Warwick adjusts summer program fees for families

The village of Warwick changed the fee structure for its popular summer park program to better accommodate families and enable more children to participate.

The Warwick Village Board, at its May 6 meeting, approved the fee change from a one-time, seasonal fee to a weekly rate. In prior years, families were required to register for the full six-week program for $30 with siblings costing an additional $20 per child. As discussed by the board, oftentimes families would sign up but only send their children for a portion of the program. By requiring families to sign up for individual weeks, the village hopes to alleviate that issue.

The board first proposed the same rates of $30 and $20 for weekly registration. This was met with concern by members of the board, who noted that it would be a huge cost increase, particularly for families signing their children up for multiple weeks.

After some discussion, Trustee Barry Cheney proposed amending the fees to $20 for the first child and $15 per sibling to ease potential sticker shock at the price change. Even with the adjustment from a seasonal to weekly fee schedule, the board agreed the park program remains a great value. They also emphasized the importance of letting families know about financial assistance available to those in need.

More parkland

In other parks news, the village of Warwick has agreed to purchase property connected to Lewis Woodlands located on Robin Brae. Mayor Michael Newhard provided some context on the purchase, noting that the property is in a sensitive environmental area. Newhard explained that the village reached out to the owner about purchasing the property. The owner agreed and offered to gift half of the property cost to the village of Warwick. To help offset the remaining costs of the acquisition, the village agreed to grant a conservation easement on the property at Robin Brae to the town of Warwick in exchange for their assistance in providing funds for the purchase of said property.

“It is a really wonderful, sensitive piece of property for the taxpayers of the village of Warwick,” said Newhard. “I think it’s a real win.”

Traffic safety

During the meeting, the village board adopted a new local law that lets the village of Warwick enact vehicle and traffic-related legislation for the benefit of the health and safety of the public without needing state approval.

On the topic of public safety, the board addressed a letter from a resident requesting the Mayor’s support for a speed reduction along Kings Highway from the former Kings School to Colonial Avenue. The letter asks for the speed limit for that section to be reduced from 50 mph to 35 mph. Although Trustee Cheney noted that a speed reduction request would have to go through the state department of transportation and that such changes are slow to happen, he and the rest of the board agreed to write a letter in support of the speed change request.