Three Democrats on the county Board of Legislators have accused County Executive Rob Astorino of withholding information about the revenues generated by Rye Playland.
Flanked by the iconic rides of Kiddyland, legislators Judy Myers of Larchmont, Bill Ryan of White Plains and Catherine Borgia of Ossining said at an Aug. 10 press conference that legislation to authorize an independent audit of the park”™s finances would be “forthcoming.”
“We are getting a very sad, but a very incomplete story,” Myers said. She said the revenue figures for the 280-acre, county-owned amusement park that have been presented to the Board of Legislators do not include “substantial profit centers” like parking, miniature golf and concessions.
Attendance at the park has dropped precipitously, while revenues generated by the park have fallen off.
Between July 30, 2011, and July 29, 2012, park attendance was 238,152 and revenues totaled $5.2 million, according to figures provided by the board members.
In contrast, attendance between Aug. 1, 2010, and July 31, 2011, was 259,495 and revenues during the period totaled $5.8 million.
Ryan said the park would generate a net profit of $1.6 million in 2012, not including debt service costs.
With $3.6 million in debt payments factored in, county taxpayers will be on the hook for $2 million this year, Ryan said.
“Playland isn”™t making the money that it should be and that failure falls to the county executive,” he said.
The trio was also critical of Astorino”™s handling of an extensive request for proposals (RFP) process that has sought to determine a suitable ”“ and profitable ”“ future for the debt-ridden park.
“We are also taking a vow not to simply hand this beloved park over to private developers,” Myers said.
Eleven firms submitted responses to the county”™s January 2011 RFP.
The proposals, excluding any information deemed to be proprietary, were then vetted by a citizens committee, which issued its recommendations Sept. 22, 2011.
In the months since, members of the Astorino administration have been reviewing the proposals and meeting with representatives of the companies behind the various submissions.
“To date,” Myers said, “none of these proposals has reached the floor of the Board of Legislators.”
She and Ryan were both members of the citizens review committee.
Myers said many of the significant financial details of each of the proposals were withheld from the committee members, and demanded that the full proposals be released to the Board of Legislators for review.
“We”™re ready to take this over,” she said.
Republican County Legislator Michael Smith of White Plains, who was present for the press conference, called his colleagues”™ statements “political posturing” and “grandstanding.”
“The entirety of the books of Westchester County are audited on an annual basis,” Smith said.
Astorino spokeswoman Diana Costello said in a statement “it would be foolish to rush into any actions without critically considering all the options.”
She rebuffed the legislators”™ claims that Astorino was denying the board access to the park”™s complete financials.
“All of the numbers on Playland are fully transparent and part of the county”™s budget, which is reviewed and approved by the Board of Legislators before it can be enacted by law each year,” Costello said.
