The Town of Niskayuna’s rec center debate has come to an end (for now) and it’s taught the public a lot more about its government than its sports clubs.
You can read the full story on the front page. Unfortunately, even this seemingly simple development comes with ?nger pointing and divisiveness, which have become something of the process du jour as of late.
We haven’t yet weighed in on the rec center on this page, in part because residents have been engaged in a full and lengthy debate amongst themselves. In the end, this is a decision about what the town values when it comes to spending tax dollars.
Now that this chapter of the saga has closed, though, we can say a few words about the process. Councilwoman Julie McDonnell, who spearheaded this idea, did not mince words when commenting on the state of things, blaming “misinformation and political grandstanding” for blocking the project. We don’t know about that ?rst one, but there was plenty of chest pounding and overblown rhetoric from both sides during this circus.
But that’s not a new story. What’s truly troubling are the events of the past few days, when the decision was made to put the rec center plans on ice. Two of the board’s ?ve members say they weren’t even cut in on the decision and had to learn of it through the media.
The other three members apparently all came to the same foregone conclusion independently and then asked members of the Nisakyuna Soccer and Lacrosse clubs out for coffee to discuss the matter. You know, government.
It’s not much secret what members of this board think about the project individually. The debate has been long and open, as it should. But when it comes time for a decision to be made, it is disheartening that it was done outside the walls of Town Hall, announced ?rst in private to “stakeholders” (we’d think the taxpayer would be one of those, by the way) and then put out to a grand total of four email addresses at 9:30 on a Saturday morning.
Maybe that doesn’t rise to the level of a cover up, but transparent government it is certainly not. Even if the writing was on the wall, the public deserves more than a shrug and an eye roll from its elected leaders on a matter that’s becomes so big.
So now that we’ve had our moment of scolding, what next? Let’s turn the focus back to the rec center itself, which is not dead on arrival but simply on life support.
We’d suggest when it is taken back up the town should dramatically reassess its plans. From what we heard from residents the opposition is more about ideology than rental rates and contractor fees.
The establishment of a public-private agreement sets something of a tricky precedence for the Town of Niskayuna. What group will approach the town next for help with its dream project? When that
happens, leaders will be put in the awkward position of playing favorites.
We’d suggest the town either divest itself entirely from the rec center project or throw itself all in. If this is truly what families in Niskayuna want and it will be a smashing economic success, then build the thing without private money and open up special times and rates to all Niskayuna clubs, not just the ones able to raise $100,000.
But if this project is simply not possible without $200,000 of private money, then we ask the town to reassess its priorities. And that goes for members of the Town Board too, who will hopefully stick to the business of the people when this issue comes back around.
