Greenburgh to vote on sports complex lease

The Greenburgh Town Council could vote as early as Friday on a controversial proposal to lease a contaminated site to a private company for a proposed sports complex, Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said Monday.

Under the terms of the proposed 15-year lease to Game On 365, the town would get $260,000 a year in rent, which includes $50,000 in lieu of property and school taxes. If property taxes go up after the third year of the lease, Feiner said, the rent would increase.

Feiner said the proposed lease -- which would increase to more than $330,000 a year during the 15-year period -- would mean more than $5 million in much-needed revenue for the southern Westchester County town.

A public hearing will take place Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall to discuss the plan, and the proposed lease would then be presented before the Town Council on Friday at 1 p.m., Feiner said.

James Melnichok, a representative for Game On 365, said the project would create jobs, expand the town's property tax base and provide recreational opportunities for young people in Greenburgh and surrounding communities.

Not everyone is pleased with the town's proposal.

Some residents have criticized the town for agreeing to pay taxes on the property and have questioned how much taxpayers would have to pay to clean up the 7-acre site, currently assessed at more than $1.3 million.

A citizens group led by Greenburgh resident Simon Cohen -- HelpBurstTheBubble.com -- has published an elaborate analysis of the bubble proposal, condemning the plan as a bad business deal for the town. Mailers sent to residents last week claimed that the plan could cost the town $250,000 in lost property and school taxes.

Town officials had a public hearing Thursday, and supporters and opponents of the proposal sounded off.

Game On 365 plans a 94,000-square-foot, air-supported dome and an attached 15,000-square-foot clubhouse along with an outdoor soccer facility. The site is off Dobbs Ferry Road. The facility would be called the Westchester Field House.

As part of the lease, Game On 365 would spend $125,000 to clean up an old petroleum spill on the property.

The company, which is registered as a limited liability corporation in New York, operates sports complexes in Bergen County, N.J., including the Soccer Coliseum in Teaneck and Superdome Sports in Waldwick.