Wilton gets creative to fund projects
"We’re going to start very small on this," town Recreation Director Steve Porto said. "Hopefully by the end of the year we’ll have a good handle on where we’re going. It’s not going to be an easy project."
The Town Board has already endorsed the concept. The next step is finding people willing to serve on a task force that would eventually produce a nonprofit board of trustees. The town Recreation Commission is expected to discuss this at its next meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 12, at Gavin Park offices).
Gavin Park, with 58 acres, has grown by leaps and bounds in the past decade and the town has invested at least $1 million there for various facilities. In these financially challenging times, however, it’s becoming more difficult to keep making such expenditures.
A nonprofit fund-raising group offers an alternative by allowing business and individuals to make donations that can be claimed as tax write-offs. The town itself, as a government entity, is prohibited from accepting such gifts.
"It’s an opportunity for the community to take real ownership of the park," Councilman Charles Gerber said.
The Town Board, which discussed the proposal on Thursday, is expected to pay for legal work and filings needed to create the nonprofit group.
Other towns have already taken such steps. The group "Friends of Schuyler Park" was created to raise money for the new town recreation park on Route 29 serving Northumberland and Saratoga. That group has raised more than $250,000.
"I think it’s a great idea," Northumberland Councilman Dan Gale said. "It allows people who support recreation to donate as they want to."
Gavin Park currently has two gymnasiums, 12 multi-use athletic fields, six baseball/softball diamonds with a new tee-ball field slated to open this spring. There’s also a playground, meeting room space, tennis and basketball courts.
Possible future additions include a full-size baseball "stadium" field, one or two lighted diamonds, a concession stand, gymnasium bleachers and outdoor volleyball courts.
The park hosts numerous major events as an under-12 Cal Ripken state baseball tournament and a U.S. Youth Presidents Cup Tournament featuring more than 120 soccer teams from Maine to Virginia. These and other events generate significant revenue for town coffers. Income rose from $227,000 in 2005 to $339,000 last year and the first quarter of 2010 has already seen a 6 percent increase over the same period in 2009.
However, state law prohibits towns from dedicating such money for park capital improvements, Supervisor Art Johnson said.
Gavin Park also has numerous programs from youth summer recreation to Junior NBA, and Porto envisions even more offerings such as lacrosse, flag football, a "Newcomers Dance" for new town residents, a pre-school half-day summer camp, a storytime craft program and a community first-aid/CPR training day.
Johnson said a nonprofit fundraising entity would help the town achieve its recreational goals.
"Today, public-private partnerships are a good thing and a way to get things done," he said.
Gavin Park Events 2010
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