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The New Rec Center What do you think about Fair Lawn's new Recreation Center? Tedeschi: Unfortunately, the Recreation Center has been turned from a modest proposal designed to improve the quality of life in Fair Lawn into a fiscal nightmare that will cost taxpayers an astounding $24,000,000 over the next thirty years. Hyde: Let’s go back to democracy. How can you possibly undertake a capital project of $13 million dollars financed over 30 years without a mandate from the people who are paying for it? I would have presented a plan that located this center in one of our business districts, not in a residential neighborhood. Then I would have the residents vote on the plan. Would you pay for a delivery you didn’t order? More importantly, since this is a done deal, it will be my responsibility to run the center as efficiently as possible starting in 2006. Ganz: The heartbeat of Fair Lawn. There's something for everyone. Kids needed a new center – the old one was too small – the community theater's facility was a fire trap; seniors will have a card room, others will enjoy a walking track above a new basketball Court – this building will have it all! Using the Bergen County Improvement Authority, we found a way to build it without putting $600,000 down, spreading the cost over the next 30 years. I'm grateful to John Cosgrove and his committee of volunteers for all their efforts at reducing taxpayer costs.Caan: There comes a time in every community that you either move forward and meet the demands of the community or let your town begin to die by not providing the services that makes a town a great place to live. Our new Community Center, when completed will be something every resident will have the potential to use. From the new theatre, to the new youth center, to replace the old rundown dilapidated buildings we had, to new meeting areas for clubs and facilities for sporting events including holding high school wrestling and basketball contests, and other countless events and programs for residents of all ages to participate in. Baratta: I am all for a recreation center for Fair Lawn. What I am not for is an overpriced, poorly financed, monstrosity in a residential neighborhood at a time when our taxes have been skyrocketing out of site higher than the rate of inflation! Add to that, the fact that the people of Fair Lawn had no say in this huge (13 million and counting) financial decision. Something of this magnitude demanded to be put to referendum; if it were such a fabulous idea, the people would have supported it. Nevertheless, we will not know because we were not given the opportunity. It also does our business community a disservice to place this building outside of their districts. Our present administration talks about revitalizing our business districts (River Road, Broadway, Radburn, etc.), yet places a community center that would naturally bring revenue to business establishments, in a quiet residential setting next to train tracks.
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