School Superintendent Michael O'Laughlin looks over drawings for the proposed project with Kathy and Kevin Noon.

Kendall’s native son, Kevin Noon, was recently able to do his part in helping the Kendall Central School district realize a long time dream — the building of a "campus community."

Noon, and his wife Kathy, last week donated 40.227 acres of land to the school district. The land will be utilized as the future home of a fitness facility, an all-weather track, both of which will be open to the community; five softball-baseball diamonds, five tennis courts, two lighted basketball courts, a new bus garage and a 108-car parking lot.

The construction project, which carries an approximate $3 million price tag, is scheduled for a groundbreaking in the spring, School Superintendent Michael O’Laughlin said. The donated land runs behind the elementary and high schools.

"The main part of this project is that it will actually give us a campus community for the first time in the history of the district," O'Laughlin said. "The project will be a bridge between the community and school. It will give Kendall a ‘center’."

While the sports facilities and the bus garage are main components of the project, O’Laughlin said safety issues would also be addressed within the scope of the project. The project will improve safety for the students by making provisions for the construction of a second access road to the high school.

"We have had some safety concerns with the access to the high school," he said. "The district was constantly writing to the transportation department requesting their help with getting an alternative exit to the school."

The bus garage is needed to house the district’s fleet of 27 busses. The present garage is outdated and small, hampering the district’s ability to maintain the fleet.

Also included in the project are funds to replace the septic system at the elementary school and to refurbish the septic system at the high school. Replacement of air conditioners in the high school auditorium and other air handling needs will be addressed. Updating of the drainage system and the addition of bleachers to meet the anticipated needs inherent with the upgrading of the sports facilities are also in the scope of the project.

Noon, owner of K & K Markets, and his wife Kathy, graduated from Kendall. Kathy and her mother, Ardeen Brehse, were both teachers in the district and Kathy’s father, Franklin Brehse, was a school bus driver.

"The Noons are very avid supporters of the community," O’Laughlin said. "They offered the district an outstanding opportunity that the community embraced by passing the bond issue by the largest margin ever. There has been tremendous support from the community."

Noon, a life-long resident of the area, said that as a child growing up in the community there were no basketball courts and the kids used to bounce from neighbor to neighbor looking for a place to play basketball.

"We used to end up playing in someone’s barn," he said. "I remember thinking how great it would be if there were someplace for us to play — I never dreamed that I would be the one donating the land to make it happen."

Noon said he bought a piece of land with the idea of building a convenience store on it but discovered zoning regulations required a larger plot. Following his purchase of the Tucker farm and the construction of the store, he found he had a parcel of land remaining.

"This extra piece of land seemed like an opportunity waiting to happen," he said. "I haven’t had a single regret since I signed the papers to donate it."

"I hope the whole community can feel the excitement that this project is going to bring to Kendall," Noon said. "Someday I will be watching my grandchildren play sports on those fields and that is a great feeling. You just can’t put a price tag on something like that."

As a thank you gesture to Noon and his family, the district has decided to name two new roads Noon Boulevard and Day Drive, in honor of Noon’s parents.