Village Board Refines Flint Park
Plans & Considers How To Pay the Bills
by Judy Silberstein
(August 6, 2003) Flint Park is relatively quiet at the moment
- camp’s over and school sports haven’t started
- but Larchmont’s Village Board is taking the summer
to continue refining prospective plans for the back portion
of the park. Earlier, board members met with their consultant
Monroe Eberlin to dig into the details, and on Tuesday, August
4, they convened by themselves for an in-depth review of the
latest drawings. Next, they will be sharing the plans one
more time with their task force of representatives from athletic
and parks groups, before seeking comments from additional
committees and the general public.
They also need to tackle the question of paying for the
improvements. A price tag has not yet been applied to the
plans – that comes next.
Revised
version of proposed plans for Flint Park as of August
2003
Detail from drawings by Eberlin & Eberlin with
color added by Larchmont Gazette
“Overall, this is like a 7," commented Mayor
Ken Bialo rating the plan on a scale from 1 to 10. “The
first plan was like a 4.”
The Board had asked Eberlin for a number of changes
to the original plan, including: flattening the berm separating
fields and waterfront; reconfiguring
the Department of Public Works away from the waterfront;
reconfiguring the fields more efficiently; eliminating
parking from one side of the street for increased safety;
and expanding
the environmental area and connecting it to a similar trail
behind the Hommocks. (See: draft
of a preliminary proposal.)
The Board is working with very tight constraints – both
geographic and financial.
The space is relatively small to fit all the activities
the community desires, and it’s hemmed in by environmentally
sensitive trees, wetlands, and residential backyards. There’s
been a population explosion – not just more kids, but
more kids playing more sports. At the same time, there is
renewed interest in developing the waterfront behind the
fields for nature and small boat activities. Balancing competing
demands for ball fields and waterfront access can be tricky,
given the limited space and the need for safety and security.
(See: Balancing Athletics
and Environment)
It’s been clear for some time that the costs of the
renovations will far exceed the original budget of approximately
$250,000 with half of that coming from an Environmental Protection
Fund grant. Last January, Eberlin “guestimated” the
Village would need more than double that to complete the
project. Additional support may come from the Town of Mamaroneck
and Mamaroneck School District, since children from all over
the community make use of Flint Park facilities. There may
also be additional grants from Westchester County, New York
State or federal agencies
The Village Board will be looking into these financial possibilities,
but meanwhile it will be focusing on optimizing the park
layout.
On Tuesday, the Board scrutinized plans for fencing around
the planned new regulation sized baseball field and agreed
that the proposed sixteen-foot high fences should be
longer to keep foul balls from raining into the nature area.
Minor
shifts in the new soccer field might be needed to avoid
damage to a number of trees. But, on the whole, the Board
was satisfied that the plans were ready to share again
with their advisory task force in the near future, and
with the general public, perhaps in the fall.
The aerial photo from TerraServer provides
a view of the current conditions in the park. Click here
for a closer view.
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