Stadium looks like a boondoggleMarch 11, 2010 Letter in The Journal News Over the last few years, Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence's investment decisions have become increasingly bizarre. First we had that huge white elephant, the Joseph T. St. Lawrence Community, Health and Sports Center, which was built in the middle of nowhere at a cost of perhaps $11 million and which currently operates at maybe 10 percent of its capacity. Then we had those seven huge clocks that are scattered throughout Ramapo and that carry St. Lawrence's personal greetings throughout the day, every day. They cost our taxpayers $300,000, including installation. It would be hard for any member of his rubber-stamp board to argue that this looked like a wise decision when they voted for this expenditure. Now St. Lawrence is trying to rush though a commitment of more than $25 million for a baseball stadium for an unknown team that belongs to an unknown league. The league was established in 1995, but not a single team from the original league is still in business. The Can-Am league currently has six teams. It would have more but, most unfortunately, between 1995 and 2008, 18 teams disappeared! Of those 18 teams, three left New York to new locations where they subsequently folded, and four folded while still in their New York stadiums. Even Preserve Ramapo can't blame this nutty venture on politics. Robert I. Rhodes
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