A group of dedicated Woodstock volunteers is seeking input on what to do with the aging youth center building near Andy Lee Field and about 6.3 acres behind it. The town has set aside $200,000 to explore the possibilities. The youth center task force chaired by Ben Schachter will make recommendations to the town board.
The youth center should be considered a third space, said Schachter during a public meeting January 17.
“Essentially, it’s not home, it’s not school or work,” Schachter said. “It’s another area where the youth and the community more broadly can get together. And we’re thinking of this very holistically, very much sort of intergenerational area, and to utilize this whole property in a way that we don’t think it’s been used, really, for my whole life that it’s been here.”
The space should be welcoming and very comforting for everyone “that is different from everywhere else.”
The task force, explained task force member Peter Cantine, is considering four land parcels: the youth center and community center; the baseball diamonds, pool and basketball courts; the arts and crafts building, community garden and tennis courts; and the 6.3 acres for future use.
The location has had a long history dating back to 1921 of being used for recreation. In the 1950s, private money was raised to build a pool, according to task-force member Maggie Mitchell, who did research on the land with the help of town historian Richard Heppner. In 1974, the town purchased the former St. Joan’s Church, which became the community center, and the house next door, which became the youth center.
Youth center usage keeps increasing, said youth center director and task-force member Patrick Acker Acker.
In 2018, the youth center had 5759 sign-ins and in 2022 6202. Last year, the visits totaled 8391. Acker said the youth center is trying to expand options for an increasingly popular facility.
“We started a tutoring program. We try to host basketball activities, video games, pool stuff. We have people coming from other areas that have centers and things of that nature, telling us how great this place is,” Acker said. “Family of Woodstock has a home in Rosendale. There’s a rec center in Rosendale. There’s a rec center in New Paltz that’s closer. They drive up here to come see what we have going on.”
Parents have to pay for programs at the Kingston YMCA, parents have to pay for that, while the Woodstock youth center is entirely taxpayer-funded.
The facility needs an update, Acker explained. “The size in itself, the layout, having supervision of the kids, to be able to utilize the upstairs and downstairs — it gets a little difficult at times. And we are very close to the road,” he said. Kids who use the youth center have talked about an indoor gym and covered skate park, among other ideas, Acker added.
Task-force member Laurie Osmond said the group continues to meet with kids to gauge what they want.
.Some ideas about which the task force has heard include an indoor pool, farmers market pavilion, better restrooms, pollinator garden, hedge maze, walking loops and chess boards.
Task-force member Jacque Manganaro explained her role as advocating for the physically disabled and making sure everything was ADA-compliant.
“I’m going to be more useful when this gets up and going and building starts to make sure it’s all ADA-compliant. Everybody’s included. Nobody’s secluded,” she said
“We are not going to build anything,” Schachter said. “We are not going to cut down a tree. We are not going to do anything. Our job is simply to present to the people at Woodstock through the town board, what our recommendations are. And so that’s all we’re trying to do here.”
Michael Veitch, who chairs the town tree committee, advocated for preserving the elm tree near the youth center as much as possible. He also advocated for more senior facilities.
“I think you’re going to get more bang for your buck by including the seniors in this proposal, and everything I’ve heard up to this point, is really about kids,” Veitch said. “I love kids. I had three of them. I think we should do great things for kids. But we have the largest population of seniors in Ulster County. We do not have a dedicated senior center here in Woodstock. There’s a constant tension over use of this building. There’s tension, over use of the pool. The kids have their camp. There’s tension over seniors being even allowed on the property.
Terry Lover said it might be a good idea to have programs that include intergenerational interaction.
But Marilyn St. John, a senior rec instructor, said there were plenty of opportunities for seniors.
“There’s so much work at the youth center. It just seems like you should start with that. The seniors are not hurting,” she said. “There’s like a zillion classes. They cost a dollar. The seniors have plenty. The town needs to focus on kids. That’s been how I’ve been feeling for a long time.”
The task force welcomes ideas via email at youthcentertaskforce@woodstockny.org.
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