Parties are two years past an original deadline, and still not in agreement as to what to do about the Skaneateles Community Center.

The Skaneateles village and town boards are negotiating with the nonprofit organization Parks and Recreational Council of Skaneateles, or PARCS, to create an agreement about the seven-year-old facility's operation, as well as its ownership.

After town Supervisor Phil Tierney called for public comment related to the transfer of the recreation center to PARCS last month, parties have paused to explore scheduling some public informational hearings.

“I was disturbed by the fact that things were moving so quickly without public input,” Tierney said of why he wrote a letter about the situation for the Skaneateles Town newsletter.

The plan is to have PARCS take ownership of the community center from current deed holder Skaneateles Recreational Charitable Trust. The town then would lease the building from PARCS and run the recreational programs as it does now.

The Skaneateles Community Center sits at 97 State Street near the north edge of the village.

The trust formed in 1999 to fund the center's construction, and intended to hand over the center to the village by 2007. Originally, the village was going to sublease the center to the town, which would operate the arena.

The village has since rejected the possibility of owning the facility, which has operated at a deficit since its inception.

Instead, PARCS is poised to take it over. The organization's ability to raise money for the community center made it a prime candidate for ownership. The municipalities would have a hard time asking for voluntary donations, PARCS President Charlie Wallace said.

“As town residents, we all pay taxes,” he said. “For taxpayers to donate money on a facility that they are paying taxes on would be difficult at a fundraising standpoint.”

PARCS aims to create an endowment that could cover future capital improvements to help reduce how much taxpayers subsidize the facility, Wallace said.

The facility makes about $1 million annually, Tierney said, but costs $1.2 million to operate each year. The pools eat up any chance of profits for the facility, he added.

Despite the boards voting on a lease and negotiations continuing on the center's operation, obstacles and disagreements have plagued the process of transferring the building.

Tierney took issue with the first draft of a lease presented to the town board because PARCS asked the town to pay $12,000 in rent annually. He opposed the idea of paying rent, saying the town has spent years subsidizing the facility. However, Wallace said the financial situation will benefit the town. Besides the rental fee, the agreement caps money the town will spend for maintaining the facility at $30,000. The contract allowed for the total of the two figures - $42,000 annually - to increase with inflation. Parties came up with that figure by looking at how much the town spends on the center currently. Wallace said this is a good deal for the town because now it is responsible for all costs, with no limits.

The town board will have to vote on the lease after PARCS revises the document.

After the lease, the parties need to address the more difficult task of working on a contract that will allow PARCS to take ownership, and include details about the operation of the center.

On an almost monthly basis, both boards extend the current operating agreement, pushing the expiration date in hopes of having another contract in its place by the month's end.

The first of many extensions came in 2007 when the village officials realized the center should go to another entity, one that could raise money on behalf of the facility, Village Mayor Bob Green said.

Since then, PARCS, village and town officials, as well as SRCT representatives, have been hammering out the operations and transfer agreements.

“We were very close. It's been extended several times. We were close to working out the agreement to sign over the center to PARCS,” Green said.

Now, he predicts the committee will want to hold up the process while officials plan for public discussions in response to Tierney's calling for community input.

While Green agrees with the need for public comment, “that's definitely going to continue to delay (the process),” he said.

Wallace said Tierney's letter is a reminder to let people know more about PARCS. Wallace said members were waiting to share plans and ideas with the public.

“We felt that it is not appropriate for us to make plans before we get our ducks in a row,” Wallace said, referring to the pending agreements.

“I think it's high time that PARCS came out of the weeds and explain who we are,” he added.

One of the organization's goals that isn't widely known is to assist the town with all of its parks. Once known as the Austin Park Development Fund, the committee has since expanded with the interest of all town recreational areas in mind.

Tierney was concerned with the fact that PARCS, as a private entity, can conduct negotiations and all conversations behind closed doors.

“I think when you are dealing with a public entity, the public really should be involved,” he said.

Tierney says he would support PARCS becoming the facility's owner as long as the contract contains a provision requiring the group to operate with the transparency of a public entity.

Green believes PARCS becoming owner is the best situation. He added that the municipalities financially supporting the center is fine, as long as the burden is fairly distributed, and the center runs efficiently.

“It's my feeling that village taxpayers shouldn't own it. If (the town) wants it to be publicly owned, then, let it be owned townwide,” Green said.

Tierney agreed with the benefits of PARCS taking ownership, as long as the organization's membership reflects the entire community, the center continues to be reachable to all people in the community, and the committee maintains transparency.

“In a sense, I think everyone wants the same thing,” Wallace said. “I think the community wants to have the center be running (well) ... so it can be enjoyed by generations to come.”

Skaneateles Community Center time line

The following is a list of important dates for the Skaneateles Community Center:

February 2009: The Skaneateles Town Board approves a first draft of a lease for the Skaneateles Community Center with not-for-profit organization Parks and Recreation Council of Skaneateles, known as PARCS. The board will have to vote on a final lease.

December 2007: The village and town agree to extend the current lease with SRCT to buy time while they find another organization to take over the facility. The municipalities have since pushed back the six-month extension repeatedly to continue the arrangement while they negotiate a contract regarding the center's operation.

October 2007: The town does an energy study in attempts to get a handle on run-away utility costs at the community center.

October 2006: The town-appointed Reorganizational Committee suggests the town consolidate the town Parks and Recreation Department and the community center into one department. The committee also recommends the creation of a parks and recreation advisory committee.

December 2004: The town begins to allocate taxpayers' money to support the facility.

April 1, 2002: The entire $9 million multi-level sports facility opens its doors.

Jan. 15, 2002: The Allyn Arena ice rink in the Skaneateles Community Center has its grand opening.

Jan. 1, 2002: The Allyn Arena was renamed the Austin Park Pavilion, freeing up the name for the then soon-to-be-opened ice rink in the recreational center.

Spring 1999: Community leaders formed the Skaneateles Recreational Charitable Trust (SRCT) to begin funding a sports arena. Later the same year, the group buys a 19-acre lot off State Street for the venture.

Winter 1996: Community members, including William G. Allyn, begin looking for a solution to the aging, now-called Austin Park Pavilion on Jordan Road. They later broadened the project's scope from designing an ice rink to a sports arena.