A Preview of 2003
Published: 1/8/2003
2003 will be another extraordinary year for the Town of Pittsford and its residents. Our community will once again capture the nation's attention when the 85th PGA Championship is played at Oak Hill Country Club in August. On a local level, we will celebrate the September opening of a new Town park facility, discussions on the library and community center will resume in the spring, and an eagerly anticipated canal path project will be started in July.
From May to October we will enjoy parades, street dances, summer concerts and library programs in the Port of Pittsford Park. We will mix and mingle with our neighbors at 3 community-wide celebrations-
Positively Pittsford, Pittsford Celebrates, and The Family Halloween Fest. The Buffalo Bills will return to the St. John Fisher College campus to hold their training camp for 3 weeks from July to August, and Tiger Woods will lead a pack of professional golfers to Oak Hill Country Club for the playing of the 85th PGA Championship in August. We can help you keep all of these dates straight. Watch for a Community Events postcard to arrive in your mailbox in April.
Following this full summer schedule of exciting events, we will celebrate the opening of a new Town park facility in September. King's Bend Park will occupy 15 acres adjacent to the storm water management facility on the north side of West Jefferson Road. The park, designed for family and neighborhood use, will feature 2 enclosed pavilions. Open lawns, shaded areas, picnic facilities, walkways, and park benches will be located alongside the North and South ponds. We are proud to report that the majority of the work at this site will be completed by the combined forces of the Town Highway, Sewer, and Parks departments. An announcement of Opening Day will advise residents of the official park opening date.
Early in 2003, the Town Board and I will review the recommendations of the Library and Community Center citizens advisory committees. During the first quarter of the year we will identify ways to resume discussions on these important community resources and how we will engage residents in this discussion.
An exciting project to re-establish a portion of the canal towpath will get underway in July. The project area runs from the Monroe Avenue bridge near the Town Sewer Department to the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) garage. Planned modifications will re-route the Brook Road section of the path. A new trail will be built along the bank of the canal where it will join existing trailway west of the DOT buildings. The Canal Trail Realignment Project's aim is to improve trail user safety and enjoyment along the water's edge, remove disruption in the Brook Road neighborhood, and accommodate the continued use of the DOT/Canal property. The project will include development of trailhead parking near the Monroe Avenue bridge and provide landscaping between DOT facilities and the canal path. The trail realignment project will be a tremendous improvement to the canal pathway through our community and we are looking forward to the start of work in July. As 2003 begins, we look forward to the next 12 months and a full schedule of exciting community events and projects. We hope that you will plan to be a part of it all. I would like to remind you that the door to my office is always open and you have an invitation to stop by. I look forward to your visits and our continued partnership in the coming new year.
On behalf of the Town Board, and all Town employees, I want to wish you a happy and healthy new year full of pleasant surprises and personal successes.
Other Supervisor columns are available here.