Skoufis Secures $2 Million for Pools and Splash Pads in Orange County

New York Sen. James Skoufis, flanked by town officials, announced new funding for local water recreation facilities in Goshen, N.Y., on Oct. 1, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

GOSHEN, N.Y.—New York state Sen. James Skoufis arrived in Goshen on Oct. 1 to announce $2 million in state funding for water recreation facilities in three Orange County municipalities.

The funding will include $750,000 for a new splash pad in the town of New Windsor, $720,000 for a new municipal aquatic center at Craigville Park in Goshen, and $600,000 for improvements to the existing pool at Mountain Lake Park in Warwick.

All the above grants come from a discretionary capital grant program called CREST, also known as the Community Resiliency, Economic Sustainability, and Technology program, which is largely financed by debts issued by the state Dormitory Authority.

“Some of my fondest memories growing up were at the Central Valley pool in the town of Woodbury,” Skoufis told reporters at Craigville Park. “At the pool, we socialize and build friendships in the outdoors, which every study shows are good for your mental health.”

He added that pool time also hones swimming skills and builds physical health.

“This has been a 20-year dream for the town of Goshen to build a swimming pool,” Goshen Supervisor Joseph Betro said. “We have tried and tried and failed, and now we finally are going to succeed in building a beautiful aquatic center for the town.”

New Windsor Supervisor Stephen Bedetti said that “the town of New Windsor has been dabbling with a [new water amenity] for 25 to 30 years, and it kind of died on the vine,” adding that he appreciated the state funding secured by Skoufis.

New Windsor Councilwoman Eve Lincoln, a strong advocate for building the new splash pad, said the facility will accommodate children of all swimming skills, including those with disabilities.

Town of Warwick Supervisor Jesse Dywer (L) and Recreation Director Samantha Walter in Goshen, N.Y., on Oct. 1, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

For the town of Warwick, the state funding will go to a dedicated youth pool for children to enjoy swimming in a safer environment, according to Supervisor Jesse Dwyer.

Dwyer said he wanted to thank Skoufis for utilizing and leveraging his lawmaker position in the state Legislature to obtain funding for local municipalities.

“If we don’t take that money, which is our money that we send to Albany, somebody else will,” he said.

Created in the 2022–2023 state budget, the CREST program was allocated a lump sum of $385 million in its first year with wide legislative discretion in awarding local “quality-of-life” capital projects, according to a report by the New York Comptroller’s Office.

During the 2024–2025 budget cycle, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed to defund the program, but the state Legislature moved to revive it with a new $385 million appropriation.

Funded by bonds issued by the Dormitory Authority, the CREST program, along with other similar public authority-administered capital grant programs, is a key piece of the state’s growing debt burdens, according to the state Comptroller’s Office.

At the Goshen press conference, SUNY Orange provost Erika Hackman also introduced upcoming water safety instructor training and learn-to-swim courses at the community college’s Middletown campus between October and December.

The college was able to provide these community courses after receiving a $65,000 grant from the state as part of Hochul’s $150 million New York Swims capital grant program.