Postponed: Needs Assessment Survey Results to be Presented

Update: Patch has just learned that the presentation of the Recreation Department's needs assessment survey results has been postponed to Tuesday, June 25 at 7 p.m. at the Golf Club Lane senior center. (Please note new meeting place and time.)


Results of the community-wide Recreation and Parks needs assessment survey will be presented at a special meeting June 24 at village hall beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Questionnaire results will be presented by the village’s survey consultant, Ananda Mitra, Ph.D. and president of Management Learning Laboratories, according to recreation director Kevin Ocker.

Dr. Mitra will discuss the methodology and results of the survey, including the resident’s personal opinions, areas of emphasis, general information regarding recreation and leisure services in Garden City.

Some senior citizens said the wait to hear the results is just another thing delaying the renovation project intended for the Golf Club Lane senior center.

Richard Bankosky, who serves as chair of the Senior Advisory Committee, told village trustees in May that it seems as if "everything has increased the delay."

The overall project, which has not yet been accepted by the board of trustees, contemplates renovation of existing space in the center, new restrooms, a new HVAC system, a new kitchen and the creation of a gathering lounge. Also included is the addition of 1,650 square feet of new constructed space for additional meeting space, according to Ocker.

A visibly frustrated George Salem, who serves as co-president of the Garden City Retired Men’s Club, which uses the center on a weekly basis, told trustees it's always "tomorrow wait for this thing, wait for that thing."

Deputy mayor Nick Episcopia, who wanted to "set the record straight" regarding comments Salem made at a past village board meeting where he stated Episcopia was against the project, said in a statement he issued to Patch that "Mayor Watras has stated that the Board of Trustees will not make a decision until we have a chance to evaluate the results of the current recreation study, which will be presented on June 24th. The Board of Trustees is also researching some other alternative locations for an improved Senior Center. The Trustees all realize that seniors are a very significant part of our population and we will always consider their needs and desires."

Residents are encouraged to attend the June 24 meeting, which will take place in the village hall boardroom.