G.L. Village Bd. Adopts Police Reform Plan 

By Lourice Angie

    The Greenwood Lake Village Board of Trustees held their regular monthly meeting on Mon., Mar. 15. Due to ongoing COVID-19 guidelines, the meeting was held via Zoom.

  The Village Board concluded the public hearing on Executive Order 203, which is the State’s Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative plan. The hearing was left open for comment since the last meeting. During the meeting, the Board adopted the plan as it currently exists and it will be submitted to the State accordingly. 

  Mayor Jesse Dwyer commended on the work of Trustee Tom Howley, who was honored to receive the compliment, but gave all of the credit to Greenwood Lake Police Lt. Adam Eirand, whose tireless efforts ultimately got the job done. To view the plan, visit the Village’s website at www.villageofgreenwoodlake.org.

Fire Department Requests to Dispatch Calls Through Police Dept. 

    The Greenwood Lake Volunteer Fire Department, currently being dispatched by 9-11, has requested to return to its previous dispatching service with the G.L. Police Department concurrently with 9-11. The fire department has offered to cover the costs of the equipment needed in order to make the transition feasible and easily accessible to the Police Dept. who previously provided their dispatching service.

   The reason for returning to the Village’s previous dispatching service is to specialize its accuracy and the safety of all residents by keeping the service on a local level instead of countywide. 

“The best service we can give to the Village is the overall goal here, and we believe that by dispatching them in emergency services its’ the best way to go,” said Police Lt. Adam Eirand.

Mayor Dwyer and the Village Board were all in favor of the service returning and agree that keeping the dispatching services local is better for the community because local dispatchers tend to be more geographically familiar with the area and community overall.

Jeff Hart Memorial Scoreboard

    Mayor Dwyer gave an update on the plans for the Jeff Hart Memorial Scoreboard at the Lions Field in Greenwood Lake. Jeff Hart was an outstanding citizen of Greenwood Lake who devoted most of his life and time working with the community and through his years of coaching the Little League. 

  After discussing the costs associated with repairing the non-operative, existing scoreboard at the last Board meeting, Mayor Dwyer initially anticipated sharing the costs with the little league organization. Dwyer said he recently received a call from Hart’s son, Greg, who advised him that his father’s former employer Interstate Waste Services (IWS) has offered to fully cover the costs associated with the new structure. 

“Jeff put his heart and soul in IWS and it’s very nice of them to do that. That helps free up the little league’s funding and allows them to invest in all the baseball fields. We appreciate IWS who is our local contractor, stepping up and covering all the costs of the new scoreboard,” said Mayor Dwyer. 

Thomas P. Morahan Park

    During the meeting Mayor Dwyer updated the Board on the transition of obtaining the Thomas P. Morahan Waterfront Park. G.L. attorney John Buckheit is in the process of reviewing the final draft of the Intermunicipal Agreement. Once the Village submits the contract to the Town of Warwick, it will then be reviewed by Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton and the Town attorney before the transition process is completed.

Farmers’ Market 

      Mayor Dwyer says that one of the topics discussed over the years to benefit the Village is the idea of a Farmers’ Market. Dwyer recently mentioned the idea to the G.L. Chamber of Commerce members while attending a meeting. The idea was so well received that the Mayor invited several Chamber members and business owners, including the owners of the G.L. Garden Center to discuss the concept. 

The idea is to have a Farmers’ Market located at the Thomas P. Morahan Waterfront Park on Saturday’s during the months of September and October.  

“It will be the most unique Farmers’ Market on our side of the river. We’re thinking of keeping it small initially,” said Dwyer. 

Next Board Meeting

The next Village Board meeting will be held via Zoom on Mon., Apr. 19 at 7:30 p.m. A link to join the meeting will be posted on the Village website at www.villageofgreenwoodlake.org.