Authorize the county of Putnam to discontinue the use of certain lands as parklands

Summary of specific provisions

Section One of this bill would authorize the county of Putnam, acting by and through its County Legislature, to discontinue as parklands and alienate, certain lands presently dedicated for green space along Ludingtonville Road in the Town of Kent, for the purpose of constructing a senior citizen center.

Section Two of this bill would provide that the authorization contained in this act would take effect only upon the condition that the county of Putnam shall dedicate replacement lands as additional parklands of the county.

Section Three of this bill would provide a detailed description of the 1.884 acres along Ludingtonville Road in the town of Kent that would be alienated for the purpose of constructing a new senior citizen center.

Section Four of this bill would provide that prior to the discontinuance and alienation of the parkland described in section three of this act, the County of Putnam must identify replacement lands to be dedicated for use as parkland for public park purposes, and describes a parcel consisting of 3.564 designated by the Putnam County Legislature for parkland for this purpose.

Section Five of this bill would provide that in the event that the park- lands to be dedicated by the county of Putnam pursuant to this act are not equal to or greater than the fair market value of the parkland to be discontinued, the county of Putnam shall dedicate the difference of the fair market value of the lands to be alienated and the lands to be dedi- cated for the acquisition of additional parklands and/or capital improvements to existing park and recreational facilities.

Section Six of this bill would require that, in the event that the Coun- ty of Putnam received any funding support or assistance from the federal government for the purchase, maintenance or improvement of the parklands set forth in section three of this act, the discontinuance and alien- ation of the parkland authorized by the provisions of this act shall not occur until the county of Putnam has complied with any federal require- ments pertaining to the alienation or conversion of parklands, including satisfying the secretary of the interior that the alienation or conver- sion complies with all conditions which the secretary of the interior deems necessary to assure the substitution of other lands shall be

equivalent in fair market and usefulness to the lands being alienated or converted.

Section Seven of this bill would provide for an immediate effective date.

Justification

The Putnam County Legislature has twice unanimously passed resolutions (Resolution 28-09 and Resolution 229-09) to obtain permission to alien- ate certain parklands in the town of Kent which had previously been declared green space. The county wishes to construct a Senior Citizen Center in the town of Kent, and according to their resolution, "there are no other feasible alternative sites in the Town of Kent for the construction of the Senior Center".

This bill would authorize the alienation of such lands for such purpose upon the condition that the county meets the requirements of federal law and that they dedicate other lands of equal or greater size for park and/or green space use. To meet such requirement, the county dedicated, on August 21, 2009, a suitable parcel of 3.564 acres to replace the 1.884 acres being alienated to build the senior center.

Prior legislative history

This is a new bill.

Fiscal implications

None noted.

Effective date

This act would take effect immediately.