Community Center and library suggested in Parma study

Community Center and library suggested in Parma study
Project would locate public library at town hall site

Not only is their marriage mutually beneficial, it will also benefit families throughout the community. That is how public officials unveiled a proposal for a joint community center and library for the Hilton-Parma community, Monday, July 23, during an information session open to the public.

The goal is to put forth a plan for a referendum in November.

Sally Snow, Parma Library director, was one official presenting a vision for this joint facility.

"The whole family could be together and yet each member could do what they wanted on their own," Snow said.

Steve Fowler, Hilton-Parma Recreation director, believes the project has the potential to serve the entire community.

"This facility will be literally the hub of the community," Fowler said.

Both the Library Board and the Recreation Department have been advocating for enhanced facilities for many years. The two joined forces in April when they came to the conclusion that money and space was too limited to feel optimistic about securing what they need for their own services.

"This (joining efforts) creates an energy around a project that usually isn't there when it is only one entity," Snow said.

The proposal, as it now stands, calls for a 55,000 square foot facility with an estimated price tag of $17 million. While the town board selects the location, officials who presented the proposal are strongly suggesting the Parma Town Hall site (1300 Hilton Parma Corners Road, Route 259), as it has 156 acres of land, versus the village site, which is 5.5 acres. Dave Bono, from the DeWolff Partnership, cited several structural concerns with renovating the existing Village Community Center (59 Henry Street) including accessibility problems, a negative impact on nearby homes due to noise and lighting, and the inability to expand in the future.

"The building is problematic and the site is very tight," Bono said.

If the town board concurs with the group's findings, the plan would have the new facility built on the south side of the town hall, displacing one baseball field. Additional parking would need to accommodate 250 to 350 cars.

Fowler said the Parma Town Board and Hilton Village Board met twice before to review viable locations, currently owned by the town and village. Fowler said the only other property discussed was a 14-acre parcel on Hojack Lane. However, after some discussion, the village board did not offer that location as a possibility.

In an interview last Tuesday, Hilton Village Mayor Larry Gursslin said Hojack Lane was never a serious consideration because the village-owned property was purchased with the intent of attracting light industrial businesses.

Gursslin said he likes the concept of a joint facility, but the price tag concerns him. However, price isn't the only issue.

"I'm adamantly opposed to the library leaving the village," Gursslin said. He anticipates that the village board will pass a resolution at its August 7 meeting (same night as the town board's next meeting) to remove the Village Community Center as a potential site. After reviewing the proposal, Gursslin said the plan would be too significant of a burden on residents who surround the existing community center. Gursslin said he will also put forth a proposal that indicates the village board's willingness to support keeping the library in the village.

"We have not exhausted all options within the village," Gursslin said, including private property. "I think there are other possibilities."

Snow said she would have preferred to keep the library in the village, but she is confident that both children and adults will use the new facility.

"Most of the libraries throughout Monroe County are not located in the village and kids find a way to get there," said Snow. She suggested trying to work with the school district to make the library one possible after school destination where buses could drop students off.

The new library would occupy 22,000 square feet and offer a computer classroom and more computers throughout, separate space for children's programs and for teens, an outdoor space for reading, local history room, a drive-up book drop, meeting rooms, a larger office area for staff, a new security system and a loading dock. The site would also be equipped to serve as a wireless internet hot spot.

The recreation facility would include a 10,500 square foot gymnasium, which would be designed to house two full-size basketball courts side-by-side with a movable divider between them. The floor would be a composite material to accommodate several different types of uses. In addition to the gym, the recreation facility would have a walking track that would travel throughout the facility, a lobby area with a help desk and office space for the recreation department staff, a multi-purpose room that seats more than 200 people with an attached kitchen, a senior lounge, an arts and crafts room, a technology room and other programming rooms that could be shared with the library.

Residents who stayed until the end of the two-hour presentation voiced support for the project. Some questions asked throughout the meeting included: the possibility of adding a swimming pool, the impact of moving the library outside the village, the loss of open space at Parma Park as a result of the new facility, the ability to construct a bike path from the village to the Town Hall, if the design team had ever considered making the facility two stories, and if there would be more community input.

Fowler assured those in attendance that should the town board vote to put the project forward for referendum there would be three public meetings to gain additional input. There would also be a community wide mailing that would be sent out with details on the project.

"We would be doing a disservice to this project if we did not get as much public input as possible," Fowler said. The next anticipated step will be that the town board will determine which location is most desirable and whether or not the project will be put up for a vote. To stay on the project timeline this decision would need to be made at the August Parma Town Board meeting.

If the project was approved by the town board and again by voters in November, Fowler estimates that it would take two years to complete.

Locally, Ogden, Gates and Penfield have combined library and recreation facilities.

A long time in the making

Fowler, who has been with the Recreation Department for almost 20 years, said a recreation center has been seriously discussed since 1999 when moving the senior center and recreation administrative offices to the town hall was considered.

In 2004, the town hired a firm to determine what recreation facilities are needed within the community.

In 2005, another firm was used to spell out what was needed to create a recreation center. For six years officials have studied 10 municipalities who built community centers or who were going through the process.

Also in 2005, the department began the process of accreditation through the National Recreation and Park Association.

In March and April of this year, the Parma Town Board and the Hilton Village Board met twice to discuss possible locations for the center.

In April, the town board entered into an agreement with the DeWolff Partnership to create a plan for a new library/recreation center at two potential sites - the Village Community Center on Henry Street and the Parma Town Hall on Route 259. The DeWolff Associates will bring plans for facilities at both locations forward to the town board.