Members of the East Norwich Civic Association (ENCA) voted at their Oct. 26 meeting on the proposal for a carousel to be placed in Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park. First they listened to the Main Street Association proposal to build a carousel and then to the Citizens for Open Space at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park who prefer to maintain the open space in the park. What followed was an open discussion where questions and answers fleshed out the proposal, after which the vote was taken. About 50 people attended the meeting although many could not vote. A total of 24 votes were cast: 19 opposed and five in favor of the carousel.

Matthew Meng, ENCA president, said there are 135 paid, voting members, who vote only once for each household. He said the civic association received five absentee ballots by email as of Oct. 26 and those numbers will be added to the total resulting in 29 votes against and five votes for the carousel proposal which will be forwarded to the town.

Bill Sheeline, MSA president, and architect Joe Reilly presented their plan and Fran Leone represented the open space group. MSA board member Roger Bahnik, who was out of town when the original carousel proposal was made, spoke on behalf of the amusement ride.

Bahnik said this is the 35th anniversary of Mill-Max Mfg. that he founded and added, "I know a little about business and finances. I wouldn't start a business with $120,000 income [what was projected as a year's earnings for the carousel] but this is not a business." He defended the $85,000 yearly costs saying they would be hiring seasonal part-time employees. Bahnik said there is $1.5 million, pledged between four donors. "I'm one of them. The four of us will reach pretty deep down to finance the carousel and we need to get a few more donors to get to $2.5 million. If you reach that deep you're not going to let it decline. If we build it we will look after it. I think it will be a good idea and needs an endowment and I will look into it. Can I guarantee it will be profitable in 100 years - no, but we have to take a little risk.

"I've been 27 years in Oyster Bay. I've seen Oyster Bay change in 27 years - mostly down with few ups." He said, "We have to do something drastic and should give it a try and risk something because Oyster Bay needs a shot in the arm." He added there was a window of opportunity, hopefully in the next year or so, and said that someone else willing to help might not come along again. After the vote was taken, Mr. Bahnik said he had no personal interest in the carousel - if half the community doesn't want it, although he added he is thinking of his grandchildren: four grandsons.

Fran Leone responded saying, "The carousel is a risk and I don't know if it's worth a risk." She said the western waterfront is still in development with the proposed WaterFront Center building and parking lot. "Little by little the waterfront is being chopped up and paved." She asked if there were an alternate site for the carousel such as Sagamore Hill, somewhere on the North Shore or in Eisenhower Park. "This is a community park for the hamlet of Oyster Bay and is not a big park." The answer was no.

Barry Spies said opening the waterfront to the town is a good idea, but asked if they could do it without a carousel and Mr. Sheeline said, "Yes." But he added that having the carousel there would keep the town from losing interest in keeping the park well-maintained. He said the carousel would be a nonprofit group with a board of trustees to do fundraising, but not at the site, he added. Mr. Bahnik said it would be a 501-C3. Someone commented that the hamlet currently has 25 nonprofit groups to support.

A discussion ensued over whether TR Park is a Town of Oyster Bay park or, as Bill Sheeline said, "It is open to the people of the nation." The Town of Oyster Bay lists TR Park as one that is for town residents only, according to a town spokesperson. There have been discussions over the past few years with varying answers. Rosemary Colvin disagreed with Sheeline's statement from her knowledge of the history of the park.

Lily Doering questioned the liability of the carousel and Sheeline said, the carousel would be operated by a nonprofit group that would have insurance but added that the town also has insurance.

Rosemary Colvin asked about the use of public bathrooms for the carousel. Reilly said the current facility near the carousel area has new stainless steel fixtures and added it is three and a half times bigger than the carousel would need. Reilly said the TRA is addressing flooding in the park and that dry wells will be put in to mitigate flooding.

Fran Feldman asked if admission to the carousel would give access to the beach. Sheeline said there is risk there, but again added, the park is open to everyone in the nation.

Matthew Meng asked if there would be an Environmental Impact Study for the project. Sheeline said they had done marketing studies including traffic flow but said an EIS is expensive. Bahnik said, "I hope not. It would drag this out for years. I'm not going to raise that money for an environmental study."

Tracey Delaney who did the financial projection for the carousel said since it is a weather-dependent project they need to keep a financial buffer for the maintenance costs such as employees' salaries and supplies on hand for the next year of operation. She said they would be seniors, although other speakers talked of young people filling the seasonal part-time jobs.

When Panetta asked Bahnik if the Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum could be that shot in the arm the town needs, he said that museums are stagnant and carousels are alive. He added that he is supporting the Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum too. "I send checks to everyone in town," he said adding, "They are a long way from getting there."

Bob King asked if the town would show the size of the proposed site by marking it off with flags and asked if the public could hear the music. As for noise, Mr. Reilly said there are more than 200 songs related to Theodore Roosevelt that will be put on a sound track, which would be kept at a low decibel level. He said the proposed carousel is a 65 feet x 65 feet x 35 feet building that will be raised on three steps - on top of one foot of fill to raise it off the flood plain. It would be a wooden shingle-style building open on three sides with doors that close, and facing the pathway to the marina with a plaza about 30 feet deep. It will not be heated nor air conditioned. Reilly said the building would take up .3 percent of the park area. Leone noted that much of TR Park has been taken up by other activities and that this area is the only open space left in the park.

Reilly said the carousel will be self-sustaining and revenues will exceed what is needed and will go back into maintaining the park. At $2 a ride, they expect 60,000 rides a year. They estimate their expenses at $85,000, a figure which was challenged by Gennero Pasquale, Esq. The carousel is proposed to be open from April through November. In April it will be open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.; in May: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.; in June: Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.; in July and August it will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.; and from there down in September, to five days: Wednesday through Sunday; in October, three days; and November, weekends.

Leone spoke about the deed signed by the Town of Oyster Bay when it accepted the park from the Theodore Roosevelt Association which states there be no carousel and said the deed can only be modified not "drastically altered." Main Street had no comment on the deed restrictions, saying that how the deed is interpreted is the problem of the Town and their attorneys - who are looking into the question. Ms. Leone added, "TR was not a Ringling Brother." She talked about the proposed Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum saying their business plan says they will bring $1.8 million to $5 million in tourist revenues into town. She asked, "Do we need a landmark museum and a carousel?"

As for the police presence in the park that is part of the MSA plan, she said, "That doesn't mean they will be there all the time."

Leone said in the Oyster Bay Hamlet Plan the flood plain is defined as serving as part of an erosion system for floods. It is a storage area for water to drain, and shouldn't be paved over. She said the Eastern Waterfront Planning Advisory Group is being created and that the area, which includes TR Park, is for water related recreation - which the carousel is not.

Carla Panetta said: "Renovate the park and take pride in it," as she and her husband did in buying and renovating an old house for their business on Spring Street. She added that with Nobman's apartments soon to be finished and Mariner's Walk starting there will soon be more people in the community. She said, "We need the parking issues resolved."

Gennero Pasquale, Esq. who represented Nassau County in the Nunley Carousel case said, "Nunley's had to get rid of the brass ring element on the rides, their insurance rates doubled because of it." He said of the vote, "Until a lot of questions are answered, vote no."