GREENPORT–Summer wraps up with kids’ rides, entertainment, food and more Saturday, September 19 at Greenport Community Day. The free annual event, announced at the September Town Board meeting, runs from noon to 8 p.m. at the Town Park on Joslen Boulevard. And the park may be growing, if a hoped-for grant comes through.
Scheduled entertainers are 98.5 The Cat’s Bill Williams and his prize wheel from noon to 2 p.m.; singer Valinda Brandow from noon to 1 p.m.; ventriloquist Steve Charney and his pal Harry from 1:30 to 2:30; pop and oldies music with The Greyhounds from 3 to 6; and crafts with the Scotia-Glenville Children’s Museum from 3 to 5.
Elvis impersonator Cal Stoerzinger rounds out the day from 6:30 to 8.
Also featured are craft vendors, a Chinese auction and demonstrations.
At its meeting, the board also approved seeking a state grant of up to $375,000 for improvements at the park.
Supervisor John Rutkey said the grant, which requires a 25% match from the town, could be used to expand the children’s playground, add field space to accommodate Pop Warner football and create a regulation-sized field for boys and girls softball, and provide lighting for the baseball field.
New energy-efficient lighting would allow the town to light the field for two hours at a cost of only $10, Mr. Rutkey said.
*On a less positive note, councilmen learned that the town pays National Grid for streetlights whether they are on or not–the charge is based on hours of darkness, not actual usage of electricity. That makes it even more important that residents report non-working streetlights, the board agreed. A form for such reports is available at the Town Clerk’s Office in the Town Hall.
*Highway Superintendent Mark Gaylord told the board he has fielded both positive and negative comments on new traffic controls on Joslen Boulevard and at its intersection with Harry Howard Avenue.
One Joslen resident said the new configuration has been successful in reducing heavy truck traffic on the residential street.
But resident Joseph Kobilca doubted the effectiveness of stop signs at Cedar Parkway and at the Harry Howard intersection.
Traffic lights are the way to go, he said, because “the only way to slow ’em down is to make them sit there and wait.”
*A developer hopes to replace the long-vacant V&O Press building on Route 66 with a mixed-use development.
Planning Board Chairman Donald Alger told the Town Board that Harbalwant Singh’s plans for the site include: a 100-room hotel; a family entertainment center with rock-climbing wall, laser tag and a bowling alley; a restaurant; and a gas station/convenience store.
Mr. Alger said Mr. Singh told the planners he will return September 22 with a site plan.