Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman and town Councilman Thomas Dwyer have estimated costs of reviving the Roslyn Country Club recreation facilities as a special park district at $7 million to $9 million in a letter to residents of the Roslyn Country Club development.
In the letter sent on Friday, Kaiman and Dwyer said the $7 million to $9 million price tag represented the cost of a “basic proposal” to construct an outdoor heated pool, spa, playground, splash pad, concession area and tennis courts on the Roslyn Heights property.
They estimate the average annual cost to homeowners in the district would be $1,000, which would be assessed through local taxes. The money from homeowners would be used to pay for the bonds issued for the cost of renovating the facilities.
“That number could increase if the community determines that it wants a true year-round facility. That number could decrease if additional homes are added to the district from areas adjacent to Roslyn Country Club,” the letter said.
The letter also states that the town’s purchase of the land for $2 million from the property’s owner, Manouchehr Malekan, is conditioned on annual memberships being offered to town residents outside the Roslyn Country Club community.
The letter is a follow-up to an informal meeting the two town officials held with 40 Roslyn County Club residents last month where Kaiman and Dwyer broached the concept of a special park district.
Kaiman and Dwyer had discussed the idea of making the recreational facilities available to residents neighboring the Roslyn Country Club development for an undetermined amount in membership fees at the August meeting. Kaiman also told residents that the pool could be enclosed to enable year-round use for $3 million in addition to the $7 million for renovation of the pool and tennis courts.
“We have the basic plan, which is the $7 million, but people are already asking us to add things,” Kaiman said in explaining new elements contained in the letter.
The final determination of amenities – and the ultimate costs – will depend on what the residents want to include, Kaiman said. He said he plans to hold a meeting with all Roslyn Country Club residents within the next month to discuss the project. A public hearing on the resulting plan for the property would be held sometime in October.
“Residents are already talking about what improvements to make. It might be cheaper to make all those improvements now rather than down the road,” Kaiman said.
He said the $1,000 estimated average for taxes tied to the improvements cited in the letter could double if the pool and tennis courts are enclosed for year-round use. He said the $1,000 estimate also assumes additional membership of several hundred residents from outside the Roslyn Country Club development. The Roslyn County Club development is located between the North State Parkway and Roslyn Road in Roslyn Heights
“Those outside memberships will defray costs,” Kaiman said.
The special park district concept was born after civic leaders from outside the Roslyn Heights community collected 4,300 signatures on petitions calling for a referendum to allow voters to decide whether or not the town would go ahead with an estimated $7.5 million in improvements to be paid for through a bond. The $2 million to purchase the Roslyn County Club property would come out of the town’s environmental legacy fund.
The referendum initiative followed the town board’s 5-2 party-line to acquire the 7.5-acre Roslyn Country Club property for $2 million and make it a town park open to all residents for annual membership fees in the $1,000 range. Town board Democrats supported the move; Republicans opposed it. Kaiman projected the park would draw as many as 1,000 members. But critics expressed concerns that the membership fees would not cover the costs of the improvements and town taxpayers would end up footing the bill.
Under the special district plan, Malekan would continue to own and operate the Royalton at Roslyn Country Club, a catering facility on the property, as he would have done under the town board’s original plan.
The initiative to resuscitate the Roslyn Country Club recreation facilities was sparked by Malekan shuttering the facilities and allowing them to remain in disrepair after he and the residents failed to reach agreement on annual membership fees several years ago.
Todd Zarin, president of the Roslyn Country Club Civic Association, said the figures in the letter were consistent with what Kaiman and Dwyer discussed with residents last month.
“That $7 million-plus number is the same number we’ve heard since they’ve talks about making it a special park,” Zarin said.
He said he thinks residents will want to have a covered tennis court, among other amenities.
“It’s always been a tennis-minded community. That’s sort of the biggest item,” Zarin said. “I think what you have is a spectrum of amenities that get baked into the final product.”
Zarin said the universe of households informally considered to be part of the community comprises approximately 700 to 720 households.
“I would be surprised if any of the homes that have traditionally viewed themselves as the Roslyn Country Club would be excluded,” Zarin said.
The town’s remaining hurdle is convincing 238 residents of the area originally developed by Levitt & Sons to drop lawsuits against Manouchehr Malekan, the owner of the property. Those suits were filed invoking their easement rights granted when the development was built after Manekan closed the facilities. Residents originally paid a fee of $100 for access to the pool and tennis court facilities.
Malekan has said the lawsuits must be dropped before the he sells the property to the town.
