop as a first step, prior to any master plan.
At the September meeting of the board, Coursen made a motion to move the recreation department offices to Lathrop Center. The board approved the motion, but Johnson said it should be considered temporary, saying he favors Lathrop as the eventual site of the town hall.
After the town board purchased Lakeside Park in March of 2003, all administration of Lakeside Park from recreation programs to maintenance was assigned to the recreation department.
Knowing that her offices had to be at Lakeside Park in order for her to fulfill those expansive responsibilities, Recreation Director Melissa Smith requested permission to move her offices to Lathrop Center. When the town board would not allow Smith and her staff to work in Lathrop, Smith accepted Cottage F as a second option. Lathrop has remained vacant of town offices for the two and a half years of town ownership, with the town board granting permission for specific individual events to be staged in the building.
The recreation department staff spent last winter in the damp cabin, with temperatures often hovering around 50 degrees for a significant time while the town attempted to activate the antiquated heating system, and finally installed a wall unit.
The recreation department offices are now in the front rooms of Lathrop Center.
In the PAC Final Report, the question of Lathrop is deferred to the town board by the following wording: "the attached draft includes all of the recommendations found in our final approved committee reports rearranged so similar subjects appear together and eliminating redundancies. The issue of Lathrop vis-a -vis town offices or recreation could not be resolved and has been left for the town board. Discussed: the town offices, recreation and finance committees each had lengthy discussion about the best use of Lathrop-as town hall or as a multi-use building for recreation. It is concluded that the town board should decide."
The Town Offices Subcommittee concluded that Lathrop should be converted to the new town hall. Supervisor Ed Hauser asked Zarecki & Associates to draw up a possible layout of the town hall in the building and a drawing was shown to the PAC. In that presentation, the current auditorium was eliminated, with the Town Justice Court to occupy that space.
At the board workshop meeting on Oct. 6, resident Linda Puiatti addressed the board in connection with the Zarecki report on moving the town hall to Lathrop Center. She asked them to consider expanding the current town hall by using the space available in the former recreation hall that sits on the same property on Charles Colman Blvd. That would leave Lathrop and Lakeside for public recreation.
Puiatti could be a factor in the future of Lathrop and Lakeside Park, as she is the Democratic Party candidate for a position on the town board in the Nov. 8 election.
Master Plan
The development of the Parkland and Facilities Master Plan became the official policy of the town board on June 4, 2003. The board issued the RFP (Request For Proposal) on that date, officially beginning the process of developing the master plan for the parklands, and seeking a Parkland Planner to drive the process: "Request for Proposals: Parkland and Facilities Master Plan. The Town of Pawling proposes to develop a master plan for the combined Lakeside Park and Murrow Park, the present town-owned buildings in the Village of Pawling and town-owned facilities in Holmes. The town has elected to engage a professional consultant to evaluate the facilities currently owned by the town; to solicit public input as to programs that should be offered and how facilities should be used; to determine the administrative office needs of the Town of Pawling and how to meet those needs; to determine the most efficient and effective uses for the town's facilities; and to create a Master Plan that will guide the town in meeting those goals."
In a letter dated Sept. 13, 2003, Supervisor Hauser informed Zarecki & Associates that the board had voted to appoint the firm to the position of Parkland Planner.
The Professional Services Agreement signed by Supervisor Hauser and Joseph Zarecki specified the master plan as the focus of the relationship and assigned the fee arrangement:
"Project: Prepare a Parkland and Facilities Master Plan concerning Lakeside Park in the Town of Pawling, New York.
"Fee: Scope of work will be authorized by the town board and total billing will not exceed $90,000 without prior approval of the town board."
The Zarecki firm operates under the instructions from the town board, and at this time, the board has asked them to do the study of the use of Lathrop as the town hall.
Art Center at Lakeside
As members of the PAC Recreation Subcommittee, residents and fine artists Mary Souter and Amy Farrell recommended that the barn complex at Lakeside would be an ideal site for a public art center.
Vanessa Muro and Ellen Annunziata, Pawling residents and owners of Pique Assiette Mosaics, Inc., have developed a formal "proposal to open an artisan's community at the Old Red Barn complex off Dodge Road."
Calling the center "Creative Expressions: The Art of Pawling", Muro made a very thorough presentation of the proposal to the board at the Oct. 11 meeting.
The write-up by Muro and Annunziata includes floor plans, programs and expectations of a tourist attraction. They claim that there will be little cost for renovation required in these structures that they view as very interesting and attractive inside and out.
Looking ahead to an art center that would provide a critical service to the community, Muro and Annunziata wrote of the ambitious opportunities in this proposal:
"Community Benefits: The ways Creative Expressions will influence the community, especially the children of Pawling, are also numerous: exposure to such an inspirational environment has an amazing effect on children and teens in that it can greatly enhance their self-esteem and develop or bring out latent talents they otherwise would not have the opportunity to exercise; it could provide alternative after-school activities that could be shared with or without a parent; workshops with the day camp, Jeannine Bellucci's after-school program, the Teen Center, the art club, Brownies and Girl Scouts could be coordinated to cover a variety of areas such as photography, painting, pottery, jewelry making, quilting. Basically, Creative Expressions would attract new and vital businesses to our town while helping us define ourselves as a community-oriented, 'artistic' center in Dutchess County."
Supervisor Hauser appointed a committee to study the proposal, including Smith, Councilman Johnson (board liaison to the Rec. Dept.), and Town Attorney Terry Stewart.
