The Village of Russell Gardens on Wednesday approved the purchase of parkland and tennis courts from the Russel Gardens Association, a homeowners group which has in recent years leased the facilities to the village to shore up its finances.
The property, which Village of Russell Gardens Mayor Matthew Bloomfield estimated to be worth $925,000, does not include the association’s pool facility, which will remain restricted to owners of single-family homes. Under the agreement, the final price of the acquisition will be determined after a survey is made to determine the property’s fair market value.
“I’m happy to announce tonight that the Village of Russell Gardens and the Russell Gardens Association have come to a tentative understanding,” Bloomfield said at the village board’s regularly scheduled meeting.
The property is projected to be paid for over the next six years. The village budgeted $150,000 for the purchase this year, $175,000 is projected to be paid during 2014 and the estimated $600,000 that will remain will be covered by an anticipated four-year, $600,000 municipal bond, Bloomfield said.
“I believe we can do this without raising taxes,” Bloomfield said.
Bloomfield said public ownership of the park and tennis courts will prove beneficial to the village and its residents, allowing all residents – not only homeowners – to use the facilities.
“We’ve maintained this park – we consider it, as you’ve heard in the past, the jewel or Russell Gardens,” Bloomfield said.
Russel Gardens Association president Larry Chaleff said the association was selling the land to raise money needed to improve its pool facility. He said that the association was in the process of deciding how to adjust its fees to homeowners. given that it will no longer own the tennis courts.
“If the village is going to charge a membership fee [for access to the courts], the RGA will pay for its homeowners,” Chaleff said.
The sale drew skepticism from residents at the meeting, who questioned the effects on quality of life and property values of opening the tennis courts up to apartment dwellers. They also expressed concerns over traffic and overcrowding.
Bloomfield said the land was currently underutilized, and that there was a demand for access to the facilities among renters in the village.
“I’m not saying that we have swarms of people from the apartment buildings using the park,” Bloomfield said. “It’s a nice facility for the village to have for all the residents.”
Before the expiration of its lease this year, the village had paid the Russel Gardens Association $85,000 annually to help maintain the park. Access to much of the park had been limited to Russel Gardens Association members, which had drawn the objections of apartment dwellers. Those restrictions will be lifted once the village purchases the land.
One provision in the deal – the designation of part of the park land as buildable plots, allowing possible development should the village sell the land to a private owner – was also met with criticism from several residents.
Though part of the land was donated to be a park in perpetuity, the section designated as buildable could be developed if the board approves a zoning change.
Bloomfield maintained that the board has no plans to sell the land, but said establishing the buildable plots would raise the value of the land and was the right move for the village.
“There’s no thought or intention of ever selling those,” Bloomfield said.
“To not make those assets part of the purchase would not be in anyone’s interests,” he added.
One resident described the change as a “fait accompli” that would guarantee the eventual selling of the land by a future board.
“You say you can sell them, they’re going to get into financial trouble and say ‘hey, there’s a million dollars,’” he said.
Former Village of Russell Gardens Mayor Steve Kirschner, who is running unopposed to succeed Bloomfield in the upcoming March elections, was credited by Bloomfield with helping to organize the sale. He said residents should not fear that the board would use its power to sell property without input from residents.
“Any time we’ve had any major decisions to make – these are our friends and neighbors, we want to hear what everyone has to say,” Kirschner said.
Bloomfield rejected a resident’s request to require a referendum on any future sale of the land.
“I think it’s naive for anyone to think that this property is going to be sold without everybody knowing about it,” Bloomfield said.
The village is considering the possibility of adding bathrooms, a key-card access system or security cameras to the tennis courts, Bloomfield said. He said he did not currently have a cost estimate for those projects.
Under the agreement, the Russel Gardens Association also has the option to buy back the tennis court in years two through four of the purchase.
