Town Offering to Lease Wells Park to Village of Brewster

The Village of Brewster is considering an offer to lease Wells Park from the Town of Southeast.

A five-year lease with four five-year renewable options, the deal would cost the village $1 per year. The village would operate the facility, which is located on Oak Street in Brewster but owned by the town.

Wells Park has seen changes lately. The spray park added to the facility in recent years was not reopened this summer because it lost thousands of dollars in operating costs, town Supervisor Tony Hay said, and saw low attendance—on average, five children per day.

The day camp was also closed in 2012, and the pond has been filled because it no longer meets swimming standards.

Hay said the idea for the lease came about when he was thinking about how to "reinvent" Wells Park.

"I've looked at the village with a different viewpoint than others. We constantly hear they have no recreational facility," Hay told Patch. 

Recreation in Brewster was a topic during local elections in November. Hay said the town oversees many other recreational spaces—including Castle Park, Markel Park, Scolpino Park, Volunteer Park ball fields and Town Beach at Lake Tonetta—and it's "kind of piggish."

"They're making great strides trying to revitalize the village," Hay said. "For many years it was a bunch of talk, but now they're taking appropriate steps and the village has never had their own park. We're not philanthropists but we're gifting them something that I think they could better utilize than the town has utilized over the years."

During the new business portion of a Village of Brewster Board of Trustees meeting last month, Mayor Jim Schoenig brought up the potential lease.

"This would be a park for the village," Schoenig said, adding that Brewster could make good use of the facility. The discussion included the idea of hosting events there, like movie night or July 4 celebrations, as well as the importance of considering maintenance costs. 

"We need to look at the whole picture," trustee Mary Bryde said.

There are some conditions to the lease. First, the property may be used only as a public park that's open to both town and village residents, and any fees would have to be equal. Second, no alcohol would be kept, sold or used on the property.

Hay is hoping for a decision from the Village sooner than later, ideally within the next month or so.