After Southold Town missed the deadline to apply for a grant for major renovations of Jean Cochran Park on Peconic Lane, the town is now looking into a phased plan to refresh the park in-house — including the removal of a cracked, underutilized roller hockey rink, allowing more room for soccer fields, and the installation of a bathroom.
The heavily-used park currently relies on porta potties, Recreation Supervisor Janet Douglass told the Town Board at its June 2 work session.
She added that the parking lot “is unsafe to navigate for people who are able-bodied,” and even more difficult for people who have mobility issues, and a “very active soccer group’s use of the field is creating so much pressure — they’re damaging the field and they don’t have the ability to do proper irrigation.”
The town learned of a potential state grant opportunity of up to $900,000 for the work in late January of this year, but despite scrambling to put an application together by the due date of Feb. 9, was unable to get its application in prior to the 4 p.m. deadline that day, said Town Board members at the board’s May 20 work session.
Ms. Douglass and Town Director of Public Works Erick Haas, along with the town’s Recreation Committee, are now exploring how to finish the much-needed work in house.
The town’s aging concrete roller hockey rink in the park has been deteriorating for more than a decade.
“We’ve gotta take care of the safety issue — that big pink elephant in the room — the hockey rink,” Ms. Douglass told the Town Board at its June 2 work session. “It’s underutilized and we don’t have enough space for other issues.”
She said she would like to consider tearing down the hockey rink, “putting down some grass and properly irrigating the fields already in existence, so we can rotate the soccer group.”
Mr. Haas said he thinks the town needs a three-year capital improvement plan for the park, which could include renovating tennis courts that have become neglected as the town has invested more in pickleball courts in recent years.
“My priority would be the bathroom, followed by the the parking lot and irrigation,” said Ms. Douglass. “I’m not looking for anything fancy. Just not a porta potty.”
“I would like to do as much as possible in house,” said Mr. Haas, who added that his crews can take down any trees needed to renovate the parking lot and remove the hockey rink. “Maybe a grant will come up that can help us with funding.”
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I would love to know what kind of “scrambling” could not be accomplished in order for the town to receive FREE FUNDS for improving our town? I heard the town dropped the ball on this more so than “scrambling”. Can we have an investigation into why Eric Haas was not able to do his job and WHY IS HE STILL EMPLOYED if he cannot do the job properly?