When Garden City residents go to the polls on May 16 to vote on the school budget, they will also be asked to vote on whether or not to allow the district to purchase and rehabilitate the Middle School fields and finance the project with a 20-year, $5.185 million bond.

John Powell, assistant superintendent for business and finance, confirmed the bond amount at Monday evening's Board of Education work session. The serial bond includes $4.2 million to purchase the 11.6-acre field and $985,000 to rehabilitate the property.

School Board President Kenneth Monaghan emphasized that there will be no increase in taxes associated with the purchase of the fields or the rehabilitation work. Since the Board thought they were nearing the end of the process years ago, they have been including enough money in the budget in the fund balance to cover the cost of principal and interest payments on the bond. In 2003-04, $327,294 was allotted; in 2004-05, $430,000; in 2005-06, $454,007; and in the proposed budget for 2006-07, $400,000 is set aside.

"None of the increase in taxes that's taking place relates to the purchase of the Middle School fields," he said.

The school district has been leasing the 11.6-acre field from the Cathedral of the Incarnation since July 1, 1956 at $2,500 a year. The lease will expire this year on June 30.

Since 1993, the district has been negotiating with the Cathedral to purchase the land. Both sides had to go through a lengthy process. The school district had to seek approval by the state attorney general's office and the state court system to get to the stage now where they can bring it to a public vote. The Cathedral had to get restricted covenants lifted so that they could actually sell the land.

Both sides had to get separate appraisals and agree on a purchase price. According to Powell, the land was appraised in 2002 at $4.9 million. If the land was sold to a private developer, it could potentially fit 18 houses. He said that residences in the area are valued at $1.8 million.

The rehabilitation will be extensive and require the land to be unusable for one year. An irrigation system will be installed, and the topsoil will be completely scraped, resurfaced, aerated and reseeded. The area, which currently allows for nine fields, will be reconfigured to fit eight.

The Board studied the benefits of using sod, which would make the land available quicker, but ultimately decided that it is not intended for athletic use. A fence is not included in the price but the cost is expected to be covered through a grant procured for the district by Senator Kemp Hannon.

The property includes a triangular piece along Cherry Valley Avenue on the south side of the railroad tracks. Monaghan said the district is not sure what the land will be used for yet, but may consider making it a parking lot.

If the bond passes, the district will put the project to bid and hope to begin field rehabilitation in the fall. Middle School students will use the fields at St. Paul's across Stewart Avenue. A crossing guard will be hired at $7,000 a year through a contract with the Village of Garden City.

Two residents expressed concern about the safety of crossing Stewart Avenue. Resident Liz Menges asked if the Board considered seeding half the property at a time to eliminate the need for the entire piece to be out of commission for a year. Monaghan responded that the project would be easier to do all at once but the Board remains open-minded. Maureen Cornacchia expressed concerns about what may happen if the crossing guard does not show up, which she said has been a problem at times at other schools in the district.