"Hi, residents of Putnam Valley. My name is Charles "Chick" Anderson and I am running for re-election for the position of Town Supervisor. I am a life-long resident of Putnam Valley and I am very active in both the Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department and Putnam Valley Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Recently I have heard about how bad our Town Park is and the lack of facilities at the park. Unfortunately I have to somewhat agree with those critics. On the other side, the current Town Board and myself have been working on the concerns of the residents and addressing Town Park issues since we took office in 1998. I have prepared the following to inform our residents of what has been done during my administration and what we plan to do in the future.
"Putnam Valley - Town Park
"The Putnam Valley Town Board has been working on improvements to the Town Park since we took office in January 1, 1998. One of the concerns that we had as a Board is that there was never a survey prepared for the Town Park. In February, the Town Board awarded two bids to prepare both a topographical map and a survey of the park. These maps allowed the Town to formulate the first-ever Master plan for future recreational facilities. Since then, the Town Board and the Parks & Recreation Commission have accomplished the following between 1998-1999:
"Expanded baseball field to make a real baseball field - cost $20,000.00.
"Installed two new backstops at P.V. Elementary School - cost $10,000.00.
"Built two new sand-volleyball courts - cost $20,000.00.
"Built three new tennis courts - cost $125,000.00.
"Resurfaced the old in-line skating area - cost $13,000.00.
"Bought two additional parcels of land within the Town Park - cost $25,000.00.
"Cooperative effort with P.V. School Board to expand upper Elementary school field - cost $13,000.00.
"Installed new soil and seed on the baseball fields - cost $5,500.00.
"Formed five citizens committees to assist the Town Board in identifying future needs.
"Total spent since 1998 - $246,500.00.
"The Town has also applied for two matching grants, one on July 20, 1999 and the other on August 18, 1999. These grants further address the needs of our residents. We applied for items such as:
"Covered picnic pavilion w/ handicapped restrooms
"Band Shell for concerts
"Playground equipment
"Inline/ice skating rink
"Paved 1.5 miles of bike trails/walkways.
"The reason for the application of the grants is to receive support funds from agencies outside our taxing base, therefore reducing the costs to the residents of Putnam Valley.
"In the Year 2000 budget, the Town Board will be providing $50,000.00 to be used to improve our Town Park, in addition to the $142,000.00 in Parkland Deposits. So, as you can see, the Town Board and the Parks & Recreation Commission are well aware of the residents’ interests and desires. The foundation has now been established which will allow the Town Board to provide the additional recreational facilities the Town needs.
"If you have any questions or concerns I am more than happy to discuss this issue or any other issues or concerns that our residents have. You can contact me at 914-526-2121 or write to me at P.0. Box 612, Putnam Valley, NY 10579 or e-mail at supervisor@putnamvalley.com."
