Islip reviewing ballfields plan

Plans to build a sports complex on town-owned property in Central Islip have stalled as Islip officials and the developer negotiate the project's financing, makeup, and timeline.

Islip supervisor Phil Nolan said the town is evaluating "significant changes" made by developer Andy Borgia -- building in phases, reducing the number and type of fields, and postponing construction of a building with indoor fields.

After Borgia missed a Dec. 31 deadline for federal stimulus bonds, he said he submitted changes to Islip in February and reached an oral agreement with the town in April. "The town was very much in favor of the changes," he said. "But, we're still waiting to have our amended lease signed. I don't understand what's holding it up."

Nolan said "there is a process that takes place to fully analyze" significant changes to any proposal.

Under a 50-year deal signed in October, Islip agreed to lease to Borgia 36 acres of town-owned land on Carleton Avenue for the $20 million, 205,000-square-foot Ultimate Game Sports Complex -- with indoor fields and seven outdoor fields for baseball, soccer, lacrosse and football.

Borgia also agreed to build new fields for the Central Islip Little League, which would be displaced by the project. Construction was to begin this year, Nolan said. The project would have brought 75 to 85 permanent jobs, Borgia said.

The new plan calls for five outdoor multipurpose fields for lacrosse, soccer, football and softball, he said.

It also includes an option not to construct the building for indoor fields, while reducing the building's size and the number of light poles on outdoor fields. The plan would create about 60 permanent and seasonal jobs through league tournaments and outdoor camps, Borgia said.

Construction on the Little League and outdoor fields, costing about $6 million, could begin in late fall, he said. He would have up to four years to construct the complex's building and indoor fields. However, he added, financial issues might prevent or delay the building's construction.

Local civic groups praised the original proposal, saying such a facility is long overdue in Central Islip. Borgia says the scaled-back project will benefit the community.

"We are trying to work with him to move the project forward," Nolan said. "We could get this ironed out shortly or perhaps not."