Riverhead officials are going to issue a request for proposals for the development of an indoor sports and recreation center at the town park in Calverton.
They hope that a public-private partnership will allow the town to provide recreation opportunities to residents that would otherwise be out of reach for the cash-strapped town.
Riverhead carved 90 acres out of the former Grumman site and dedicated it as parkland. The town has developed about 60 acres with ballfields, a dog park and and parking facilities. Veterans Memorial Park opened in 2013. But the remaining 30 acres, located to the east of the park, remain undeveloped.
Private entities have approached town officials to pitch ideas for the undeveloped parkland, so town board members agreed today to draw up a request for proposals to see what kinds of plans materialize.
Since the property has been dedicated by the town as parkland, any private development there would be required to provide special benefits to Riverhead town residents, deputy town attorney Anne Marie Prudenti told the town board this morning, citing a published opinion by the Office of the State Comptroller. Those benefits could include special recreational opportunities and special resident rates, she said. The town would have to retain an ownership interest, she said, but it could enter into a long-term lease. Because it is dedicated parkland, lodging uses are off the table, Prudenti said.
Board members reacted favorably to the idea.
“A public-private partnership is potentially a way for the town to be able to offer new recreational opportunities to residents without having to spend taxpayer money to develop the site,” Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith said.
Residents have expressed interest in indoor soccer and lacrosse fields, hockey rinks and a swimming pool, officials said.
“We’re delivering something to our taxpayers” without the capital cost to taxpayers, Prudenti said. “It’s become a very popular concept for community development agencies across the U.S.,” she said.
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