To the editor:
As I have stated previously, I would like to say that I am not against the proposed spray park project at Lysander Town Park. I do feel that the Lysander Town Board has approached this project the wrong way.
I was one of the 15 or so people that carried petitions to allow the voters and taxpayers of Lysander to vote on the bonding resolution to fund the building of the proposed spray park. In a little over a month, we submitted more than 600 signatures, over 550 of which were validated by the Lysander Town Clerk to have the opportunity to bring this issue in front of the voters on May 4.
While the town board did hold public forums last March and April, they only briefly talked about the project on and off throughout the summer publicly. There were no further attempts at public input on the proposed project as they progressed with their plan. I constantly asked questions about the proposed spray park and the town board’s change in the wording of the “in lieu of parks” fund to allow the monies that have been raised for over 40 years to be used as the current town board wants to use them. The town board has stated that they intend to possibly use $100,000 from that fund to defray the cost to the taxpayers of the proposed spray park.
While Councilor Geraci’s letter was inspiring, it offered no more financial details than anything that has been discussed in the last year. Currently, I cannot vote yes on this bonding resolution. While I think it could be a great addition to the town park, I believe the supporters should find significant private backing and significant fundraising before they ask taxpayers to reach into their pockets for yet more money.
In 2015, I received a “Taxcutters” mailer in my mailbox a few days before the 2015 election. It had the faces of Councilor Ellis, Councilor Moore and Supervisor Saraceni on it. While it was paid for by the political party they represent, they have not held true to that promise in any budget they have approved since their election. I hope that in the few short weeks they can give me, the taxpayers and voters more financial details to allow people to make an educated vote with their minds, and not just their hearts.
Kevin Rode
Lysander
