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ROTTERDAM
Land sale clears hurdle
Army engineers OK property for new ball fields
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

  [b]Land Schenectady County wants to purchase and turn over to the Rotterdam Little League has passed muster with the Army Corps of Engineers, which was checking for wetlands, county officials said.
   “We’re delivering a buildable site to the Little League,” said Ray Gillen, county commissioner for economic development and planning.
   The county was awaiting a report from the corps before purchasing the land for playing fields.
   The corps began its investigation Tuesday. Gillen said the preliminary report shows enough land is available for four playing fields plus other improvements.
   The county Legislature last November authorized $260,000 for the purchase of 8.9 acres off Guilderland Avenue near West Ghents Road for fields, with the goal of having them ready for the 2008 season.
   The county had hoped to work out a lease agreement with the Little League by December. League President Robert Caprara said the delay means the league may not have enough time to prepare new fields for the start of the 2008 season.
   “Even if we were to start construction now, we would have a tough time being prepared for next year,” he said.
   The county tried to get the review of the property months ago, but the corps declined, saying it required spring conditions to determine wetlands, said Gillen.
   The league needs at least three new fields because it will lose access Oct. 31 to its Princetown Road fields on the site of the former Rotterdam Republican Club. The site contains half of the league’s available playing fields.
   Timothy Larned, a local developer, purchased the property for $582,000 about five years ago. He had hoped Wal-Mart would build there, but opposition by residents helped derail the plan.
   The league also wants to site a 150-spot parking lot and other facilities, such as locker rooms, restrooms and snack bars, on the 8.9 acres off Guilderland Avenue. The organization also wants to install lighting, which would allow night games for the first time.
   Caprara said improvements would cost approximately $1 million. The organization would pay for them through fundraising, private sources and government grants, he said.

This must be in response to the new sex offender law.....this would cover a large 'rural' area for protection.....

No kidding.  Never thought of it that way.  Now, no sex offendors can move into Masullo Swamps Estates.  Must want to move them towards better properties.

What a fast study that was....hhhhmmmm.....where is the hamberg street study??....where is the action.....see ya at the park with my hot dog stand on wheels and in my clown suit....

Don't hold your breath waiting for results from the town board, they're great at creating studies and very very very slow at delivering results.

With the new Little League park so close to  Guilderland, then won't these sex offenders be able to live in Guilderland right near the park? How would anyone know if a sex offender is visiting the Little League park? There would be no way to know I don't think. Or even any park.

Good points, Tony.  Guess we're going to have to go to Guilderland's meetings and/or Albany county's meetings to get them to impose the same law.  There should be more of an area for them to live there, but who knows?  Then what, we push all the offendors out to the country?

Like I said before....tattoo their "number" on their forearm....oh, wait....let's use the tattoos for those who are "legal"......You dont get to "join the club" unless you have a tattoo with the right number/letter.......no food, shelter, clothing.....but,,,,, who gets to decide who gets a tattoo and who is without (I'll be PC here), error.....the minority report??

So now we have parks....who gets to use them and how do we know who is using them or watching them???
FEAR IS SO DAMN IRRATIONAL....

faith has a goal.....

PROMOTING FEAR! Ain't that great for politics? Did ya ever notice that the kids that get abducted live in nice little rural towns. You never hear about an inner city kid getting abducted. Now that is either because 1.the kids are just too street smart. or 2.Nobody wants to go there! I guess know matter what the answer, there appears that there is something to be learned from the inner cities, huh? And they don't have parks to worry about!

I wonder who's name will grace the signage????

Okay...so here we are at the New Little League park thread.  To be continued here..................

Quoted from Shadow

I think the town can use the money to put a park in anywhere they want to. I didn't see any restrictions that it had to be built near the development.

I think we are confusing parks here. The little league park land was purchased by the county legislatures (at an inflated price) without the knowlege of the Rotterdam town board. Well the republicans anyways. That is the park over by the Guilderland town line. It is for the little league.

There is talk about constructing a new 'big' park which last we read in the paper, it may be proposed on the west side more into the junction area. Now this park is a town plan. This is not for the little league.

The county took it upon itself, AGAIN, to inflict it's decisions on the town without consulting the town with the matter of the little league.

In theory and on paper, it sounds wonderful doesn't it? Wow, the county legislatures thought of the little league and purchased them some land so they can continue with their sport. But in reality, it was clearly just a political ploy by the dems on the county legislature. Ya know, our representative.

They are doing the same thing with the sex offender law.

These people have got to be voted out and stopped!!

The money I'm talking about is money that was given to the town to build a park by the developers of the Helderberg Meadows project in order to get the project approved. Yes the land that the county bought for the little league is near the railroad bridge on Guilderland Ave and there has been nothing done in that area at all. The town still has money that was appropriated to build a park where the nature trail/swamp is near Rotterdam Square Mall too that hasn't been used yet as well. There's all kinds of money available to built parks but not a dime for sewers or infrastructure.

Quoted from Shadow

The money I'm talking about is money that was given to the town to build a park by the developers of the Helderberg Meadows project in order to get the project approved. Yes the land that the county bought for the little league is near the railroad bridge on Guilderland Ave and there has been nothing done in that area at all. The town still has money that was appropriated to build a park where the nature trail/swamp is near Rotterdam Square Mall too that hasn't been used yet as well. There's all kinds of money available to built parks but not a dime for sewers or infrastructure.

Everyone has to hurry and get a plate with name on it, on a park bench.....

I believe that the land for the little league is now bought and paid for (by the county) and the rest is up to the organization itself. They will need to raise the money either by fund drives or private donations from businesses/resident. I don't know if the town will contribute or even if it should. Ya know what I say, 'since the county 'threw the land at us...then let them continue to build on it'!

That whole little league thing was about one of worst cases of politiking that I've seeen in a while!