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The Rye Town Park Capital Committee had sent out an request for proposals last year, but failed to garner much of a response. The Rye Town Park Commission, which is comprised of representatives from Rye, Rye Brook and Port Chester, brought in BFJ Planning to help the committee draft a new RFP and find a suitable candidate.
The consulting firm has been meeting with members of the committee and other Rye Town officials, according to Frank Fish of BFJ, as well as conducted a site visit. The new RFP is being prepared this month, and most likely will be sent out in February. Fish said that the bids are due in April, at which point the Rye Town Park Commission will begin evaluating proposals and entering into negotiations with prospective candidates.
Fish said that the earliest a company would be able to take over operation of the park would be 2015. The focus of the RFP would be on taking over and preserving historical buildings, but he said that there are also areas of the park that could be further developed and possibly built on. If the commission's favored candidate wanted to develop further, that would require additional planning and environmental review.
Rye Town Supervisor said that the goal of the outsourcing is not to bring in revenue for the town, but to revitalize the historic buildings at the park, which are in need of significant renovations.
"If we could get revenue, terrific. It's ultimately going to depend on the plan that comes before us, but I think the principal goal is to rebuild the infrastructure there," Carvin said. "We have infrastructure that hasn't received investment for 50-60 years. So it's a wasting asset, and given our financially restrained environment, we're hoping this is an efficient, effective way to really refurbish our infrastructure."
There have recently been discussions and studies about dissolving the town of Rye, but Carvin said that should not affect the outsourcing proposal.
"I don't really see it impacting, because even if it were voted on next November, the dissolution wouldn't take place until January 2016, so we're very much hoping that this process will be concluded long before that."
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