Village Board seeks lead agency status for Eddie Collins Memorial Park project

MILLERTON — The Village Board made great strides with the up-and-coming revitalization of Eddie Collins Memorial Park by declaring itself as the project’s lead agency during its workshop meeting on Thursday, Sept. 10.

The meeting was live streamed to the “Village of Millerton VOM” Facebook page due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the entire board was there along with Village Clerk Kelly Kilmer, Kevin Chazen from the engineering firm, The Chazen Companies, and Jeanne Vanecko from the Eddie Collins Memorial Field Revitalization Committee.

Mayor Debbie Middlebrook shared the board’s intent to go through the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process for the project. She reported that she noticed only Part One and not Part Two or Three was listed. Since Millerton expected to become lead agency for the project, Middlebrook asked Chazen when the board would complete Parts Two and Three. 

Chazen replied that once the village is declared lead agency, it would proceed with Parts Two and Three. Middlebrook asked Chazen if he would prepare the forms or if Village Attorney Ian Lindars should. Chazen said The Chazen Companies could assist.

That evening, the board reviewed Part One and determine if it wanted to be lead agency. 

Chazen spoke of the agencies that will generally be involved in the project. In addition to the Village Board, he said Dutchess County will be involved, as a Community Development Block Grant was used to help fund the park redo. Chazen said state agencies involved include the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (another funding agency); the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which issued the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit; the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT), which issued the highway work permit; and the New York State Department of Health (DOH), which must approve the pools and restrooms. 

After reviewing the planning and zoning section, Chazen moved on to project details. With the acreage of the proposed action calculated at 16.43 acres, he said they were probably going to be disturbing close to 7 acres with no reported expansion of the existing project or subdivisions. 

The revitalization project will be completed in multiple phases. The village is currently in the first phase of the project — which includes relocating the park entrance, improving the handicapped accessible playground and installing two new basketball courts and a soccer field. The second phase will include the installation of the pool and the park’s restroom areas while the third phase will include the installation of the Little League fields and some additional improvements. The final phase will include the installation of lighting. Throughout the process, he said they will also install/upgrade electrical infrastructure.

“What we’re estimating — and obviously this is all going to come down to funding at the end of the day — but there will probably be about at least a need for about a year between each phase for design or somewhere along those lines,” Chazen said.

In addition to the work detailed in each of the project’s phases, Chazen mentioned that The Chazen Companies is proposing new restroom facilities for the pool. 

Moving on to project operations, he said there’s no excavation mining or dredging and no encroachment on any existing wetlands, water bodies or any adjacent areas. A septic system will be done on site, and The Chazen Companies will be working hand in hand with the DEC and the DOH to make sure all aspects are reviewed.

Focusing on the site and setting of the park redo, Chazen identified the site as “commercial, industrial, residential parkland” and as a shared-use site. Beyond the installation of the pool and more parking, he said the revitalization is about rehabilitation of the field and reimagining what’s currently there.

Following Chazen’s review of the project, the board approved a motion to allow Middlebrook to sign the SEQRA Part One application. The board also approved a resolution declaring the Village Board lead agency for the state-mandated SEQRA review and then approved a resolution accepting grant funds for Phase One of the project.

Kilmer will send notice regarding the board’s intent to be lead agency as well as a copy of Part One of the SEQRA review process to all of the involved agencies and the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development. 

All involved agencies had up to 30 days to respond if they had any issues with the Village Board being lead agency; the board had to wait for those responses before it could proceed with the project.

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