Written by Carol P. Bartold
 

Dec. 24, 2014: The Bronxville Board of Education, at its regular December 16 meeting, focused on a discussion of the two propositions relating to flood mitigation work and a proposed reconfiguration of Hayes Field in the upcoming January 22, 2015, referendum and heard public concerns about issues surrounding the referendum.

Proposition One seeks authorization of a $900,000 bond issue to fund the school district's share of the $7 million flood mitigation project to be constructed at Hayes Field on the school campus. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted the school district and village 75 percent of the cost of the project. The school district and village must fund the remaining 25 percent, split equally.

Proposition Two seeks to authorize the district to use up to $2.2 million from its district-wide improvements capital reserve fund to pay for the cost of Hayes Field reconfiguration after completion of the flood mitigation work.

Board president Denise Tormey explained that the referendum will include two separate propositions because the funding for the two elements of the project comes from different sources. She emphasized that the funds that could be used for the Hayes Field reconfiguration are already in the capital reserve fund.

"The board, in looking at this project, has viewed the two components as inextricably linked," Tormey stated. She added that there are many areas of overlap between the two projects.

The two elements of the project, Tormey said, are intended to address three overarching problems the district has faced throughout the years:

• The devastating effect of prior floods

• The lack of adequate field space for students in all grades

• Parking constraints.

Tormey reported that the board and its facilities committee continue to work to refine the details of both projects.

Village resident Gretchen Pingel expressed concern that eliminating the natural surface on Hayes Field and removing tons of soil and many mature trees on Midland Avenue would increase the potential for flooding. "Many people feel that flooding worsened in this community after the crumb rubber synthetic turf fields were installed on Chambers Field and the Christmas tree lot," she said.

In response to concerns expressed about the safety of a synthetic turf surface on Hayes Field, board member Adele Murray pointed out that parents would have assurance that their children were on Bronxville School property rather than being bussed to alternative fields. "Those fields would probably be crumb rubber fields," Murray said, "so there is a benefit to having students stay on our field in our neighborhood where we know what the surface product is."

Margaret Mager, past president of the Bronxville School PTA, presented ideas related to parking that were discussed at a December 5 meeting attended by board member Adele Murray, Mayor Mary Marvin, Deputy (village) Treasurer Peggy Conway, Police Chief Christopher Satriale, and several parents.

Ideas that could yield 10 to 20 additional parking spaces off campus include renting spaces at The Bronxville Women's Club, renting spaces at the Maltby Lot on Paxton Avenue, and reworking the Bronxville Public Library parking on Library Lane to add capacity.

Ideas discussed to increase parking on campus include providing an incentive for employees to carpool; hiring a traffic engineer with expertise in parking to analyze district property and make recommendations on how to increase parking capacity without removing play space; and having the traffic engineer examine the daily flow of cars in and out of the lot in an effort to maximize use through the rotation of parking spaces. The meeting also yielded a suggestion to install a circular drive at the front of the school, which would have the added benefit of reducing Pondfield Road congestion during drop-off and pickup times.

The Bronxville Board of Education will hold a public information session in early January, date to be determined, to discuss the January 22 referendum. The board's next regular meeting will be on Thursday, January 15, at 7:00 pm in the multipurpose room.

Pictured here: Flooding at the elementary school parking lot during recent storm on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.

Photo by N. Bower