SYLVAN BEACH - The village board approved allowing the owners of Sylvan Beach Amusement Park to take over a portion of the village park for $1 a week, even after a number of residents spoke out against the proposal.

The 130-foot-by-110-foot section, about a third of an acre, is located in the area closest to the amusement park. It runs from the Super Slide straight across to Bridge Street.

Residents are concerned the village board doesn't have the authority to hand over the park since it was given as a gift by the Spencer family.

According to William Spencer, his ancestors gave the land to the Town of Vienna years ago and it was deeded to the Village of Sylvan Beach in 1971.

"I say leave the park land alone; my ancestors donated it," he said. "I'm going to contact my lawyer."

"It doesn't belong to you to give, you don't have the right to give it," Maryruth Bellinger Senechal told the board.

Janice Krueger, of the planning board, suggested finding "the real intention of the person that left the land" before voting on it.

Village Mayor Thomas Statkewicz said the deed is in the name of the village and it has the right to allow entities to use the park.

Residents are also concerned that amusement park owner Patrick Goodenow and his business partner Doug Waterbury are going to eventually want the whole village park.

Indeed, at Thursday's meeting, Waterbury said he would "license the whole park if I could." And Statkewicz said the board "would consider issuing additional licenses."

The audience did not like the sound of that at all.

"If that is for the use of all the people in Sylvan Beach, how can it even be discussed to turn it over to one person for commercial uses? It was not given for any one group to make money off of, it is our land as citizens," Bellinger Senechal said. "Once you do it for one you open a Pandora's box."

"Once you give some away, you're going to give more and more and more, until there's none left," Spencer said.

Statkewicz explained that the agreement is not a lease or a conveyance of land. It is a "short-term at-will revocable license."

At any time, the village can decide to end the agreement and the mini golf has to be removed within seven days.

"It's a license to use the land... to give the board ultimate control over what happens on that land," Statkewicz said.

The owners of another miniature golf course that recently opened in Sylvan Beach said they don't mind the competition but don't think it's fair that the village allows a commercial enterprise to license land for $1 when they bought their six acres for $200,000.

"We were well aware they were going to build a mini golf... We felt we could compete," said David Kenshler, part-owner of the Blue Lagoon, which opened on June 29. "When you start giving people property to compete with us it becomes a different animal."

Thomas Denslow, another part-owner of the Blue Lagoon, said licensing the land does not create a "level playing field."

"I'd like to know if there's any more land like that available because I would have loved to put our place right there," he said. The comment received a round of applause from the audience.

Ryan said the group present Thursday night was not an accurate representation of the village as a whole.

"What you've got here is four or five people that are against it, and they call four or five friends each," he said.

Goodenow said he was "surprised by the response."

"I'd like to think if people give us a chance we'll be a positive force in the community," Waterbury said. "I believe economic viability of an amusement park is centered around expansion... meeting the teenager and adult demographics. We need space to allow that to happen."

Waterbury and Goodenow said the mini golf is just one step in a five-year restoration plan.

Goodenow said there is nowhere else to put the miniature golf course because other attractions are being shuffled to make room for more rides. He said there isn't enough room without acquiring the park space.

"There's not enough there to be the attraction it needs to be," Waterbury said. "It needs 30 rides to be a destination."

Residents felt the board should wait to vote on the license.

"Show us what you can do with your own land before asking the village to give up its land," said Barbara Denslow.

The village board feels that by licensing the land it is working to preserve the historic amusement park.

"When people think about Sylvan Beach they think of three things; the water, the sand beach and the amusement park," Thomas Statkewicz. "The village board does not want to see Sylvan Beach lose a major part of its identity."

He went on to say the amusement park was almost lost last year.

"It's harder and harder for that entity to keep going... It's hard to imagine it being dark," Statkewicz said. "If we lost the amusement park we'd be faced with empty buildings. In order to prosper they do need to bring in new rides and attractions to appeal to a wider group of people."

The large waterfront public parking lot is technically owned by Goodenow, but there are restrictions on his using it. Statkewicz said that as long as the village uses it as a parking lot it can't be used for anything else. He added that while giving up the lot would be an option for the village, the board isn't ready to do that because it brings in about $50,000 to $70,000 a year. And giving it up could boost taxes.

Frank Gatto was the lone board member who did not approve the agreement.

"Their family (the Spencers) gave that property and we shouldn't be touching it," he said.

Ryan said residents don't use that part of the park anyway. He referred to the area as a "dead zone."

"When we get sidewalks in there people will use it...we always had plans to do that side of the park," Gatto said.

"The board's responsibility is to try, whether we're doing the right thing or the wrong thing... We're trying to encourage, foster and promote recreational activity," Statkewicz said.

Waterbury explained that the 18-hole mini golf course would be "traditional old-fashioned course" and the surrounding area will have flower boxes and an "attractive" fence around the property.

In a meeting just prior to the village board meeting the village planning committee approved the site plan review proposed by Waterbury and Goodenow to move two rides to the Kiddie Land area and to install the miniature golf course.

Before voting Planning Chairman Joe Benedict went over particulars with Waterbury and Goodenow. There will be two new painted light poles, no light is to be directed toward any public highway. He said the fencing should be either picket style or a style with two to three rails and should be painted or opaque stain.

Benedict suggested Waterbury put in a bicycle rack and said that any shrubs would have to be chosen from a list of 18 shrub varieties used in the rest of the park. One tree is set to be added to the two present to provide shade for patrons playing miniature golf.

"Personally I think when you come over the bridge it's vacant in that spot," Benedict said.