Schenectady County buys land to host Rotterdam Little League fields Sunday, January 12, 2014 By Justin Mason (Contact)
ROTTERDAM — Schenectady County has finally closed on land to build three baseball diamonds for the Little League in Rotterdam, ending an exhaustive effort that started more than a decade after the organization’s existing fields were imperiled by development.
County officials announced they have formally purchased 8.7 acres off Burdeck Street from developer Timothy Larned for $260,000. The county will continue to own the land, but lease it back to the Little League at a nominal cost.
“That means clear sailing from here,” County Attorney Chris Gardner said Thursday.
Of course, the sale also means the Little League now has to start aggressively seeking funding to build the new ball fields, parking lots and concession stand associated with the project. Already, the league has about $30,000 at its disposal, which is enough to start work.
Grading could begin as early as the spring. Larned and Frank Del Gallo — a pool builder and the former supervisor of Rotterdam — have agreed to help the league level the site so that work on the first field can begin this spring.
“I’m ecstatic this is happening,” said Bob Caprara, the league’s treasurer, who spent years scouting potential sites for the fields. “It won’t be the end result, but we should be able to play baseball by 2015.”
Caprara said the county taking ownership of the fields will allow the league to seek grant funding for the remaining work. He said the league will also continue its own fundraising efforts to bring the final vision for the property to fruition.
“The first thing we have to do is get those fields built,” he said.
The protracted saga of the fields has dragged on long enough that the Rotterdam Little League has merged with another organization in town. In November, the league quietly joined with the Carman Little League, creating an organization serving roughly 500 youths.
The drive for new fields began when the lands of the former Rotterdam Republican Club on Princetown Road and North Thompson Street were sold in 2003. The property hosting three of the Rotterdam Little League’s diamonds was initially slated for a Walmart Supercenter, raising concerns that the organization could lose most of its field space.
The Republican majority on the Town Board initially proposed building a sprawling park complex across from the Rotterdam Square mall before state officials ruled the deed restrictions on the town-owned land would prohibit such development. Several years later, the county Legislature’s majority Democrats signed an option to buy land for the fields on Guilderland Avenue, only to realize that the amount of wetlands on the property would make it impossible to build the four fields needed by the league.
In 2011, county officials announced plans to buy the property off Burdeck and behind Rotterdam’s wastewater treatment plant on West Campbell Road from Larned, so that he could develop the former Republican Club into a 248-unit apartment complex. Work on the fields was supposed to begin that summer, allowing the league to open its 2012 season at the new complex.
Only negotiations over a sewer line proposal for the apartment complex stalled the town’s issuance of a building permit for the apartment project — a contingency for the sale of the property needed for the fields. Though negotiations over the sewer line were completed last year, the sale wasn’t finalized until recently.
“I am delighted that this project is going forward,” said Bob Carter, who serves as president of the merged leagues. “I look forward to providing new opportunities to our youth to play baseball.”
Schenectady County buys land to host Rotterdam Little League fields Sunday, January 12, 2014 By Justin Mason (Contact) Gazette Reporter
ROTTERDAM — Schenectady County has finally closed on land to build three baseball diamonds for the Little League in Rotterdam, ending an exhaustive effort that started more than a decade after the organization’s existing fields were imperiled by development.
County officials announced they have formally purchased 8.7 acres off Burdeck Street from developer Timothy Larned for $260,000. The county will continue to own the land, but lease it back to the Little League at a nominal cost.
“That means clear sailing from here,” County Attorney Chris Gardner said Thursday.
Of course, the sale also means the Little League now has to start aggressively seeking funding to build the new ball fields, parking lots and concession stand associated with the project. Already, the league has about $30,000 at its disposal, which is enough to start work.
Grading could begin as early as the spring. Larned and Frank Del Gallo — a pool builder and the former supervisor of Rotterdam — have agreed to help the league level the site so that work on the first field can begin this spring.
“I’m ecstatic this is happening,” said Bob Caprara, the league’s treasurer, who spent years scouting potential sites for the fields. “It won’t be the end result, but we should be able to play baseball by 2015.”
Caprara said the county taking ownership of the fields will allow the league to seek grant funding for the remaining work. He said the league will also continue its own fundraising efforts to bring the final vision for the property to fruition.
“The first thing we have to do is get those fields built,” he said.
The protracted saga of the fields has dragged on long enough that the Rotterdam Little League has merged with another organization in town. In November, the league quietly joined with the Carman Little League, creating an organization serving roughly 500 youths.
The drive for new fields began when the lands of the former Rotterdam Republican Club on Princetown Road and North Thompson Street were sold in 2003. The property hosting three of the Rotterdam Little League’s diamonds was initially slated for a Walmart Supercenter, raising concerns that the organization could lose most of its field space.
The Republican majority on the Town Board initially proposed building a sprawling park complex across from the Rotterdam Square mall before state officials ruled the deed restrictions on the town-owned land would prohibit such development. Several years later, the county Legislature’s majority Democrats signed an option to buy land for the fields on Guilderland Avenue, only to realize that the amount of wetlands on the property would make it impossible to build the four fields needed by the league.
In 2011, county officials announced plans to buy the property off Burdeck and behind Rotterdam’s wastewater treatment plant on West Campbell Road from Larned, so that he could develop the former Republican Club into a 248-unit apartment complex. Work on the fields was supposed to begin that summer, allowing the league to open its 2012 season at the new complex.
Only negotiations over a sewer line proposal for the apartment complex stalled the town’s issuance of a building permit for the apartment project — a contingency for the sale of the property needed for the fields. Though negotiations over the sewer line were completed last year, the sale wasn’t finalized until recently.
“I am delighted that this project is going forward,” said Bob Carter, who serves as president of the merged leagues. “I look forward to providing new opportunities to our youth to play baseball.”
Only negotiations over a sewer line proposal for the apartment complex stalled the town’s issuance of a building permit for the apartment project — a contingency for the sale of the property needed for the fields. Though negotiations over the sewer line were completed last year, the sale wasn’t finalized until recently.
We may have missed this info.....but where are the sewer lines going.....all the way up burdeck....... and who's paying for them?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
30 grand might pay for the survey and some of the engineering
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
no grass, no sand, no fill, no fence, no chalk, no block house, no lights - $30,000 on gov't property will pay for 300hrs of labor and nothing else as all work is now prevailing wage
and then there is the fragrant aroma of human SH!T
it would have been much cheaper for FDG and Larnard to develop the fields and then turn them over to the county complete for the same $$
but that would require trust
a quality not found in Rotterdam
the location is still BS
no...they could have donated it ALL.....THAT'S community....when government becomes the biggest donation it becomes a religion....and if larnard didn't want to donate, that's his prerogative.
shifty business this government engages in...shame shame shame.....the emperor has no clothes
we have allowed ANOTHER kind of business to take over the government.....sounds like a 'too big to fail' tactic
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
for all of you with the NASTY comments......what do you do for the community???......
WE PAY HIGH TAXATION.....nuff said!!!
just as senders said.............the government shouldn't be in the baseball business!!! They can't even maintain the infrastructure!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
and "Rotterdam Baseball" should not be in the baseball business either - from around 1970 to now they still have nothing of substance - you would think they would saved the cash and have purchased the devils triangle fields by now
they would rather play in a SH!thole for a handout
and "Rotterdam Baseball" should not be in the baseball business either - from around 1970 to now they still have nothing of substance - you would think they would saved the cash and have purchased the devils triangle fields by now
they would rather play in a SH!thole for a handout
yup
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5 Print Page Print LLBCorporateLogo_152pxFounded in 1939; Little League was granted Federal Charter July 16, 1964, by unanimous act of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States of America and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as Public Law 88-378, 88th Congress H.R. 9234, and amended December 26, 1974, Public Law 93-551, 93rd Congress, H.R. 8864. Little League is tax exempt.
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...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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