VOM, Sportime Still in Talks About Harbor Island Renovations

Harbor Island Park may finally be receiving an overhaul that has been in the works for over a decade.

Claude Okin, CEO of Sportime, a private company that manages and operates sports facilities throughout New York, appeared at last Thursday's Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees meeting. Okin explained that the Sportime overhaul project has been delayed due to financial reasons and an extensive litigation process that spanned over ten years.

"Now, at the end of this lengthy period, [Sportime] and the Village are ready to go ahead and build a new facility with improvements," Okin said.

Okin presented a number of slides that showed the current Harbor Island facilities and how they will appear after the renovation. Plans include four new soccer fields, 482 parking spots and a new multi-sports building to house in-line skating and indoor soccer, among other activities.

Still, the project has not received an official okay.

"We're still trying to receive public input so the project can best suit the community," said Richard Slingerland, village manager, adding that the vote has not yet been scheduled.

The project is expected to cost between $6 and $9 million, according to Slingerland, and will ideally be completed by September 2011.

Recently, Sportime analyzed feedback from residents and the village board to guide their improvements, relaying suggestions back to their architects and designers.

"We tried to be as responsive as possible to all concerns raised," Okin said.  "It's going to be a joint project, too. There will be joint oversight between the Sportime and the village."

"The goal is to make all the green space usable," Okin added.

Village Trustee John Hofstetter questioned elements of Sportime's renovations, particularly the addition of a ninth tennis court.

"I don't know why we can't just stay with eight courts," Hofstetter said. He also expressed anxiety about the rapid pace of the project.

"The village is being asked to finance the project… we don't need to do all these things at the same time," he said. "The onus is on us, and we need to be responsible."

"The cost of financing this project affects how we can fund other things for the Village," Hofstetter added.

"Financing is different than paying for," Okin responded. "We have the obligation to pay back every dollar we're borrowing."