Seeking Answers About Community Center Costs

Dear Editor: My name is Pat Godfrey - I am a New City resident and a new member of the Clarkstown Taxpayers group. On June 10, 2013 I spoke by phone with Alex Gromack about the $2 million+ renovation of the Clarkstown community centers. I asked him how is it possible that such a huge expensive renovation project was approved without open public meetings to discuss the plans at town board meetings? He replied that "we did have meetings on this". I asked "when"? I told him that if there had been meetings the public would have been all over this". He told me that "we had 2 meetings, and I'm sorry you missed them". This is a lie, there was only one workshop meeting. Any other meetings must have been held out of the public view in violation of the Open Meetings law. I asked how the cost of the renovation became so inflated. Gromack said that Hoehmann looked into what was needed and made several additions like energy saving windows, and generators for the community centers. Hoehmann made no public report on such findings. Gromack then added something I never even heard before that additional generators were obtained for the Main St. lights in case the power goes out. I emphasized that there were no meetings and I asked how he thought the taxpayers were going to pay for this. He said the town got grants for the generators and he would take a bond out for the rest of it. I asked at what interest rate to which he quoted a couple of different ones and would wait to see what Clarkstown will get. I stressed again that none of this was ever discussed in a public meeting and he insisted that it was and that there were 3 meetings held on this which he was sorry I missed. This can not be true because I know of no one who has reported any meeting other than the original one where Lettre came up with a figure of about $600,000 for these repairs. On the phone call was his secretary, and the head of the community centers - I believe her name is Jo Anne Pederson?? He tried to put her on the phone in my opinion to deflect from the real issue. She was there to tell me what the renovations were for. I did not let her speak because the specifics of renovations were not the issue that I called him to discuss. My concern is that Gromack is allocating $2+ million dollars to a renovation that no one in the public has had an opportunity to be informed about what's being done. The conversation was testy at times. I finally asked how much is enough? I told Gromack that he had already bonded over $100 million and I asked him when he was going to stop spending money that that town doesn't have. Please follow up on this and do the public a service by reviewing how this project ballooned from $600,000 to over $2 million. Something is seriously wrong here and it is the press that must get to the bottom of this with some investigative reporting. I feel that spending by the Supervisor and the town board is out of control and is being done behind closed doors and beyond the public view. Were there other meetings? When were they held? Who was in attendance? What is the profit mark up that the contractor of this project is getting? Can the public see the contract that the town has signed with this contractor? This is an election year and the head of this project, Ed Lettre, is head of the Conservative Party that is going to give that election line to all of the members of the town board who are running this year including Wayne Ballard and Justin Sweet. Is this why no public meetings have been held? I did not elect Ed Lettre to make these expenditures on my behalf. Why has he not had to appear before the town board in a public meeting to explain this proposal? Does the town board run this town or are the members of the town board simply the puppets of Ed Lettre? Regards, Pat Godfrey New City