Sunday, August 24, 2008

More Nonsense in New Hartford . .

You can never be too rich or too thin in New Hartford . . . or, apparently, have enough parks. . . at least according to some people.

Not even three months after reading of a proposed a baseball field and recreation park in New York Mills, the usual suspects now propose another park, this one near Chapman Road.
School teams and town baseball and soccer leagues have created a demand for more fields, outgoing school district Superintendent Daniel Gilligan said. . . .

“It’s all about one thing: It’s about funding more playing-field space for kids,” he said.
Bull-tickey!

Here are some facts about the New Hartford School District that Mr. Gilligan overlooks:
1990 Oneida County Census information for New Hartford makes clear that the decline has been going on for years, reporting the then-population of persons ages 5-19 at 4203 (2759 for ages 5-14, and 1444 for ages 15-19).

Taking on the burden of more public infrastructure, such as this proposed park, should be the last thing thought of in a region of declining population.

If there is truly more "demand" for playing fields in spite of the Town's long term decline in young people, then either the fields are mismanaged, the kids are being overindulged, or the "demand" comes from elsewhere. (Dogs perhaps?)

Think about all the people who directly or indirectly will make money off this deal, or will otherwise benefit, and you will figure out where the "demand" is coming from.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Supt. Gilligan appears to be adding more under utilized areas within the New Hartford School District.

Is this the same that is happening at the Myles Elementary School, Clinton Road, New Hartford? Supt. Gilligan was quoted, "Myles Elementary School is only 44% utilized."

Is this how we manage our School District. So, I guess the same must hold true for what Supt. Gilligan and Earle Reed want for more under utilized recreational areas.

swimmy said...

The irony is that at Perry, there are at least 3 soccer fields, one with football field lines for modified football games. Then there is the elementary jungle gyms. They only use the bottom field for varsity soccer games and ignore the other two. Why?

Anonymous said...

Soo.... where are they getting all this money to build all these things?

Anonymous said...

And don't forget all the trees they'll cut and sell. They did it in Whitestown.

Greens and Beans said...

This seems to give a new twist on the popular buzz phrase of “government doing more with less.” This area is in fact spending and collecting more tax dollars from less population. This will continue until we decide to put a stop to their endless tax and spend standpoint.

Anonymous said...

I found it rather amusing when learning that the Real Estate Broker, Dominic Pavies was "giving-up (?)" his commission of $5,000?

I was always told that commercial properties and the related commission was 10%? So, 10% of $250,000 equals $25,000 or is it the typical Utica O.D. fuzzy math?

Incidentally, there is a rumor going around town that Donna Donovan and Earle Reed are related?

If there is any truth to this, it is no wonder that New Hartford "crime" and the town's shenanigans go unreported.

Anonymous said...

The land-locked parcel in question has a slope so steep that it's virtually undevelopable. To develop it into fields would be prohibitively expensive.

What a great favor the property owner and agent are doing for the Town. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

If anthing, the town is " over parked" now. Many existing park and athletic facilities are underutilized. Your demographics point out why. it would be the height of fiscal irresponsibilty to spend tax dollars on increasing an already overbuilt inventory