Board of Ed Discusses Possible Lease with Atlantic Auto Mall

The West Islip Board of Education presented a tentative plan to lease space to Atlantic Auto Mall at the board's monthly meeting Thursday night.

Board President Steve Gellar outlined the basics of the proposal, which would include constructing a 150-space parking lot to be used by Atlantic Auto employees at Masera Learning Center as part of a 10-year lease. Atlantic would pay the district $30,000 per year, and would have naming rights to the scoreboard on the high school turf field.

In exchange, the auto group would pay for improvements to various sports fields throughout the district, including those at Masera, Bayview Elementary and West Islip High School's Barberry Field, which would be converted to a turf field. Masera would also receive a new sidewalk and parking lot.

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Gellar said the agreement is still in the preliminary stages, and negotiations are ongoing. "Nothing is final yet. We don't have a contract at this point," he said. 

The district is also pursuing the possibility of a technical education program funded by Atlantic Auto, said Superintendent Rick Simon, though specific details were not given.

Masera is occupied by Eastern Suffolk BOCES, and its intramural fields are utilized by the West Islip Soccer Club. Under the proposed agreement, Masera would receive an $18,000 rent reduction per year for the remainder of its existing lease.

Gary Kofsky, President of West Islip Soccer Club, spoke favorably of the proposal. "This enhancement to the existing fields seems like a very nice holiday gift," he said. "I think this will be a very good thing for all the members of the district."

If plans materialize, sports teams within the school district would double their time on the turf fields. Additionally, community youth groups would gain about 20 hours on the fields each week.

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