What is happening with updates to the North Greenbush Recreational Master Plan?

Most North Greenbush residents agree that the town has grown tremendously in the past decade and recreational amenities, such as parks and trails, have failed to keep pace with this growth.  The town’s 2009 Comprehensive Plan documented the town’s deficit in municipal recreational facilities for a community of its size. The town has never updated its 25 year old Recreational Master Plan. In the following decades, the Republican dominated North Greenbush town government failed to implement most of the recommendations found in this Recreational Master Plan, including a centrally located major sports facility with playing fields and tennis courts. The 1998 plan recommended a requirement that developers build smaller neighborhood parks, none of which have seen the light of day.

The supervisor and deputy supervisor have served continuously on the town board since the 2009 Comprehensive Plan was adopted and since then have taken no measurable initiatives to improve or expand recreation in the town. Given population growth in the town since 2009 , it is almost certain that today North Greenbush would show even greater deficits in municipal recreational facilities.

At its November 2022 board meeting, the town board looked like it was finally going to take a step towards addressing these glaring deficiencies. An agenda item called for $35,000 to be paid to the engineering firm of Barton & Lojuidice to prepare a Recreational Master Plan. The resolution authorizing the hiring of this firm made no mention of the 1998 plan even though two of the sitting board members began serving on the board right after the 2009 Comprehensive Plan was released.  Staff from Barton and Lojuidice attended the November meeting and stated that they were going to start with public engagement for this project.

10 months later, not surprisingly  no outreach has occurred and no progress has been made on the newly funded Recreational Master Plan. North Greenbush residents can continue to expect no progress in this area from town leadership.

 

Mary Frances Sabo

North Greenbush