Millerton survey focuses on recreation needs and wants

MILLERTON — Just what do people like to do for recreation and how do they like to do it? Those are some of the questions being asked by the Village Board and the Millerton Recreation Committee through a new survey. 

Survey goals

The goal, said Recreation Committee and Village Board member Stephen Waite, is to poll the needs of the community in hopes of providing improved services.

“There are three parts to it,” said Waite. “There’s a section to gather some background information on the individuals taking the survey — are they residents, nonresidents, part-time residents and what are their ages? Then the second part, that’s more about general recreation interests, like some of the things individuals might be interested in or whether they’re interested in group recreation, individual recreation or different types of recreation. Then there’s the third part, specifically designed to get people’s thoughts on improvements to Eddie Collins Park.”

Recreational offerings

Eddie Collins Park is off Route 22 in the village of Millerton. It’s home to baseball, softball, basketball, soccer and other activities. It also boasts a specialized skate board park. It used to be home to the village’s entire summer camp program, but now that’s split between Eddie Collins Park and Rudd Pond. 

Until the last couple of years, there was also a swimming pool, which was closed due to severe cracks and leaks.

“I know that losing the pool, it would be nice to have a swimming pool,” said North East town Supervisor George Kaye, who added that the town and the village share a $35,000 annual budget that is divided evenly between them. The village runs the Recreation Department, however. Kaye said it provides for a lot of people, and added some of his favorites aspects. “We need that basketball court, I see that used over there a great deal of the time, and baseball is certainly a big part of the needs of the youth here.”

Kaye said he’s looking for more input from the survey.

“That’s what I hope this will kind of determine,” he said. “It’s something certainly that the town needs.”

An idea in the making

Waite said the interest in doing a survey came from members of the village’s Recreation Committee, which he started up specifically as a committee rather than as a commission. A committee is appointed by the mayor. A commission would have more authority with government funds — a committee does not.

The Millerton Recreation Committee includes Waite, Deputy Mayor Debbie Middlebrook, Former Recreation Director Jenn Najdek and Townscape member Jeanne Vanecko.

“That group is specifically interested in coming up with a plan for improvements to Eddie Collins Park,” said Waite. “I would say that was the group that suggested and developed the survey.”

It’s important, he said, because Eddie Collins Park is a centerpiece of the village’s recreation offerings, along with the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.

Millerton, a destination

“My personal view of recreation in the area, and I’m specifically speaking about Millerton, is it’s a destination for individuals who are interested in all kinds of recreation,” Waite said. “But I also want it to be a place where it’s not just a destination or tourist attraction for those who want to ride on the Rail Trail or come to events, but also a place where those who are young people may want to start a family may want to raise their kids.

“I think the park itself is important to me because as a young person I  grew up and used that park, and I used it quite often,” he added. “It was not uncommon for me to be down there with 50 other kids or so, more than that.”

Kaye said that should be among the goals of the Recreation Committee — to entice more children to participate in activities in both the town and the village.

“There are not enough things for kids today to do outdoors, rather than playing on a computer or playing video games or  whatever,” he said. “It’s too easy to get into problems when kids just don’t have enough to do. They get bored, with time on their hands, and it’s not necessarily a good thing. I was happy to see that somebody was taking the initiative of trying to get an idea of what was needed for the kids here.”

The supervisor added that children are sometimes a “forgotten group,” and said the schools can’t be expected to do it all alone.

“There has to be something done more on a local level,” said Kaye. “Especially in the summer time. We do have certain programs, but whatever we do is sometimes not enough.”

Waite noted the village has seen recreation numbers drop off due to a lot of different reasons. There’s not just been a lack of jobs in the area, but families that used to have four children may now only have two. He said in his opinion, the area is “ripe” for an investment in recreation.

Investing in recreation

“I think that’s important to point out, because I don’t think a lot of people look at recreation as an investment,” he said. “With recreation we can actually bring in revenue, if we do things right. We’ve seen it with the Rail Trail, we’ve seen money coming to businesses. And hopefully with the state park system and Rudd Pond … which allows campers to come in who may stay and come into the village.”

Then there’s the wide array of activities planned in Millerton throughout the year that tap into the recreation wants and needs of the community. Some are hosted by the North East Community Center (NECC), some are offered through the Irondale Schoolhouse Association, the Millerton Business Association or Townscape — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“Perhaps the local village or town park can draw young people and other events, so that we can keep building upon the progress that’s been made here already,” said Waite. “Certainly the park, named after an individual in the Baseball Hall of Fame, should look like a park that’s named after an individual in the Baseball Hall of Fame.”

Survey goals

The best case scenaario is that the survey will provide the Recreation Committee with valuable information about what people are interested in, who is interested in it, and whether they’d like to see improvements made to Eddie Collins Park. Also, information is being sought on whether people want to see any improvements to the recreation program made with grant dollars, donations or taxpayer dollars. 

Residents are encouraged to take the survey online, as the data is easier for the Recreation Committee to track and analyze that way. It can also be downloaded, filled out and returned to Village Hall, or simply picked up at and returned to Village Hall, located at 21 Dutchess Ave. 

Surveys are available on both the village and town websites. Millerton’s website is www.villageofmillerton.net; North East’s website is www.townofnortheastny.gov. The survey is also available at www.surveymonkey.com/r/Revitalizationofeddiecollinspark.

Though there’s no concrete deadline for when the surveys are due, Waite said he expects the survey will shut down by October.