When Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi toured this area with a view toward economic development, he mentioned Chelsea Center as a great location for a bed & breakfast. Now, after sending out and receiving Requests For Expression of Interest (RFEI) the county is ready to discuss the suggestions. The result is that the Muttontown Village Board is considering a proposal made by representatives of the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums (NCPRM) on Dec. 8, to expand the current use of the Muttontown Preserve, Nassau Hall, Chelsea and the Malcolm Farm at the Jericho Preserve. While the county owns the acreage, the village must oversee its use according to the deed for the property. If accepted as offered, the project would use Chelsea and Nassau Hall as bed & breakfast sites; expand the current equestrian center at the Muttontown Preserve and create a stable at the Malcolm Farm at the Jericho Preserve. The process would be overseen by the Village of Muttontown boards which would give the volunteers a great deal more work to do with little return.

Doreen Banks, NCPRM Commissioner Doreen Banks came to speak to the Muttontown board on Dec. 8 to seek their input on responses to their Request For Proposals (RFP) on uses for Chelsea and Nassau Hall. Chelsea had housed the Nassau County Office of Cultural Affairs Department, which no longer exists. Nassau Hall is home to the Theodore Roosevelt Association and the Friends of Long Island Heritage.

The county is also interested in the 540 acres of the Muttontown Preserve and the Jericho Preserve with its collection of historic buildings which were purchased to preserve history and open space.

Ms. Banks had brought with her several county experts to discuss the proposals: Herb Mills, historian; Al Lindberg, environmental preservationist in charge of the Nassau County Preserves of the north shore; Michelle McFaul, deputy commissioner of PRM whose expertise is the county museums and who expressed the interest of private sector partners; and Nick Valasenus, who was there to discuss the proposal process.

Ms. Banks said the county is not looking for short term results but long term well thought out concepts, working with private sector partners.

Commissioner Banks explained the focus of the group saying, "Nassau County has 6,000 acres of parkland, as well as a lot of mansions - all of which are not well taken care of. Many were acquired for the purpose of preservation as well as to maintain open space in the '70s, and not a lot has been done to the mansions since then. That is the challenge facing the county. "There are a myriad of under-utilized, under-performing, deteriorating assets."

She added, "We are here to do something about that."

They have county-wide goals and are trying to draw in the private sector for help. They are determining the appropriate use of the facilities; plan to restore and refurbish them; maintain public access; and defray Nassau County expenses in maintaining the sites and increase revenues that will be used to restore and re-invest in the sites. She said Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi considers one of the great things about the proposals is that they will make money to put back into the sites.

They were in Muttontown, Ms. Banks said, to seek input from the village on the proposal for an Equestrian Center in the Muttontown Preserve, north of Chelsea. On March 19, 1968 an agreement was signed with the county to own and operate an equestrian center, but "Things changed and it never came to fruition," said Mr. Mills. In 1989, an equestrian operator approached the county and in July 1999 he received a letter from Muttontown Village Clerk Vivien Van Wagner saying the village agreed to have the county investigate the offer. It is back on the table, he said. The new plan would need 100 horses to be viable; a boarding stable with a minimum of 50 horses and a training facility operated by the lease holder. The lease would include the maintenance of trails, an ongoing problem for the county, said Mr. Mills.

Al Lindberg, a biologist with a 30-year career in protecting the Nassau County preserves explained the proposed area would involve using the existing equestrian parking lots and rings. He said they looked at the environmental concerns and situations and found the plan environmentally sensitive. The area is on the side of the property adjacent to Route 106.

The plan proposes to use a wooded 25-acre site along Route 106 and Muttontown Road. It is protected by a berm to shield the interior of the area. It is higher along 106 and any building will be shielded from sight by the berm.

Muttontown Preserve has 70 acres. The Freshwater Act protects the center of it, which is called "Hicksville 13." It goes from Chelsea Center to Route 106. It has a 100-foot buffer around it to protect the reptile, amphibian and other animals that use it as a habitat. There is also an additional habitat buffer that circles the area which is for animals and plants and was established by the DEC. There are amphibians, reptiles and salamanders which use the pond for three weeks of their life and then spend the rest of their lives in the surrounding buffer.

Mr. Lindberg said there are concerns that there be no fertilizers used, no septic systems put in and no parking lots with runoff that will disturb the wetlands. There can be no alien or invasive plants added to the site that could get into the habitat itself.

Mr. Mills said the southern end of the property has invasive species - Norway Maples that have a negative value and therefore that area is the best to develop without changing the site. "The old Hudson Estate entrance was there, with a driveway with landscaping. Many [fast growing] Norway Maples were planted there and they are an invasive species and [because they are an invasive species] nothing else grows there." The plan would take out the trees.

Ms. McFaul said requests for expressions of interest were asked for and received by the county. She said there were eight financially viable proposals submitted. There were two submissions from local horse associations with ideas and pros and cons, which they considered. The proposal for the equestrian center would call for a $2 million investment with $150,000 annual leasing fee to go to the county.

Mr. Thalasinos gave the Request For Proposal (RFP) highlights. The goal is for a license to be issued for stables, indoor/outdoor rings, a snack bar, a manager's office, and a caretaker's residence for 24-hour availability. The activities include supervised rides, dressage and jumping lessons and shows. The licensee must preserve the trails with their own equipment. Manure must be kept in leak-proof containers and carted off the site. They must have liability insurance, an on-call veterinarian; monitor horses' health and behavior, comply with government standards, and supply a 24-hour caretaker.

The project must conform to Muttontown regulations: Muttontown approves the structures; no exterior lights; they use the current entrance off Route 106; there will be only eight horse shows a year with 350 spectators maximum.

After 15 years the equestrian center becomes the property of Nassau County.

The Jericho Preserve is being called the Gateway to Muttontown. The triangle along Route 106 and Old Jericho Turnpike is a historic district created to preserve the existing structures located there. It consists of the Malcolm Farm and the house where the last owner lived until his recent death. There are some private tenants in houses on the west side of the road. The barns and fields were leased to the Syosset School District for educational programs. "A chicken plucked the eye of a child and that ended it," said Mr. Mills. There was some discussion about the barn's preservation. Ms. McFaul explained that the ground has shifted under the barn which caused the foundation to be unstable, so the barn needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. She said they received an estimate of the work, as costing about a million dollars. She said the developer would be required to do architectural drawings and dismantle and store the barn. "It will be our goal to reassemble it on the site, it belongs there. In the spring, we will be applying for grants to offset the cost." The school had used the field for grazing of domestic animals. The area also has a pond. They are proposing a small equestrian center for that area. Al Lindberg remembered the triangle shaped farm when it was a native grassland; now it is filled with weeds and invasive plants. Development should include no septic systems and no fertilizer use. Ms. McFaul said they had one response for use of the Jericho Preserve's 17 acres: a million dollar investment to stable 40 to 50 horses there. The return to the county would be $100,000 annually. Mayor Richard Murcott asked, "Can you prevent horses from going to the Equestrian Center via Route 106?" They said it can be put into the lease agreement, that the horses should be trailered to the center. Muttontown board member Laura Shapiro said Nassau County plans to gain revenue from the property, and asked, will the village profit in some way. Doreen Banks said, "Mr. Suozzi's goal is not to get money, but to bring the park system to be the best in the county. We want the money to go back into the resource. We're not doing this without the village approval."

An upscale inn was proposed for Chelsea. Mr. Mills gave a short history of the Chelsea mansion. In 1966 Nassau County took 99 acres of Chelsea property from Alexandra Moore MacKay in a U-shaped area around her landscaped gardens and house. Each year a portion of the remaining acreage was incrementally given to the county as a tax benefit. She lived there until age 89, and died in 1983. In the mid '80s a landscaping plan was begun. Mark Hemme has tried to keep the topiaries in good condition since then. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1989 the Office of Cultural Development left the fine arts museum in Roslyn and was housed at Chelsea from then until 2001 when it was disbanded. Designer Showcases produced some funds for improvements but the county wants a long-term agreement so it won't have to deal with problems on a piecemeal basis.

Al Lindberg spoke on the environmental conditions at Chelsea. He said the use of the land as a low impact inn would conform to its use in past years. Of concern is the "Hicksville 13," the wetlands and the pond that need protection. The project may need DEC permits, he added, and there is a continued need to check invasive plants.

Ms. McFaul commented on the traffic conditions. She said, when the OCD was there, there were about 35 people on site, 50 visitors on a Sunday and art shows brought in about 150 people. "In 2002 there was a gala with about 200-plus guests. Arranging the event by the NCPRM staff, takes a toll on the staff," said Ms. McFaul.

The Post wedding (a relative of Alexandrea Moore MacKay) was held at Chelsea with 250 guests; the Long Island Antiques Show Gala brought in 250-plus guests, and the Designer's Showcase brought in 100-plus daily over seven months.

So, said Ms. McFaul, "An inn would be TLC for the building with only 50 vehicles per day." She said the NYS DOT is planning a new traffic light at the 25A entrance to Chelsea in conjunction with St. Dominic's. A new entrance will be designed. It will not be aligned with Mill River Road but in conjunction with a new light on 25A.

Ms. McFaul said, they have received proposals from "four viable inn operators. It is a $5 million investment and they are ready to move tomorrow." From that the county expects to earn about $225,000 for leasing the main house and the smaller building on the site. It will create 19 guest rooms in the main house and an adjacent building.

They will be able to serve 75 guests from the existing kitchen. There will be no new structures on the site. The agreement would mean a 10-year lease, a flat fee to the county, the maintenance of the grounds, insurance and utilities.

Mr. Lindberg said putting in a new septic system will be a problem with the DEC. He said there is a large thick clay ledge that creates a water table in the area. (He said look at the Martin Viette land along 25A that is often seen flooded.) "Nineteen rooms needs septic consideration. It would have to be shunted off from the wetlands," he said.

Mr. Mills added that the exterior of the building can't change. They will investigate what changes can be made inside without hurting the landmark status of Chelsea.

Ms. McFaul said during the Designer's Showcase if they wanted to put in a modern chandelier, they had to put the original one back. She added that the RFP explained that Chelsea is part of the Nassau County museum system.

Mr. Mills said he foresees a problem because the plumbing fixtures are no longer available.

Ms. Banks said, "We've seen great solutions. The Whitney Estate did a great job in line with preservation when installing their sprinkler system. It can be done, but it needs deep pockets."

The next proposal was to create a bed & breakfast at Nassau Hall, another mansion on the Muttontown Preserve. It had been the headquarters for the Nassau County Museum Division with a staff of 150 but after layoffs in 1992 the current figure is less than 40 people. They moved the administration from Nassau Hall to satellite offices and to Eisenhower Park.

On the site there is a stable complex that had a mounted patrol stationed there. Al Lindberg was an original park ranger. The stable is still used by three volunteers who ride the trails in the patrolled areas. There is a dollhouse, a greenhouse, a garden complex and all are in decline, said Ms. McFaul. The county needs to raise revenues to restore them. The Friends of Long Island Heritage don't have money to maintain the buildings. Nassau County recently painted the front of the building, but not its other three sides.

Mr. Lindberg said, "There is a pinetum there. It was the finest in Nassau County. Now many trees are overgrown and are over their intended size. They haven't had an arborist check them for some time. In the '60s and '70s many areas were acquired for open space, but there aren't funds to maintain them."

Mr. Lindberg said they have to keep the existing footprint of the houses. There will be septic and fertilizer problems because the house is close to the pinetum.

It will take a $5 million investment with $85,000 return to the county the first year and in three years, $150,000.

Muttontown Attorney Peter MacKinnon asked if with a 10-year lease, can they be sure restoration is done? Ms. McFaul said the licensing agreement calls for a deposit of 3 percent gross, to keep the place in repair from the reserves funds.

Nick Thalasinos said the developers will have to be up front and tell the county what it will spend on renovations. The Nassau County Department of Public Works will make sure what they do is verified. The possible 11 rooms include four in the garage/stable, so it is a maximum of 11 and a minimum of 7 rooms. They need to add one bathroom so there is one for each room.

Currently the county spends $100,000 on Nassau Hall and $250,000 on Chelsea yearly for maintenance. The county pays $2,300 for the utilities in Nassau Hall.

Nick Thalasinos said Nassau Hall has 15 employees and three tenants. There are restrictions in the existing agreement with the village on the use of Nassau Hall.

Ms. Banks summed up the case. "This is an enormous opportunity to take this neglected mansion and help restore it. Village residents could have their own relatives stay there. Many residents would like to see more equestrian activities there, which is the goal of Nassau County, which has 50 horse breeders located here."

She said they would work carefully in regard to the environmental conditions on the sites, that it is using the grasslands as intended. Last year they experienced Chelsea used as a location for Designer's Showcases and think it better to plan for a low impact use of the site.

On Dec. 10 the Nassau County team met with about 70 equestrians and some open space advocates to get their input on the proposals.

After listening to the presentation board member William Floyd-Jones said the proposal will need a serious environmental review if they intend to tear up a couple of acres of woodland. "It's a torturous process. It calls for a lot of public participation," he said.