About 200 people attended the meeting to hear about the appraisals and the preliminary budget presentation. There were over a dozen Palisades residents and over a dozen Piermont residents in attendance.

Mr. Beckmann of Beckmann Appraisals gave a very abbreviated report on each property, following six months of work. He did not provide handouts to show how the figures were determined nor did he provide details of the properties. So it is unclear what he is basing his conclusions on. Dr. Zambito said that the full report would be PDF'd and put on the website as soon as possible.

The Palisades school

The 8.4 acre lot would be broken into 2 economic units:

• 2.3 acre piece that includes the 12,000 sq. ft school building
  
• 6.2 acres of excess land (woods that abut the Lennar property)

Mr. Beckmann recommended that the highest and best use for the Palisades school would be to sell off the school building and develop the excess land. He suggested that the district could get $1.25 million for the school, and $1.95 million for the undeveloped land, for a total of $3.3 million. The parcels could be subdivided into lots for 8 houses. He felt that keeping the building as an educational venue was not wise because it is located so far away from the center of the town. He stated that bussing alone would cause a problem. This statement drew much criticism from the audience.

Oak Tree Park (at 303) currently used as a playground and ball field

• 2.6 acres zoned R-15 valued at $1.2 million
  

Mr. Beckmann investigated all legal uses that are possible for this location and recommended that it be sold to a developer for a 6-lot residential subdivision. It could also be a senior citizen housing complex. He didn't believe that a shopping center could be built there because it would require a zone change.

Cowboy Fields in Piermont

• 29 acres available to develop into 25 lots zoned R-40. value: $8-10 million
  

This area is the property where the Tappan Zee Elementary School is located. The total size of the parcel is 39.3 acres, but 10.3 acres is the TZE school site. South of the property are parcels that are densely developed with apartments and condominiums (Lawrence Park, the Diplomat etc.) zoned at R-10 and R-20.

Orangeburg school on Western Highway

Currently leased to Dominican College, the school is worth $4 million and Cook Hall is worth $990,000. Mr. Beckmann said that this property is best kept as a rental property because there are special problems that would complicate a sale or development use (ie, sewer right of way, proximity to road, etc) and if the district needed more schooling, then this is the building to use.

Final Conclusions

The appraiser summed up his presentation by noting that the total number of new houses projected would be:

• Palisades 8
• Cowboy fields 25
• Tappan playground 6

He projected an average of 1.5 added students for the district in each home, but stated his opinion that the impact of the student flow into the school district would not occur immediately, because many of these children might be toddlers,. One speaker commented that 1.5 students per home seemed low, and said it is more likely to be 2 or 2.5 children per home.

He admitted that we are no longer at the highest point of the real estate market, but said it is good enough and it is still a good time to sell. He estimated that it would probably take a year to sell these properties with all the paperwork involved.

A board member asked Mr. Beckmann, taking all properties into consideration, which property did he think should be the one to be sold. The appraiser replied, "The Palisades School."

CONCERNED PALISADES RESIDENTS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND A MEETING ON THURSDAY, MARCH 29 AT 8:00PM AT THE PALISADES COMMUNITY CENTER TO DISCUSS THIS ISSUE.

Budget Presentation:

The preliminary 2007-2008 budget is $70, 528,012.00.
The entire budget can be viewed on line: http://www.socsd.org/Preliminary_Budget_2007-08.pdf

Budget discussions and public comment will continue at the March 28 board meeting at 7:30pm in the TZHS cafeteria. On April 11, the Board will vote to adopt the budget at a meeting at 7:30pm in the TZHS cafeteria, and there will be time for public comment before the vote.

On May 15, town voters will vote whether to approve the 2007-08 Budget.