Kicking off the Holidays in GWL
Saturday, December 3rd marks our annual Holiday Festival & Christmas Tree Lighting! A fun
filled day for the entire family. Visit our vendors to get your holiday shopping off to a great start. Grab a bite to eat and enjoy a hot chocolate or beverage from the bar while staying warm by a fire pit. There will be music and dancing and a special visit from the big guy himself as well as horse and buggy rides compliments of our great neighbors from the Bellvale Bruderhof. Santa will be available for free photos (bring your camera). The event will vendor market goes from 12pm to 6pm and the tree is lit just after sundown and just after a few performances from some of our local youth. We hope to see you there as we kick off the holiday season right in Greenwood Lake! For more details or to see a list of the more than 40 vendors, please visit villageofgreenwoodlake.org/holidayfestival/.
The Greenwood Lake Ambulance Corp is hosting the annual Trooper Nicholson Blood Drive
right by the festival from 830am to 230pm in their building. Stop by and donate blood before enjoying the great entertainment of the day.
Schedule of Events for Saturday December 3
Polar Plunge in Support of Special Olympics: Morahan Waterfront Park 10am to 1pm
GWL Bark Park Puppy Photos with Santa: 10am to 12pm at Bark Park located on Vine St.
Santa Paddle Takeover Paddle Board Parade: Viewing 12pm from Morahan Park or Waterstone Bridge
Holiday Festival; 12 – 6pm on Windermere Ave in front of Ambulance Corp
Trooper Nicholson Memorial Blood Drive: 830am – 230pm at GWL Ambulance Corp
Village Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony begins at sundown
From the Mayor’s Office
Hydrant Flushing This Week
Approximately twice a year, as part of necessary maintenance for our water system, we must flush fire hydrants to discharge sediment from the water lines. This process temporarily affects water quality and may cause discolored water. Hydrant flushing will take place beginning Tuesday May 4th and go through Friday May 7th. If you notice discolored water, try running an outside hose for a few minutes until the water clears up. Although very inconvenient, this is a much-needed process to ensure continuous water quality throughout the year.
Herbicide Treatment Scheduled Next Week
The Village of Greenwood Lake is schedule to treat portions of the lake with an herbicide known as “Clipper” on Monday, May 10. The areas we will treat include the north west arm by Defeo’s Marina, the area in front of Thomas Morahan Waterfront Park, the east arm from the 17A bridge heading south toward Chapel Island. There is a 24 hours swimming restriction and a 5-day irrigation restriction (watering your lawn is not advised if you are adjacent to the treatment area). There are no restrictions on fishing or using the lake. A mailer went out to 1,583 residences throughout both the village and town notifying them of their opportunity to offer comment on the treatment. Zero responses were received.
Legislation Supporting Lake Patrol and Safety
Last week I was notified by my good friend Assemblyman Karl Brabenec that our legislation, Assembly Bill A06189, has been formally announced on the floor and made its way into Committee. The bill was sponsored by a member of the Assembly majority party, Aileen Gunther and co-sponsored by our local legislator, Karl Brabenec. The bill fixes a loophole created many years ago. Currently, every boat that is registered in NY has a fee collected by the state that is intended to go back to local police marine units that enforce navigation and safety laws on the water. Unfortunately, the law would not allow municipalities to apply for the funding when counties apply. We have created a bill that will amend that law and allow both counties and local governments to apply for the funding if the funding does not exceed the county cap for funding. If approved, the Village will be reimbursed 50% of all water police funding (approximately $40,000 annually). I look forward to working with Senator Mike Martucci on pushing through similar legislation in the New York Senate and lobbying for the bill state-wide. These are funds that WE pay the state through boat registrations and we are entitled to have those funds come back to our community and work for us.
From the Mayor’s Office
Fireworks Postponed
It is with deep regret that I inform the public of our decision to cancel the 2020 Independence Day Fireworks. The show, originally scheduled in July and postponed to September, was cancelled at the recent Board of Trustee’s Meeting. We had hoped the governor would increase the size of gatherings but being limited to no more than 50 people allowed at one event, we are left with no choice but to cancel. The tentative date for next year’s fireworks is set for Saturday, July 3rd 2021. The GWL Chamber of Commerce has also cancelled the Street Fair for this year.
Improving Handicap Accessibility in the Village
This past week, we completed a project at Village Hall to convert the entryway, bathroom, and Clerk’s window to fully handicap accessible facilities. In addition, we started a project at the Senior Center to make the entryway handicap accessible. The 3rd handicap accessibility project for the year will begin within a couple weeks and that project will construct a sidewalk connecting Optimum to the Garden Center along 17A. Then a crosswalk will cross 17A to Black Bear which will connect to our recently built sidewalk along Mountain Lakes Lane. These three projects amount to $280,000 which are fully funded by grant funds and are being provided through Orange County’s Community Development Block Grant program which administers Federal HUD funding.
From the Mayor’s Office
Hydrant Flushing July 28 – 31
The day we have been waiting for – a full and complete hydrant flush! Some may wonder why this “menial” task raises so much excitement for me but I can explain. About 3 years ago, the Village concluded that our water supply from two wells had been getting slightly lower and lower every year. We immediately decided to begin the process of developing a new well. After a couple months of searching out a new well site, we found the best possible site which was only a few feet from a DEC wetlands area. During the nearly 18 months of navigating regulatory hurdles, a well had been approved and the build-out began. During this time, the wells began producing water exponentially less month after month. Our ordinary routine would be to flush hydrants a couple times a year to remove sediment sitting in the distribution system. Much of this sediment (small deposits of minerals the size of a grain of sand) causes discolored water when they become dislodged from the interior of the line.
In order to effectively flush the entire system, we must send enormous amounts of water out of the hydrants, and likewise, we need to make up that same amount of water to meet the demand of our water consumers. We have not been able to produce enough water from our previous wells to meet the demand and adequately flush the system. Until now. We have completed the new well and it is producing more water than we planned – leaving us in great shape. Therefore, the Village will be flushing hydrants over four days – July 28 – July 31. During this time, we are asking people to reduce the amount of water they use, and plan for discolored water. If you plan on washing light colored clothes, I suggest doing it in the evening after flushing your home water lines from an outside hose spicket. The water should clear up after a few minutes of running the water. I genuinely appreciate everyone’s patience during this process. It has been difficult but I am confident that after a good hydrant flush, the water will once again be great water. If you have any questions about our water, or this process, please do not hesitate to reach me anytime either by email: Mayor@villageofgreenwoodlake.org or by cell: 845-283-7993.
Beach Concerts Town Residents Only
As a result of the Governor’s order to limit outdoor activities, we are forced to limit our events to Town of Warwick Residents only. Therefore, all our future concerts this year, you will be required to prove residency in the town. We are sorry for the inconvenience but we would hate to lose this amazing series of events because of overcrowding of non-residents. Also keep in mind that you must social distance yourselves from one another and wear a mask when you are not seated.
The Greenwood Lake Villager 