The Village of Fayetteville is looking to lease village-owned property at 101 Wortley Way in Fayetteville to a private daycare center, but has run into issues raised by residents about whether or not the building lays on park property.

Residents who live near the Wortley Way building raised concerns at the Oct. 27 village board meeting because the building lays on the same property as baseball fields that are dedicated as parks. If the building is technically a parkland building, the residents said the village would have to take extra steps in leasing the property to an independent business because parkland is protected through the state.

Simone Lepine, a resident who lives near the Wortley Way building, said by looking at the village website, she believes this area would be labeled as a park.

“Under state law parks are very well protected,” Lepine said. “There’s something called a ‘parkland alienation process’ that the village would have to be going through to lease this property.”

Village Clerk Lorie Corsette said this property is owned by the village of Fayetteville and, from the records she has, would not be considered parkland. She said she would look further into the issue and consult with the village historian to determine if this building is parkland.

The board will present the findings at its next regular meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10.

The village of Fayetteville previously leased the building to the town of Manlius recreation department in 1996 for use for recreation activities and as a daycare center.

“This property has been used for children activities for some time. I don’t see the proposed use of this building as uncharacteristic,” Trustee Michael Small said.

According to Mayor Mark Olson, the village put the Wortley Way building on the market for lease this past June.

“The building had been vacant since the beginning of this year,” Mayor Mark Olson said. “We wanted to lease it to somebody who was willing to help offset the cost of having the building.”

At the village board’s Aug. 18 regular meeting, local residents Kass Nethercott and Nicole Visioni presented a plan for a daycare facility at the property on Wortley Way, off of Brooklea Drive. Nethercott and Visioni said their daycare center would be open 50 weeks a year with the hours of operation between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The children would be ages six weeks to 10, and the maximum amount of children who would be accepted to the center would be 30.

The village board voted at the Aug. 18 meeting to allow Olson to move forward with plans to negotiate a lease agreement with Nethercott and Visioni, although Olson said the proposal would still have to go through the planning board for site plan review and approval.

“The building was sitting empty and doing nothing,” Olson said. “We didn’t want to sell the building because we would lose control over what happens there.”

Nethercott, who was also at the Oct. 28 meeting, said she has more than 10 years of experience in the field and believes establishing another daycare facility in Fayetteville would be a positive addition to the community.

“Currently, there are not enough early childhood care facilities in the area,” Nethercott said. “People often have to look to surrounding communities to get care for their children.”

Olson said another benefit of leasing this building would be that the money from the rent of the building would go toward funding community activities in the village.

“The lease is proposed for two years with the rent at $1,000 per month for the first year and $1,500 for the second year,” Olson said. “This money would go toward a parks reserve to fund community activities.”

Also at the meeting:

—Fire Department Chief Paul Hildreth said the department has discussed ebola protocol in the village. He said the village’s protocol is in coordination with New York State and Onondaga County standards.

Hildreth said the department already has pandemic supplies in storage, but will update the supply and see if anything else is needed.

“We should be all set if anything happens,” Hildreth said.

—The board discussed the Department of Public Works (DPW) garage project progress. Trustee Dennis Duggleby said construction was started for the oil and water separator for the project and the building itself is nearly complete.

For this project, the board approved $26,000 to be transferred from the sidewalk budget to the DPW garage account to pay for a data box and computer cabinet, which will be made by OCM BOCES.

— The board said that all trees in Fayetteville that had been infected with the invasive species Emerald Ash Borer have been treated and this problem should not continue.

—Duggleby said preparations are being made for the annual tree lighting, and four wagons have been hired for the event. He said more specifics about the event will need to be discussed. The tree lighting will take place the day after Thanksgiving, on Friday Nov. 28.

Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].