Village clerk to resign, meeting set for Thursday

Village clerk to resign, meeting set for Thursday

WATKINS GLEN--The Watkins Glen board of trustees held their regular meeting Tuesday, April 5 where it was announced Village Clerk Lonnie Childs would be resigning June 3.
Childs' resignation letter stated, "Experiences over the past several months and the environment created by the lack of support from the administration have convinced me that I no longer desire to work in the capacity of village clerk for the village of Watkins Glen."
Childs declined to add any additional details.
During the meeting, Watkins Glen Mayor Luke Leszyk said he was thankful Childs gave the village time to find a replacement, and said, "(She is) instrumental in the day-to-day operations of the village... People sometimes don't understand how hard this village is to run."
He added that Childs had been important in bringing the village into the 21st century by providing the ability for people to pay bills online and other modernizations.
The clerk position is not the only vacancy the village has to deal with, as Code Enforcement Officer Darrin Stocum already served his last day on April 8.
"Personally want to thank you for the work that you have done," the mayor said. "You have been instrumental in getting us through our zoning updates and several DRI projects."
The village has announced they will hold a special meeting in executive session, Thursday, April 14 "to discuss the qualifications of several candidates for the position of village clerk as well as parks department personnel and general village organizational structure."
Also during the meeting, the board voted to put out to bid three Downtown Revitalization Initiative projects including Lafayette Park, improvements to Fourth Street to make it more pedestrian-friendly and new signage at the entrance points of the village.
For Lafayette Park, Leszyk said the improvements would include permanent bathrooms to replace the need to rent porta-potties on an annual basis, new lights and some work on the pavilion.
The improvements to Fourth Street are designed around increasing pedestrian traffic flow between Clute Park and downtown.
Finally, the village will also add four signs to the entrance points of the village.
During the meeting, the board also decided to vote in favor to change the name of the Parks Department to Parks and Recreation. This ties in with the recent addition of the ice skating rink, the splash pad, basketball courts and the already in place campgrounds the village operates.
Parks and Recreation Director Craig Bond said the change fits in perfectly with what the department has been doing recently.
"With our new website we are going to launch, and all the new marketing we are going to bring it all together," said Bond.