The East Norwich Civic Association has been considering the proposed Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Museum that Theodore Roosevelt Association President Jim Bruns hopes to build in Firemen's Field. The TRA proposes a 70,000 - square foot museum and a parking garage for 234 cars. The civic association, which includes people who live in the hamlet of Oyster Bay, discussed the new Steering Committee being formed that was suggested by Dan Burden of Walkable Communities to decide what happens next to the museum proposal. They have been waiting for an announcement of who is on the committee and what their mission statement is.

At its April meeting, East Norwich Civic Association Vice President Sean Rainey said of the steering committee, "It is to address all the issues, good, bad or otherwise, by the three stakeholders, The Oyster Bay Main Street Association, the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce and the Oyster Bay Civic Association [each of whom contributed funds to bring Dan Burden of Walkable Communities to come back to Oyster Bay for the third time]."

Isaac Kremer, Main Street Association executive director, attended the meeting and said they were in the final phase of forming the steering committee and said he expected it to be representative.

Rob Brusca, an Oyster Bay Civic Association board member and an active member of the East Norwich Civic Association added, "Everything should be put on the table, according to Dan Burden." He added, "The civics support the concept for a museum somewhere but the proposed location is problematic, especially the size." The two civic associations are trying to clarify the issues with due diligence, he said.

Caroline DuBois said, "That is the problem. The idea is good but not the location."

Mr. Brusca said, "It's a Catch 22, from the start, the civics have been characterized as being against the proposal but are trying to be measured and fair to get details to the community to clarify the project. They are not completely against everything."

Rosemary Colvin said, "About the steering committee, I object to one organization deciding who's going on the steering committee simply because they paid the money to bring Dan Burden here. It [the Main Street Association] is the one organization that is totally committed to the museum at that location and they are going to choose the committee to decide the location and size of the museum. I think that's terrible."

Mr. Brusca said, "Dan Burden's coming was supposed to lower the temperature of the discussion. We hope they will reach out to other community groups. It is too heavily committed to Firemen's Field with two out of three on the committee in favor of it."

"Someone from the East Norwich Civic Association should be on it," said Ms. Colvin. "I think it should be a representative group. I hope they will ask my opinion."

Caroline DuBois said Firemen's Field actually was a gift to the town for a parking field given by the War Memorial Committee in 1945 along with a letter of intent saying that the area should be used for parking for the new athletic field as well as for the railroad and for general parking. "It was understood that they needed parking for the sports field's use." Ms. DuBois added she now has figures on the permit parking that utilizes Firemen's Field/War Memorial Field which includes parking for guests using the picnic facilities in TR Park, which can run from 100 to 200 people." Ms. Colvin added, "Firemen's Field is used by the school athletic teams. I had to find a parking space and walk six blocks back to the Memorial Field on Homecoming Day this fall. It's used every Saturday and not only in the summer."

Charles Doering suggested that the civic groups vote on whether they want the museum at Firemen's Field or not. Mr. Brusca said, "It was a fair question but that it might be something way down the line because about eight months into the process and there is still no information from the TRA. They are supposed to present the town with a proposal including traffic, visitation, environmental and engineering studies. The town has received nothing from them as yet."

As proposed, "It's bigger than the White House in Washington, D.C. and that is on 18 acres," said Rosemary Colvin. "Maybe a good thing to say is that we are against that project of that size on that location."

Charles Doering said there is a piece of land opposite Planting Fields, the St. Francis monastery that is available for $20 million. "It is ready to go and has outbuildings and is in the style of Theodore Roosevelt."

Mr. Brusca added, "The house is built too solidly to knock down." Later he said, "Matthew Meng and Bill Von Novak have offered sites to the TRA - great sites."

Eileen Aliani suggested fencing in an area of Firemen's Field showing the square footage needed for the proposed museum as a visual demonstration of its size, as suggested by Matthew Meng, to let people see how large it would be in relation to the rest of the buildings in town.

The museum was again on the agenda of the East Norwich Civic Association for the May 22 meeting. Isaac Kremer, Main Street Association executive director, was at the meeting, and although he said he hadn't expected to speak on anything, he attempted to answer the questions of the group about the steering committee's formation. The civic association wanted an explanation of what the committee's focus would be.

Mr. Kremer said there will be about 14 people on the committee. He said Dan Burden's report back to the community about the town meeting held March 15 at the Canavan Center said something needs to be done with Firemen's Field. He said, "There are a number of issues with the site of Firemen's Field. The consensus that came out is that something needs to be done with the site." Mr. Kremer asked if others had read the report but several people said they hadn't seen it. They asked if saying the field has to be fixed meant the museum should be put there.

Someone asked who the members of the steering committee are and if they all are in favor of putting the TR Museum in Firemen's Field, and what the criteria was for members of the Steering Committee.

Mr. Kremer said not all the members of the committee have been chosen; the mission statement has not been written; and that the committee will have a cross-section of the population.

He added, there will be an Advisory Committee for the public to report to the Steering Committee.

Someone asked if the committee would be looking at alternate sites for the museum but Mr. Kremer said the report said that considering alternate sites would be counter-productive and that the report said Firemen's Field is not an important site, that it is just a patch of asphalt.

In the report, Mr. Burden describes the Steering Committee: (on Page 7), "A Steering Committee is being chosen from the many who signed up and have a willingness to be considered for the position. Everyone chosen for the steering committee agrees to serve by seeking a community focused long-term solution to meet this once a century opportunity. The goal is written on page one of the document, labeled "sustainable museum." Those wishing to represent more singular, but important, issues will have their voices heard, but they will not be chosen to serve on the committee. All organizations and movements will be represented."

Page one of the documents states: "A term is coined to describe a successful outcome of the museum placement ... "Sustainable Museum".

"A sustainable museum is one meeting or helping meet the needs of present residents, visitors and those wishing to honor Theodore Roosevelt without compromising the ability of present and future generations of village, hamlet and town residents to meet their quality of life needs. This definition incorporates environmental, maritime, festival, retail, placemaking and other concerns - none of which would be sacrificed in a positive, well thought through outcome," the report states.

Throughout his report Mr. Burden stresses people should work together to make the museum happen. He concluded the report saying, "As good, compact urban space is created more attention to detail is needed. A former 'technical brush-off' in this case is addressed with more holistic and sensitive design. Finally, a number of myths, half-truths and outright misrepresentations of reality have attached themselves to this project.

"It is up to all citizens and organizations to ask open and fair questions, to not be put down by someone who has not studied or is too quick to judge a project on its merits... or simply because it represents change. A good project emerges under scrutiny, meeting its challenges and challengers head on and fully.

"A time for decision making has been reached, and a small working group is to be assembled to work out remaining issues and to give this great idea a chance to breathe," Mr. Burden concludes.

At the meeting, Charlie Doering said he hadn't seen the report but said, "people at this meeting want other areas to be considered for the museum, put that in your report. Zeroing in on Firemen's Field for the museum is not making the community happy. Cleaning up Route 106 is a priority and the town should take care of that. There is no need for the Steering Committee to make those improvements."

He added, "Firemen's Field is a functional part of the community. The town has to get involved in improving it with more lighting, benches, etc. Fix it so the people who work in town government can park there." He added, "Are you looking at alternate sites for the museum?"

Mr. Kremer said, "Considering alternate sites is counter-productive."

That kicked off a string of questions on what the report said about considering alternate sites from residents saying they had not read the report, and Mr. Kremer said, "Well, I have not read the report... I am not prepared to tell you what the report says."

Other questions were asked including if a person represented themselves or the group they were affiliated with.

Rob Brusca said, "I am on the Steering Committee and I don't know the answers to these questions, and I am starting to feel uncomfortable. Nothing has been clearly laid out."

Mr. Kremer said, "We need to find a community focus, long-term solution for the Firemen's Field site for the Steering Committee to function."

In a telephone interview on June 2, Mr. Kremer answered some of the questions brought up at the East Norwich Civic Association meeting on May 22. Mr. Kremer said, "There are three guidelines to the organization of the steering committee. They are Confidentiality, Consensus and Clarity. He clarified them saying: "Confidentiality, because sensitive materials will be shared in confidence and is expected to be confidential until the time the details are made public.

"Consensus because members will support the decision that is made even if individual opinions differ. There will be no 'minority report.' The group is working toward a consensus decision that everyone supports. The percentage of members needed to pass a resolution will be decided by the committee itself. They will first meet during the week of June 15. We have chosen everyone but won't have the final determination until the June 15 meeting. They have to decide whether they are able to participate in the process. Clarity is the third need. The Dan Burden report is to be used as a guide for our deliberations because most if not all of the community concerns are expressed there."

When asked if parking would be the first issue to address, Mr. Kremer said, "That decision will be made by the committee. They have to come up with something the community members can support."

As to the focus of the committee, he said, "I think the primary objective is to make sure a museum meets the concerns expressed in the Burden report. Another result is to find a way to improve Firemen's Field."

Mr. Kremer said, "The important thing is we are at the very beginning of a process that will take time. If we do this correctly, there will be an opportunity for everyone's concerns to be considered and addressed."