TUSTEN, NY—After more than a year of strong support and dissent for the project, construction for a pavilion in the Tusten Multi-Generational Park is underway as of October 21st and is scheduled to be completed before Halloween. 

Even after the town board gave the project the green light, town residents had concerns about the full cost of the project. 

Building the pavilion is only the first phase of construction. To meet zoning requirements, the construction and then maintenance of a flush toilet bathroom will eventually be needed. The cost of the toilet is additional and not included in this phase of the project.

One resident said it was “financially irresponsible” while another described it as “signing a blank check.”

The initiative started with a proposal back in August of 2023 to build a pavilion down on the Flats, a residential area at the tip of Narrowsburg,for which the Town of Tusten had secured a 20,000 dollar matching grant from the non-profit Sullivan 180.

The pavilion has been divisive, with signs around town that read “PLANT TREES NOT PAVILIONS”, members of the Tusten Youth Commission who packed a town hall meeting in November to advocate for having facilities in town where families can gather, and a group which formed in January in Narrowsburg to protect the Flats and promote all-around neighborliness.

Originally the size of the pavilion was larger,  but based on resident feedback–one resident compared the initial plans to the Taj Mahal–the architectural firm, Charles G. Woods and Associates, amended the size to 24 by 30 feet.

Tusten’s Highway Department is clearing and laying the foundation for “Pandora’s pavilion” using millings from road resurfacing before the structure is constructed by Delaware Valley Job Corp., free of labor cost to the town under a work-based learning agreement. The materials, which will come from 84 Lumber, based in Hawley, PA, cost $10,540.71 according to the town board.  

Many supporters of the project were families and members of the Tusten Youth Group. Supervisor Johnson confirmed the base, originally concrete but changed due to cost, was fit to wheel a stroller easily. 

In response to resident concerns about rules, regulations, and maintenance of the pavilion for potential events, the parks committee drafted policies and procedures that will most likely be adopted at the November or December full board meeting, according to the chair of the committee and board member Greg Triggs. He says the draft includes event rules and procedures for the maintenance of future bathrooms associated with the pavilion. 

Signs that read plant trees not pavilions will be half-satisfied. The parks committee has a plan to plant six mature trees, a mix of maple and river birch, that have already been budgeted for in the 2025 budget.

The pending pavilion decision came to a head last month at the September recessed board meeting with Supervisor Johnson, Board Members Cass Collins and Kevin McDonough voting in favor, Board Member Greg Triggs against, and Bruce Gettel abstaining. 

“My blood pressure is through the roof,” Gettel said. He said he had to abstain, but after thinking about the decision many times he was still “on the fence about it.” 

Triggs who ultimately voted against the project said it was because of the unknown cost of the required addition of the bathroom.

Collins, who voted in favor, said she also was concerned about the bathroom but that “sometimes you just have to move forward,” and is looking forward to having a space in town where families and residents can come together.

McDonough said he was initially against the project and in the end said, “Oddly enough, I'm going to vote for it.”

Johnson, who voted in favor, said the pavilion fulfills the unmet need for shade, a place for programming, and a place to gather for social and physical activity in the town.

Resident Eugene Wolff, said he was appreciative of the way the board has handled the division over the pavilion and ultimately commended them on where the project stands but that park projects have been “piecemeal” and that a more comprehensive plan is needed. 

Read more about the process of breaking ground on the pavilion here:

https://riverreporter.com/stories/pavilion-not-yet-out-for-bid,144999?

https://riverreporter.com/stories/tusten-continues-to-move-forward-on-pavilion,140662?

https://riverreporter.com/stories/construction-bids-for-pandoras-pavilion-to-help-assess-costs,135967?

https://riverreporter.com/stories/friends-of-the-flats-welcomes-all-opinions-but-no-elected-officials,133247?

https://riverreporter.com/stories/next-steps-for-tustens-pavilion,126727?

https://riverreporter.com/stories/oh-deer,117978?

https://riverreporter.com/stories/when-a-grant-is-not-a-gift,114558?

https://riverreporter.com/stories/sewer-rates-to-go-up,111185?

https://riverreporter.com/stories/pee-yew-smells-like-sewage-rates,120866?