SCC Opponents Warn Against Village Debt

Opponents of the proposed indoor pool and community center (SCC) spoke up at the Board of Trustees Meeting on December 14, to voice their concern about the Village taking on $16 million in debt to back the project. An array of financial professionals and concerned citizens attended in an effort to discourage the Trustees from moving forward with the project. An enthusiastic group of SCC supporters had addressed the Trustees at a December 6th meeting and the opposition was slower to rally.

Michael Weinstein of Butler Road warned Trustees that “when things are priced for perfection the situation is ripe for financial catastrophe.” A Wall Street professional, Weinstein offered his own analysis of the SCC budget projections, casting doubt on resident’s willingness to pay higher fees each year to pay the operating costs for the facility and pay back the debt. According to Weinstein, 41% of the revenues are forecast for debt service, which he called “extreme financial leverage.”

He also discussed a similar project in Greenwich where plans had to be cut back when costs ballooned and the Greenwich Y fell short on funds. He asked the Trustees not to borrow funds for the projects and said that the SCC should be 100% self-financed.

Linda Killian of Forest Lane spoke as a resident and as a financial analyst. She stated that though Scarsdale is financially healthy, revenues are falling, taxes have gone up and we have been forced to focus on only critical services. We are already undertaking the renovation of the police headquarters and will need to borrow funds to alleviate flooding. In her analysis, taking on an additional $16 million in debt to fund the SCC, would bring the Scarsdale debt level to $44 million, which is the size of the entire town’s operating budget. She felt that this would be a misuse of municipal borrowing power, as 10%-15% of residents would benefit from the facility, while burdening the remaining 85% of the population with the debt.

Bill Ortner of Butler Road said that a $16 million bond would “put our credit rating at risk. “ He added that, “We should not be in the business of supporting a private enterprise.” In addition, he said, “Though the SCC plans assumes that there are 1,100 memberships, there are really only 770 families who signed up and paid $650. As far as I know no one has been asked whether they are still signed on.” He told the Trustees that a group called “Save Our Scarsdale” had posted an online petition against the pool project that day, and that there were already 86 signatures.

Katrina Vidal of 32 Crane Road told the group that her family was “among the founding families for the SCC many years ago. We subscribed at $625. We have been here 25 years. We are now opposed to taking out a bond to subsidize the pool. The economy has changed, our kids are gone and grown and we don’t expect fellow taxpayers to fund (the indoor pool) for our benefit. We urge you to think about those who are conscious of expenses.”

Robert November of 73 Walworth, a co-president of the SCC took the podium to correct a few of the statements, telling the group that the “SCC welcomes a financial review” and that “it is true that we had 1,200 families sign up, though not everyone is at the full membership number.” The “dues levels were set 10 years ago and we have not attempted to replace old members.”

Jimmy Fink said, “ I have lived here for 22 years. I echo everything that all those before me said in opposition to the project. I wrote a letter to Scarsdale10583, and received many comments. I know that those in favor are very well organized. I am surprised they did not comment. I will submit what I wrote and include people’s comments. Though I do not work on Wall Street … I am a rock and roll disc jockey, I agree with Mr. Weinstein.”

Paul Henderson of 55 Garden Road expressed his concerns, saying, “Doubling the town’s debt may be ill advised. Though it is a great project it only benefits a minority. He also questioned the process of moving forward on the project without a town referendum and asked the Board to think about the process.

Henderson said that he was concerned that half the members of the Board of Trustees are founding members of the SCC. He said, “One of the strengths of Scarsdale is the non-partisan system. It tends to work.” He warned “if the Board pushes this through without a referendum I will become very politically involved.”

Trustee Jonathan Mark addressed Henderson’s issue about a potential conflict of interest, saying, “the Mayor disclosed that a number of us were founding members of the SCC – but I can assure you that as Trustees we will act with all residents in mind.” Mayor Stevens also defended the Board, telling Henderson, “that those of us who signed up did so before we were on the Board. This has been a ten-year process. The project has reached a critical point. We have worked through the issues and this is the point that we are at. I am trying to assure you that we are extremely cognizant of the impact on the budget. The decision will be made very carefully with as much input from the community as possible. We all welcome public input. We want to hear all opinions and all sides.”

Michael Goldberg took the podium and said, “I am not for the project. It poses an asymmetrical risk for one group and if the plan does not work out, the town will bear the burden.” He added, “It is unfair to ask residents to take on the burden without a referendum. There was a vote on the Quaker Ridge school bond. This is greater amount of money.”

Furthermore, Goldberg said, I think the projections are very optimistic. They call for 1,600 founding members and there are now only 1,180. The projection also does not assume any fall off and assumes that new members will be added every year, even though there is a 30% churn in the industry. The plan also assumes a greater profitability margin than NY Sports Club.” Goldberg called for the SCC to review their projections at their own expense and for the founding members sign on to back the projections. He ended by saying, “Scarsdale can ask for a better proposal as it is our land that they will use.”

Carrie Moscowitz at 6 Highland Way told the group that she swims and works at Purchase College where the pool is never crowded. She said, “We are talking about $24 million to service 20% of Scarsdale. It seems to be an extraordinary expense in these times.”

Reminding the group of the history of the project, Bob Harrison of Fox Meadow Road said, “I have been interested in an indoor pool at the high school for students, adults and seniors for years. We could have had a $2 million pool at the high school ten years ago. He added, “I feel that the SCC has not met the criteria – they have turned an $8 million project into $24 million project. They already spent $35,000. Now we are thinking of putting out an RFP to study their numbers.” He asked, “Why will they raise $8 million and we bond $16 million – why not ask for a different ratio – or ask them to raise the entire $24 million.” Harrison also called for all residents to vote on the issuance of the bonds in a referendum.

Another meeting is planned at 6:55 pm on January 6 in the Trustees Room of Village Hall to review SCC financing. The Village was considering hiring an outside consultant to review the viability of the projections, and perhaps this will be discussed at the meeting.

In other business, representatives from the Scarsdale Women’s Exchange came to the meeting to voice their concerns about delivery trucks that are parked in front of their Harwood Court store for much of the day. The spot is used by UPS and Fedex trucks and blocks access to their shop and prevents their customers from parking. They asked the Village to find another spot for the delivery trucks.

Trustees also approved a resolution to retain consultants to explore the feasibility of a traffic roundabout at the Heathcote Five Corners. Nine proposals were received and Creighton Manning, LLP of Albany, N.Y. were selected and will be paid $35,600.

A hearing was set to review changes in parking requirements for January 11, 2011 at 8 pm. At that time, a proposal to ease parking requirement for downtown restaurants will be discussed, There is a resolution to change the law so that restaurants will require one parking space for each 150 square feet of space, rather than one space for 75 square feet, which is now the law. The change would provide restaurants with the same requirements as retail stores and Village managers are hopeful that this would make it more attractive for restaurants to operate in Scarsdale Village.

Pictured above: An underground indoor pool at the Wellness Center at the College of New Rochelle