By Mark Scheer
City lawmakers have rejected a request to hire a consultant to work on an improvement project for Jayne Park on Cayuga Island.
Citing complaints about the project from Cayuga Island residents, council members voted against spending $29,780 to hire Peter J. Smith and Co. as project consultant. The proposal was rejected by all five lawmakers.
City Planner Tom DeSantis said the decision means the city will return $145,000 it received from the state as part of a matching grant that was part of the proposed $290,000 Jayne Park restoration effort.
“There will be no further effort to implement the proposed Jayne Park Project at this time,” DeSantis said.
Council Chairman Sam Fruscione said the overwhelming majority of Cayuga Island residents who contacted lawmakers about the issue expressed concern about the city’s plan for Jayne Park. As a result, Fruscione said the council decided it was best to simply move on.
“At this point in time, based on our dealings with residents that live on the Island, they want nothing on the Island other than to have grass cut,” Fruscione said. “At this point in time, the council said it’s done, it’s over with, let’s leave Cayuga Island alone, the nice little place that it is.”
In 2008, the council agreed to accept a matching grant of $145,000 from the New York State Environmental Protection fund to assist in the park restoration. The proposed park updates, which included the addition of comfort stations, a canoe launch and parking areas, are included in the city’s 2001 master plan. Several Cayuga Island residents expressed concern that the project would change the character of the park and the surrounding neighborhood.
DeSantis and Mayor Paul Dyster insisted that residents on Cayuga Island and elsewhere would have been given ample opportunity to offer their input before any changes occurred. DeSantis had planned to develop a formal schedule of public meetings and consultation events once the consultant was in place.
On Tuesday, he said he was disappointed by the council’s decision, but said he would live with it. He said the administration will continue to work on parks improvement projects in other areas of the community.
“We can’t use the grant anywhere else,” DeSantis said. “The grant can only be used in Jayne Park.”
Fruscione said council members knew their decision would result in the return of the grant money but felt it was making the right decision on behalf of the residents. He said lawmakers didn’t feel it was appropriate to accept money for a parks project that wasn’t being supported by the surrounding neighborhood.
“We were all aware that we were working with grant money,” Fruscione said. “Our decision was based on resident input.”
