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Mohonasen should stall bus garage plan

    Mohonasen taxpayers, beware! In these bad economic times, the Mohonasen School District is trying to purchase property adjacent to the high school to build a 40-plusstall bus garage to replace the existing one. Do we really need this? (Many of you may not be aware, but we already own 24 acres of land near Pinewood School.)
    In my opinion, the district should do like the rest of us, "suck it up" and work with what we have. I, for one, do not want to pay more taxes now. And, please, I do not want to hear about state aid or grants, because it all comes out of our pockets, no matter what kind of spin you put on it!

    JOHN GAGE
    Rotterdam     

Interesting, I hadn't heard about that one.

I  live in the  mohonasen school  district   and i am very against this proposal.......

With the economy the way it is now is not the time to spend that kind of money.

With all the MFRH going up around the school district what do we think will happen to the school population????? We must not be shortsighted.....
although now is probably a bad time but, if we save our pennies.......there is always the future.......and future generations.......

Quoted from senders

With all the MFRH going up around the school district what do we think will happen to the school population????? We must not be shortsighted.....
although now is probably a bad time but, if we save our pennies.......there is always the future.......and future generations.......

I don't know why you'd say that, all the MFRH is supposed to be senior housing...and from the most recent things I'm hearing, people are having kids earlier, not later.  That being said, I think there wouldn't be that much of a growth in the school population...at least not to the effect of how much of the MFRH is going up.

Senior housing or not....what happens when the seniors move out of their homes? who moves into them?....not to mention the condos and apartment
buildings being built around here are NOT just for seniors......they just happen to live there now......If NYS can afford them......

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ROTTERDAM
$40M school project nears vote
Work on Mohonasen buildings, new garage eyed
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    Mohonasen Central School District offi cials are moving forward with a capital project in the range of $40 million, tentatively set for a community vote in December.
    For the past two years, the Board of Education has been discussing a construction project that would make improvements at all four of the district’s buildings as well as build a new transportation garage. The board is scheduled to vote next Monday at its meeting at 7 p.m. at the high school’s Farnsworth Technology Center to set a fi nal project cost and scope of work.
    District offi cials are estimating that the local cost to taxpayers would be about $8 million, possibly less because of money from other revenue sources such as the district’s capital reserve fund.
    The district is setting a tentative date of Dec. 7 for the referendum vote.
    The scope of the project includes renovating and expanding the media center at Draper Middle School; renovating and adding onto the gym at Pinewood Elementary; refurbishing the cafeterias at Bradt, Pinewood and Draper; renovating the auditorium, locker room at the high school; improving the science and technology rooms at the high school; renovating the occupational/physical therapy and psychology rooms at Bradt and the counseling rooms at Pinewood; and constructing classroom additions at the high school, Draper and Pinewood.
    There will also be site work to improve security at all schools and construction of a new transportation facility. .....................>>>>...............>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00700&AppName=1

How much you wanna bet Galesi will be involved in this

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ROTTERDAM
Public hearing tonight on $43.4M construction project
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

Residents are invited to comment tonight on the Mohonasen Central School District’s proposed $43.4 million construction project.
    The Board of Education is holding a public hearing at 6 p.m. at the high school’s Farnsworth Technology Center on the proposal that would make improvements at all four schools and build a new bus garage. Voters will head to the polls on Dec. 13 to decide whether to go forward with the bonding for the project.
    If approved, a little more than 80 percent of the project cost would be reimbursed by the state. Mohonasen had previously qualifi ed for 95 percent reimbursement from the state as a result of its merger in the mid-1980s with the former Draper school district. However, the Legislature reduced that aid amount in its most recent session.
    The project cost includes the $1.43 million that voters last May approved to purchase the land adjacent to the campus where the transportation garage would sit. The district is tapping that amount and roughly another $1.1 million from its capital reserve to offset the project cost. .............>>>>.................>>>>...................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01003&AppName=1

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Pop Warner group fights Mohon sale of storage site
Saturday, December 4, 2010
By Michael Goot (Contact)

ROTTERDAM — Rotterdam Pop Warner members are asking the public to oppose any idea by the Mohonasen school district to sell the building it uses for storage on Remsen Street.
School officials are weighing whether to sell the facility, which they also use for storage, as one way to help defray the local share of the proposed $43.4 million building project to build new bus garage, add athletic fields and make improvements at all four schools. Voters will head to the polls on Dec. 13 for the referendum.
“From our standpoint, we don’t want them to sell the building out from underneath us. We’ve been using this building for well over 20 years,” said Pop Warner Vice President Jack Dodson.
The organization has been circulating some e-mails among its members and hopes to get people to come to Monday’s meeting of the Mohonasen Board of Education, held at 7 p.m. in the high school Farnsworth Technology Center.
The fi elds would not be affected under this plan since they are owned by the Galesi Group. Pop Warner uses the facility for its concession stand and equipment storage, according to Dodson. It also uses the bathroom facilities and holds team meetings in the building. The organization pays its share of the electric bill and garbage disposal, mows the lawn and does other maintenance at the property.
About 150 to 200 people participate in the football and cheerleading programs annually, according to Dodson.........................>>>>.................>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2010/dec/04/1204_popwarner/

The following letter was sent to the parents of children participating at Rotterdam Pop Warner.  

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From: Rich and Melissa Messemer
Date: Fri, Dec 3, 2010 at 7:04 AM
Subject: FW: Sale of RPW Building

Mohonasen Selling Home Of Pop Warner Football!

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Hello Fellow Raiders,

As many of you have recently become aware, the Mohonasen School District is planning to sell the facility that we have called home for over 20 years. There was no attempt by the district to contact us to apprise us of their plans. The district is touting the property simply as a storage facility and not disclosing to the taxpayers what the property''s main purpose really is. Their objective seems to be to convince tax payers that they can offset the cost of the construction project with this sale, even at the expense of our youth organization. Our position is that the value of the property will do little to defer the potential $6.5 million dollars that will be added to the Mohonasen tax bill. Not to mention the important contribution the organization makes to the youth of this community would be lost.

On December 6th there will be Board of Education meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Mohonasen High School Farnsworth Technology Center. The district will be discussing the upcoming vote on December 13th. It is our intention to attend this meeting and make a statement pertaining to the sale of the Remsen Street property. We are hoping that many of you will attend this meeting and show support for our organization as we continue to fight for "our home". The only way to stop this is to make the district realize that the taxpayers will not stand for it. Even if you are in the Schalmont district we need your support as this will impact us all. There really is power in numbers. Please feel free to share this with anyone who is concerned for youth sports, present participants, and former players. We hope to see everyone on December 6th.


Thank You

RPW Executive Board


Below is a letter written by a former Rotterdam Pop Warner football player that was published in the Gazette on Sunday November 28.
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Mohonasen turns back on Pop Warner football


Re Nov. 23 article, “School project, ambulance votes set in same week”: My dream of playing college football started in 1998, when I started flag football with Rotterdam Pop Warner. My experiences not only gave me a love for football that would grow stronger throughout the years, but helped create a desire to give back to the community in which I live.
As I got older, volunteering my time to help coach and maintain the field gave me a greater appreciation for all that was done by volunteers before me.
Hearing of the sale of the Remsen Street building, which has been the home of Rotterdam Pop Warner for well over 20 years, has once again shown me that the Mohonasen school district values its own agenda rather than the welfare of the kids who attend its school.
Mohonasen and Rotterdam Pop Warner should be working side by side to ensure a better football program for Mohonasen’s future.
As I have found through personal experience, “Mohonasen Pride” (our school motto) is not always a good thing.
Noah Friedman
Rotterdam
The writer is a Mohonasen senior.