The Marine Education Center—located in the center of Mamaroneck’s Harbor Island Park—is slated to become even larger after the village Board of Trustees voted in favor of renovations on Jan., 25.
Renovations will double the size of the center—which is currently about 200 square feet—to about 450 square feet. Although there is currently $30,000 of village funds devoted to the expansion, Village Manager Richard Slingerland said that a final cost won’t be available until the construction project goes out to bid.
The Marine Education Center, which, until the recent creation of an advisory committee, had been run by village of Mamaroneck resident Katherine Desmond and her husband Jim. The education center was created in 2013 and provides both residents and non-residents with resources that help them learn about aquatic life in the Long Island Sound.
Filled with fish tanks and books, and staffed by volunteer marine educators, Desmond told the Review that the center has been rewarding for both the volunteers and those who come to learn about the sound.
“What a learning experience and great fun,” she said.
The expanded space, Desmond said, will help them provide an even better education by accommodating more students and resources, but also help the center secure more grants in the future.
“More space will add the potential for more funding,” she said, adding that organizations like the Long Island Sound Futures Fund could help the center in the future.
While additional resources outside of expanding the space aren’t yet being allocated, according to Slingerland, the village board will continue to seriously mull over providing the Marine Education Center with more than just space.
Slingerland said that the board may also look into hiring part-time workers to help the center provide a better and more consistent education.
Currently, he said, the center has been run by a group of what he called “expert volunteers.”
The decision to expand the Marine Education Center, though passed unanimously by the board, was not entirely cut and dry.
What to do with the adjacent fisherman lockers, which are set to be displaced by the expansion of the center, was also discussed.
According to village Trustee Louis Santoro, a Republican, the lockers are critical to those who use the harbor and store their equipment there, and should be relocated to an indoor location as opposed to an outdoor one, given the expensive nature of the equipment stored in them.
“We have to be cognizant of everyone’s needs,” Santoro said.
