Warwick to further support area parks via preservation fund

The town of Warwick is hoping to amend its Community Preservation Fund law to allow a greater percentage of the funds to support parks in open space. During the March 13 Warwick Town Board meeting, Town Supervisor Jesse Dwyer explained that the current law allows up to 10% of the fund to support parks and that the town would like to bring that amount up to 40%. Dwyer further explained that these funds can be used to support capital upgrades and park maintenance, alleviating the burden on local taxpayers.

As Dwyer noted, less than 1% of every real estate transfer that occurs within the town goes to the Community Preservation Fund, which is used to support the purchase of development rights of farms and acquiring open space. He noted that while the program has helped the town preserve more than 5,000 acres over time, they are finding fewer farms that require this preservation and feel that using more of the fund for parkland would be a great benefit to the community.

Dwyer also commented on the success of the fund, sharing that many objected to the idea when it was first proposed, arguing that nobody would want to pay a transfer tax to purchase property in the town.

“Clearly those thoughts were false. Warwick is one of the most desirable towns to live and it is one of the most desirable towns to live because of the CPF that was enacted back in the early 2000s,” said Dwyer.

In other park news, Dwyer shared that the town DPW is in the process of preparing Airplane Park for installation of new playground equipment and that the town will resurface and repaint the tennis court at Pine Island Park. In addition, the town will be installing a new pool at Mountain Lake Park, which Dwyer shared would happen after the summer, to not disrupt people’s enjoyment of the park’s facilities.

Jennings Creek fire

The town will get some relief from the costs associated with managing the Jennings Creek forest fire. Dwyer reported that the town met the cost threshold for reimbursement from FEMA, and that the town has begun the process of submitting expenses for services used to combat the fire.

East Shore Road

The town is looking into a grant that would improve safety along a section of East Shore Road in Greenwood Lake. Dwyer said that the road is incredibly dangerous as there is no guardrail separating it from the lake, which has caused several vehicles to overturn off the road and into the lake. He explained that a guardrail cannot be installed because of a lack of shoulder by the road. The grant, Dwyer said, would support adding a guardrail along the section, but also a multi-use pathway over the water to promote transportation and pedestrian safety, as well as tourism. He emphasized that the project would be costly and not one he felt the town could take on without grant support.