The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About04/05/2004 Fishers Island Community Center Research Committee Monday, April 5th, 2004 at the Fishers Island School Attending: Harold and Jan Cook John and Melie Spofford Nate Gray Susele King Sarah McLean Karla Heath Laurie Finan Gail Cypherd Jeanne Schultz Agenda: L II III. IV v Welcome Survey for seasonal residents a. Postage (thanks to FICA) b. Reimburse Pirates Cove and Gail Cypherd c. Article sent to Gazette d. Sarah Moody's email Conversation with Harold Cook a. Condition of movie theater Conversation with John Spofford and Sarah McLean a. Research and development Set next meeting Karla called the meeting to order and updated the group on what has happened since the last meeting. 550 surveys were mailed last Friday, the 2nd and Gail will send the rest on Tuesday the 6th. FICA again paid for the postage of the surveys and Pirates Cove Marina will be reimbursed for copying. Judi wrote a short article that covers what we have done so far for the next issue of the Gazette. Sarah Moody sent sketches of the work done by James Righter for the last Community Center to John Spofford. Harold Cook gave the group an update on the condition ofthe movie theater. The movie theater presently is in such a shape that it could be condemned, though Harold has been contracted by the Ferry District to do work updating certain parts of the building. Trusses have been added to the front of the building to add support because the roof in that section was close to collapsing. Four new doors have been put in and various types of debris have been taken out of the building. Once two more hazardous conditions have been cleaned, which will happen this week, Harold's will have met the Ferry District's requirements. Harold said that to stop the mildew problem the building must be maintained everyday, which can be done but it will be very expensive. Harold is interested in leasing the building, taking out \12 of the movie seats (there are close to 500) and turning the front \/2 into a restaurant. The projection room and equipment need to be updated as well. He is interested in using some of the space, for at least the off-season, for community use. He is concerned that an in-ground pool may be unfeasible, but a vinyl liner pool could be put in. Sarah wondered if the property is zoned for commercial use? Harold thought that it was and John said that building probably is because Fishers Island zoning was established a number of years ago based on the use at the time. So, if a building had a commercial use, it was zoned as commercial. Sarah asked whether what Harold described met the committee's goals for a community center? Harold said that the building would be run as a commercial business, but that it may include some aspects of what the committee wants out of a community center. He said that the building needs a considerable amount of work, and, though, money has been spent in the past nothing was set aside for upkeep. Sarah felt that the community would lose the movie theater if nothing is done because the building is falling apart. John wondered where the building could be expanded. Harold said that if one is facing the building, underground to the left is where the sewage equipment is stored, so that cannot be built upon. To the right, there may be no limitation at least up till the police barrack. There may be some wetlands behind the building, but he is not sure. Laurie wondered if a change of use may require more bathrooms and can the current sewer system handle that. Harold thought that maybe the system for the police barrack could help if needed. Melie wondered if he was thinking of fixing the stage and adding any storage for equipment. Harold said that by taking out five rows of seats the stage could be moved forward or added onto and that would help with storage. Jeanne said that the uses that Harold described do not include a pool or workout room, both of which were needs as determined by the survey. Harold thought the building could be expanded, but would have to be a large expansion. A vinyl pool, surrounded by a deck and in a steel building, could probably be put in for between $50,000 and $100,000, though Harold was not sure. He wondered who would pay for this, as well as the cost of maintaining the facility. Gail said that the committee envisioned that someone would be paid to maintain the facility. Harold felt that this was essential. Susele wondered if the Town of South old pays for employees to maintain their community centers or if that money had to be raised by the center? Jeanne thought that someone needs to look into how Southold pays and that an island administrator could do this job. Sarah asked Harold about the next steps that he is going to take. He will continue to look into it developing what he has described, a movie theater with a restaurant or other commercial use, but that nothing will begin for another few months because he is very busy. Ifhe does something he is willing to lean towards a community use during the off- season, but that a pool is too much of a liability. Sarah thought that a pool was too much of an expense in the beginning, but could happen later. Gail said that a pool was a very high priority and needed to be considered. Melie wondered if we are talking about two different things, a community center with a pool and a restaurant. Gail said that both are helpful because there needs to be more to do on the island. John felt that if both of these efforts are going to work, this needs to be a community effort, one person could not tackle both issues. Sarah felt that a private individual could not get a community pool here because there is just too much liability. A foundation needs to do that. She thought that we should first determine what a pool would cost to build and then maintain. John quoted the material that Sarah Moody sent him: the cost for building the facility was $1.5 million. He felt that we need to first determine what want for size and facilities, in the best case scenario, and use that to determine a price. This type of effort has been done elsewhere, so we should figure out how and why those efforts worked Jeanne asked John at what time we should begin to establish a foundation? John said that this can happen at any time, but maybe the island doesn't need another foundation and instead we first need a more specific vision for what we want. There will be support for a well thought out plan with a very specific vision. He felt that what is needed is greater coordination and this committee is an example of the role that a community board and administrator could play in the community because this is the 2nd time that this effort has been undertaken. John felt that approaching the town at this time may not be helpful because they have nothing to add and can't really help us. Gail thought that even with that in mind, it would be good to explore what are the ways to communicate with the town and what are the channels. John said that a community center was built in the Adirondacks by a foundation and then turned over to the school, thereafter the maintenance for the facility was paid through taxes. Jeanne thought that this was a very interesting model and that the school should look into this. She felt that it was a good way for Fishers Island money to stay here on the island. Sarah wondered if Fishers Island taxpayers would pay for a community center? Jeanne said that we need to someone to put together the vision and then bring that to the community. John thought that the last step in the process is the architecture, and first we need to look at costs and an operating budget. Gail said that many people have told her that they would like to see an existing building used, so we need to first show them that one cannot be used. Harold agreed, the cost of fixing an old building is very high and it may be more cost effective to build new. John said that during the process there should be very clear statements about why a building can't be used. Next steDS: Nate will investigate going to North Haven and Chebeague Island in Maine during the first week in May to see their community centers. He will also speak with them about their operating budgets. Next meeting: Wednesday, April 14th at 7 PM in the School