Questions Park Cost

I read with interest the article in your paper of Dec. 18 dealing with a bond referendum being advocated by Mayor Koblenz, who has expressed his desire to build a park on the premises to be vacated by the National Guard.

The mayor's ambitious plans call for a swimming pool, tennis courts, baseball field, soccer field, basketball court, a playground, a recreation hall, as well as a nature walk.

The article states that the cost of just removing the asbestos would be approximately $1 million, but no mention is made of the approximate cost for the purchase of the property nor the cost of construction of the facilities or the interest that would have to be paid on the bond issue, or the annual cost for insurance, lifeguards, supervisory personnel, maintenance, groundskeepers, utility bills, etc.

It would appear that we are dealing with a very substantial expenditure that would have to be paid for by the village residents.

One must wonder why we need these facilities when the Roslyn schools, and/or the town or county have existing facilities that could be utilized by our residents.

Before we do anything with respect to these very ambitious plans, the residents of the village should know how much the cost will be before money is spent needlessly on this project. I believe a survey should be undertaken to determine how many residents would really use these facilities and, if so, how often.

Irwin Durben