Losing open space is top on the list of worries for residents
Residents of Cedar Lane in Glenville have enjoyed the open space near the Indian Kill Preserve for several years, but many now worry that open space will be sacrificed when the new Glendale Nursing Home is built.
Next to the current Glendale Nursing Home on Hetcheltown Road is a popular hill known as the Glenville Sledding Hill to many Schenectady County residents. Above the hill is a large field bordering the homes of many residents on Cedar Lane. This land is more than just open space to many of them; it is a place of fond memories.
In May 2009, the county authorized the construction of a new 200-bed Glendale Nursing Home costing more than $50.5 million. When construction is complete, the current facility is slated to be demolished. In mid-July, surveyors started working in the county-owned open space behind homes of residents on Cedar Lane.
Many residents voiced concerns at a July 21 Glenville Town Board meeting about what they believed to be a lack of openness surrounding the project. Following the meeting, the Cedar Lane neighbors started a petition and gathered 220 signatures in nine days.
Cedar Lane resident Lisa Burton said concerns about preserving the open space and sledding hill aren’t limited to the street’s residents.
It is not only us residents in the neighborhood, it is everyone, said Burton. `This is something that even older people talk about being here and how much fun they had.`
Children throughout the county come to the sledding hill, and, Burton said, the elderly residents at the nursing home `love watching the kids sleigh riding.` She even suggested the home build a sitting area or windows to make it easier for the residents to watch.
`These are kids not sitting home or sitting in front of the TV or computer; they’re out here sleigh riding all winter long,` said Burton. `It is something that is free and is beautiful.`
Kathleen Collar, who also lives on Cedar Lane, said the community has used the area for several years. Cedar Lane residents also plow pathways into the field above the hill, allowing for an accessible walk throughout the area Collar referred to as Indian Kill Field.
`We see this whole field as [the wildlife’s] buffer between the Indian Kill Nature Preserve and a suburban neighborhood, and to take any of this would put wildlife into distress,` said Collar.
Jack Burton, who used to run track at Burnt Hills High School, said the team used the field for track practice, and someone from the school measured out the distance of the plowed pathways.
`We would hold kind of mini-practices down here because they started closing the track at the high school because of construction, so we used this as a secondary track,` said Burton.
Vicki Van Patten, Cedar Lane resident, said people also use the field for stargazing.
`Another aspect of the field is the stargazing is amazing,` said Van Patten. `My husband is a stargazer, and we bring friends out into the fields, and we are able to identify different constellations during different times of the year.`
Van Patten said she also painted her kitchen to match the fall colors of the field because she thought they were beautiful.
Nicole Banach, a 19-year-old Cedar Lane resident, said she has many fond memories of playing in the field as a child.
`All I want for my birthday is for this to stay in my backyard,` said Banach. `My best childhood memories were out here, and I can’t think of a better place for a child to grow up and have this in their backyard.`
Collar said the community group,
Preserve the Field at Indian Kill
, is only concerned with the placement of the new facility and not against the nursing home being built.
`We want to see good housing for our elderly; it is not that we don’t want it for them, we just figure they can figure something out besides taking this land,` said Burton. `We are going to be there soon ourselves, we want it nice.`
County Legislator Karen Johnson, D-Schenectady, who is co-chair of the project, said the new home is needed because the current facility is very old and has an institutional feel to it. Sections of the building also can’t be demolished individually because it was constructed so the three buildings are interconnected and dependent on one another to function.
Johnson said the county has worked on the project for a long time and originally hired a consultant to explain how to upgrade the building, which wasn’t feasible.
`The architects have been told we want as green as possible building, an attractive building and be sensitive to the environment,` said Johnson. `We have seen some concept designs of the actual building organized by neighborhoods and in the middle is corridors with central services. The patient areas are a little distant from each other, so that you feel like you are living in an area similar to a cottage.`
County spokesman Joe McQueen said there are about 200 residents living in the home currently, and a new facility can’t just be built in its place. In order to maintain the best level of care, he said, residents need to stay in the current facility until the new one is completed.
`The staff is really trying hard to improve and live with what we have in the nicest way,` said Johnson. `There is just a lot of things that happen in an old building. [The new facility] is going to be much more efficient and much more pleasant.`
McQueen said the county is hoping to hold a public meeting by the end of the month. Invitations would be sent out to residents living near the Glendale Nursing Home and public notice will be given, he said.
`I haven’t seen any location on a map of where it is going to be built, because we basically directed the architects to look at the old site,` said Johnson. `My assumption is by the time we get to public meeting, there will be a site map and drawings of the buildings itself, which is still a little on the concept basis.`
Johnson also said the architects were told to try and maintain the sledding hill if possible. The building could currently be built anywhere on the open space the county owns.
Angerame Architects P.C. are contracted to develop the Glendale site. A representative from the company declined to comment on the plans and directed questions to the county.“
