On January 14, voters in the Goshen Central School District will decide whether the district will transfer a parcel of land – located on the corner of Erie Street and Webster Avenue – to the Village of Goshen. Public approval is required in order to transfer ownership.
The vote will take place in the Board of Education Room at the Main Street Administration Building, 227 Main Street, Goshen, NY 10924. Voting will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. This will be the only place available for voting.
Erie Street: Then and Now
In the spring of 1916, the district was given the entire Erie Street property when A. S. Murray and Dr. James Coleman donated the tract of land. At the time, the property was just behind the Erie Street grammar school. Once the new high school was built and the grammar school demolished, the district gradually stopped using the property.
In the mid 1990s, the district conveyed a section of the property to the Village, which was turned into a municipal park, known by residents as Erie Street Park. Although The district does not use this land for any recreational, athletic or other purpose, it shares property maintenance costs of both parcels with The Goshen Joint Recreation Commission (JRC).
The Village is now looking to acquire the remaining parcel of land owned by the district to enhance the existing park. Village of Goshen Mayor Molly O’Donnell has shared plans with the Board of Education to turn the unused property into an improved public park with basketball courts, a pavilion, new playground equipment and bathroom facilities. These updates are not possible while the land is under the district’s ownership.
The Village will cover the cost of the vote. See the Town of Goshen’s Erie Street Park Presentation here from a previous article published on our district website.
Selling versus transferring
The district has the option to sell the Erie Street property instead of transferring ownership to the Village, but not without possible consequences. A lack of parkland funding prevents the Village from being able to buy the land outright from the district. However, if the district were to sell the property to another buyer, there would be no way of knowing how the land would be developed. Because the Village has shared its intent to improve the existing public park, district officials prefer to transfer ownership of the property to them, if approved by the community.
Gathering community input
Prior to making its decision to hold a public vote about the property, the Board of Education first invited community members to roundtable discussions, held earlier this fall at the Main Street Building. After careful consideration, the Board of Education decided at its Nov. 4 meeting to hold a vote on the Erie Street property and set the date of Jan 14.
“We believe in the Village of Goshen’s vision for Erie Street Park,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kurtis Kotes. “Transferring ownership would alleviate all maintenance-related costs incurred by the district, and would also contribute to a valuable community space for our children and their families.”