Weather-related losses hit Rye Town Park's bottom line

Rye Town Park has projected seasonal revenue losses of between $750,000 to $800,000 to date this year as compared to $920,000 last year, according to the RTP Commission.

That adds up to a projected loss of as much as $200,000 against the $100Gs lost last year. The budget of $988,000 is down from $1.84  million the year before.

That’s the bad news that came out of the last meeting of the RTPC at Rye Town Hall.

The good news is that it is a weather-dependent business, and the recent hot spell drew an increased number of visitors to RTP and its adjoining Oakland Beach, at least $50,000 worth of business on arecent weekend.

Rather than being discouraged by the early season projected losses, the RTPC is encouraged by the fact that beach/park attendance and parking figures show that area residents are coming back in big numbers.

The attendance numbers show about a 50-50 split between non-residents and residents, a major improvement over last year when it was estimated that non-residents made up around 92% of the RTP/Oakland Beach attendees.

That goes to show that deferential pricing for residents over non-residents is working, and that a change for the better in the weather could well result in driving projected seasonal losses down, according to RTPC findings.

In June, for example, cold, rainy weather led to eight days where the park brought in less than $500 on each of those days. RTP was also closed for the equivalent of six operating days due to the weather.

On a rainy July 3, at the outset of the biggest revenue producing holiday weekend of the year, RTP drew $1,170 in revenue, compared to $23,382 on the same day last year.

But the current turn for the better weather-wise could well result in driving projected losses down, according to the RTPC members present at the meeting.

They included Rye Town Supervisor and Commission president Joe Carvin, Mayors Douglas French and Joan Feinstein of Rye and Rye Brook respectively, and Commissioners Benedict Salanitro of Rye Neck and Joe Sack of Rye with only Port Chester Mayor Dennis Pilla absent.

The RTPC also discussed several proposals that could help increase attendance as well as revenue.

Mayor French, for example, proposed that a $2 discount coupon be given to weekend RTP attendees with that coupon good for use weekdays from Monday to Thursday, traditionally low-attendance days. That proposal was passed, but will not be implemented until RTP staff works out printing procedures, probably within the next few days.

Commissioner Salanitro proposed a $2 price for RTP attendees who come to Oakland Beach after the 5 p.m. closing time and have up until now been walking on to the beach free. That amounts to anywhere from 100 to 300 people who show up after closing time on good beach days.

Salanitro will also submit a new revised RFP (request for proposal) for a park and beach automation system by the end of week because the previous RTP attracted just one bid at a price deemed too high. The sole bid was in the $150,000 ballpark; too high given the projected seasonal losses this year.

Mayor French said the new capital budget must be approved before any automation bid could be approved.

Carvin concurred, especially singling out French for the best financial analysis of RTP problems that he has seen in his four years in office, years dedicated to improving RTP in everything from accounting figures and accountability to service, parking and safety.

Carvin also proposed “stealing a page from the Astorino playbook and sending out RFPs for making RTP a year-round park,” a reference to Westchester County Supervisor Rob Astorino’s getting RFPs from the public and private sector in a bid to make Rye Playland better while reducing annual million dollar plus seasonal losses.

Other RTPC matters discussed at the meeting ranged from improving handicapped facilities at Oakland Beach to the Friends of RTP unveiling new park beautification projects, including a proposal to bring in the Cornell Masters Gardeners program as part of a community outreach project.

The Friends also suggested new ways to cut down on the algae choking the duck pond.

The RTPC also approved a motion to allow Carpe Diem-Westchester, Ltd. to make a success-based pitch for a state $400,000 grant to help make infrastructure improvements at RTP. If the group's president Susan Auslander gets the grant for RTPC, she would get 5% of the proceeds, or $20,000 instead of a $7,500 flat fee. If she doesn’t get the grant, she only gets $100 in out-of-pocket expenses. The grant proposal is due by September 1.

“We’re under pressure to keep costs down at all costs in this economic climate,” said Carvin. “But it is a travesty that no real money has been put into the aging RTP infrastructure in years to the detriment of one of the area’s great natural assets.”

The RTPC estimates that anywhere from $12 million to $14 million is needed for infrastructure improvements, an impossibility given the economic climate and RTP’s projected losses. Those losses don’t include an estimated $50,000 in immediate capital improvements, the losses and improvements split around 50-50 by Rye City and Rye Town.