Top Ten List Of Senior Activities For 2008 At Pinegrove:
- Bingo
- Softball
- Meals
- Golf
- Silver Sneakers
- Monday Cards
- Tuesday Cards
- Motion Promotion
- Card Tournaments
- Bridge
Out of this list, 10 things can be done at the Pinegrove site, but only 8 things can be done at King$ Pork, and those 8 things need more square footage. This encouraged the Town Board to unilaterally pass a resolution in November of '08 to lease over 20,000 sq. ft. for more room to play bingo, eat, play cards, and exercise - after spending $250,000 to remodel/renovate the rental property first.
Where were the Seniors going to play golf and softball? Inside King$ Pork? Those are two very popular activities for our seniors, and they enjoy it very much.
Right now, as you're reading this, seniors are preparing for their softball season, and working on their swing for golf. They can walk out the back door of their senior center, and walk amongst nature to "play" outside on soccer fields and baseball diamonds. They can play bocce on the lawn of their senior center. They can interact with kids and other adults at the Nature Center. Their community can join them in activities there. They can sit on the patio outside to watch the birds, the deer, the little bunny rabbits and chipmunks that scamper about.
If the vote had gone through, the seniors would be at King$ Pork right now. Enjoying the beautiful inside of the building. They'd have over 20,000 sq. ft. of space all to themselves, away from nature and the rest of the community. Plenty of room to play bingo and cards, eat and exercise. They could walk out the back door of King$ Pork and walk on the smooth, level pavement - amongst the fencing that holds back the overgrowth of the lot behind King$ Pork. They can retrieve something from their car....or get in it and drive somewhere else to play bocce, golf, and softball (of course after opening the doors to let the inside of the car cool off because there are no trees to shade their vehicles from the hot sun that beats down upon the acres and acres of hot asphalt that surrounds King$ Pork). They could bring a folding chair and sit out back and watch the seagulls pooping on their cars, and count the rats that rummage around in the dumpsters. They could sit out in front of the building and watch the cars go by, maybe playing a bit of "punch bug" while they enjoy the scenery of a really nice parking lot. It's very smooth, and painted with nice, bright yellow lines. They could always just stay inside the building and enjoy the subtle odor of sewage wafting through the building and intermingling with the smells of meatloaf from their brand new oven that the town paid for with CDBG.
What's not to love about that?
Ya know, I'm starting to doubt my opinion on why I think it's smart to invest in what "we" own by building a new Community (not just seniors) Center at Pinegrove or Town Hall Campus or somewhere else. I can clearly see why the Town made the choice it did in November. Surely, it makes much more sense to relocate the seniors away from the community into a 40 year old building all by themselves, while the other tenants vacate the premises. The seniors can drive to a park to play softball or bocce or golf, right? They don't have to do that at King$ Pork.
Besides, the WISD really wants Pinegrove. Since CDBG covers senior and community centers - the town can locate it anywhere with the "it won't directly affect the local taxes" mantra - and the Town can let the WISD buy Pinegrove - then the school district can raise the taxes of the residents in the WISD to pay for renovations/repairs, and the Town can claim that the SD's spend too much money!
The evil genius of it all.......mwah-ha-haaaa!
I see the logic in it now! Spending over a quarter of a million dollars to fix up a rental property for landlords and spending over a quarter of a million dollars a year on lease payments for a temporary solution for up to five years makes much more sense than spending $500,000 on a building "we" own that is worth over $600,000 (according to Tim Poley).
I don't know why I ever thought spending $500,000 for a temporary solution on town owned property is better than spending $1.5 million on a temporary solution for leased property.
Gosh, it's all so clear now.
Why WOULDN'T I want to spend $56,000 on carpeting for a landlord. It's not like I can rip that up and take it with me after the "temporary" lease is up, so why not let them keep it after "we" decide on another location (or were "we"?Hmmmm....)
Why WOULDN'T I want to update their fixtures for them, and reconstruct their entrances and walls for them? They can keep them too.
Why WOULDN'T I want to install an alarm system for them, and update their plumbing/electric/HVAC for them? All theirs to have after "we" leave.
I can't believe the "small group of senior haters who hold back town progress" voted against this lease!!!!!
What in the world were they thinking?!?!
;)
