Southampton Town Is Exploring Idea of Using CPF Money at Mashashimuet Park; District Rejects Proposal To Use CPF Money for Scaled Down Park

Nearly a year ago, back in April 2022, Sag Harbor School District officials began exchanging emails with the former program manager of the Southampton Town Community Preservation Fund. The subject: Partnering on an acquisition of four adjoining vacant lots totaling 3.8 acres, located on Marsden Street, across from the Pierson Middle-High School.

The district hoped it would eventually develop those parcels into an athletic field for its students. Once developed, members of the community would be granted access to the field anytime it was not in use by students.

The town agreed to commit $6 million of the $8.3 million price tag for the properties, through its CPF, specifically purchasing the development rights on the land, with the district agreeing it would foot the rest of the bill. Upon closing, the district would become the sole owner of the property and be responsible for the cost of development, upkeep and maintenance of what would essentially be an athletic field facility — with a comfort station, concession stand and parking lot on the other side of Marsden Street — shared between the town and district.

The district announced those plans publicly in early September 2022, and after residents voted in November 2022 in favor of using capital reserve funds for its portion of the purchase, there was optimism among many residents that the deal would ultimately work out, especially after the public release, in the fall, of an offer letter for the purchase that was sent out by former CPF Manager Lisa Kombrink on June 24.

What that letter did not specifically make clear is that all CPF purchases are contingent upon approval by the Southampton Town Board, even after an offer has been made — an omission that Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said earlier this week led to understandable confusion among community members, many of whom understood the letter as an indication of a done deal.

After months of community debate that has been acrimonious at times, and has created a sharp division within the small village, what once looked like a deal that was on its way to approval is now in serious jeopardy of falling apart entirely. The district is now faced with deciding whether it wants to keep moving forward with the town as partner in its effort to acquire the land — or go it alone.

While there are still many unknowns at this point, the pros and cons of both approaches were debated both at a special meeting of the Sag Harbor School Board of Education on Thursday, March 9, and at a second public hearing on the matter in front of the Southampton Town Board on Tuesday, March 14.

A strong contingent of champions for the acquisition, sporting “Yes to Marsden” signs in the Pierson scarlet and black colors, showed up en masse to express their support and their frustration with the process, which has had many twists and turns, especially lately.

At the Thursday School Board meeting, Sag Harbor School Superintendent Jeff Nichols announced that Southampton Town officials are now exploring using CPF money to buy development rights at Mashashimuet Park instead, and the park could potentially use those funds to pay for a capital improvement project to renovate and upgrade the athletic facilities there. Those facilities have been used by the school district’s interscholastic athletic teams for decades.

Town officials cautioned that they are still in the early stages of trying to figure out if development rights at the park even exist and, if so, what they’re worth.

The district has also been clear that it is not interested in what Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman proposed as a “scaled down” version of a what the district is proposing at the Marsden Street site, which would be a smaller athletic field. Nichols said a scaled down athletic field does not fit what the district has identified as a “facility need.”

Schneiderman proposed the scaled down version as a way to avoid having the project classified as a “Type 1” action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, requiring further review if it is determined that an environmental impact statement is necessary. Requiring an EIS happens if the project earns, after review, what is known as a “positive declaration,” which this proposed facility likely would.

“To cut to the chase, this plan essentially does not address the facility needs of the district and, as a result, the district is not interested in pursuing it,” Nichols said at the Board of Education meeting, and reiterated at the hearing.

The potential of using CPF money at Mashashimuet Park, however, was welcomed by the district and Board of Education. For the better part of a year, the district has been working with the Mashashimuet Park Board of Directors on a plan for facilities upgrades there, and had been prepared in the fall to go out to the community for what would have been a $13.5 million bond to fund the upgrades.

That bond vote was put on hold when the opportunity to buy vacant land on nearby Marsden Street became available, and the district began exploring the possibility of acquiring that land. But if CPF money could be used to cover the cost of making improvements at the park, it would essentially save the district from asking taxpayers to approve a nearly $14 million bond to do so, and in theory free up money for the district to buy the Marsden lots on its own. If the district owned those lots outright, it would not be subject to the many terms and conditions the town has imposed on the district — including the requirement that it forego installing an artificial turf field. It could also reduce the process the district would legally be required to go through in order to even get to a vote on whether or not to disperse $6 million for the Marsden Street lots, a process that could potentially stretch into November and still with no guarantee of approval.

Prior to Nichols’s statement on Tuesday, the Town Board heard public input, and 14 community members spoke. Of the 14 who spoke, 12 expressed their support for purchasing the lots on Marsden Street, and many of those who spoke in support of the acquisition expressed frustration with the Southampton Town Board for its delay in taking a vote on whether to buy the properties with its CPF.

According to Schneiderman, the town has been advised that the current proposal before them to build an athletic field would be classified as a type one action under SEQRA, likely requiring an environmental impact statement, taking months of review that could cause a significant and potentially deal-breaking delay. Taking that into account, Town Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara acknowledged that the district might be better served in ending its partnership with the town if it wants to get the land.

“I just don’t know if you want us as a partner anymore, because you could put this up for a bond in May and be done with it,” she said at the hearing.

“It’s doubtful that the town would be in a position to vote on whether to enter into a partnership with the school for at least eight months,” Schneiderman said in a separate interview on Monday. “The town has no choice but to wait.

“We’re all realizing there are problematic aspects to our partnership,” he added.

Regarding the potential of exploring the CPF buying development rights at Mashashimuet Park, Schneiderman said that he has had preliminary conversations with members of the Mashashimuet Park Board of Directors, including president Janine Rayano.

“We asked if they were willing to cooperate with us to establish where the rights exist and what the value is and if they’d potentially entertain an offer, and the answer was ‘yes,’” Schneiderman added. “But I do want to make it clear that it’s a possibility that no development rights are available, or would be very limited, and not nearly sufficient enough for the park to do meaningful improvements. We won’t know until all the research is done.”

While the vast majority of the members of the public who spoke at the February 28 Town Board hearing expressed opposition to the Marsden Street purchase, the opposite was true at Thursday night’s school board meeting, and at Tuesday’s Town Board hearing as well.

Many who spoke during public input on Thursday night were parents of students in the district, or of parents of students who graduated from the district, and several of the speakers were also alumni. Many of those same supporters also showed up at the hearing, including parents, teachers, alumni and even students who rearranged their schedules to be at the afternoon hearing.

Rob Gettling, a Pierson graduate, parent and business owner, spoke bluntly about his reasons for supporting the acquisition. “The school needs more property and more space for the kids,” he said. “They need more space, and we don’t have it.”

Keith Schumann, a father of two middle school students, expressed a sentiment brought up by many of those who support the acquisition.

“It’s become increasingly frustrating watching the process develop over the past several months, especially seeing the outsized influence given to a loud minority in opposition to this incredible opportunity, and the undervaluing of a vote that occurred in support of it on November 3,” he said.

Ben Gregor, another resident of the district, expressed opposition to using the property for anything other than an athletic field. “As far as a passive park, to me, I don’t see that as a necessary need to spend money on,” he said. “If I could have it my way, it would be [artificial] turf. I would not sign on to a proposal with the town that’s shoehorning you into a certain criteria.”

Two former School Board members also spoke in support of their project, and expressed frustration with the way the town has handled the deal. Both Chris Tice and Yorgos Tsibidiris urged supporters of the acquisition to show up to the public hearing to be heard, despite the fact that the board wanted to adjourn it again.