Big win for Millerton

Millerton can celebrate the news that sometime in the near future it will again have a community swimming pool. Just before Labor Day Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the NY SWIMS capital grant program awarded $6.385 million to the village to build a community pool, a bathhouse, community room and septic system at Eddie Collins Memorial Park. (See story here.)

Mayor Jenn Najdek was thrilled. Town of North East Supervisor Chris Kennan said that community leaders in the region were a little surprised and curious when the news broke. Mayor Najdek thanked the many volunteers who have been planning and working on this project for years.

Stephen Waite, chair of the Eddie Collins Memorial Park Revitalization Committee said: “I’m grateful for the support from our leaders and donors and extremely proud of the work done by the Committee.”

Those committee members include Jeanne Vanecko, vice chair, Edith Greenwood, treasurer, Jennifer Dowley and Greg Swinehart. Mayor Najdek is the village liaison to the committee.

A Steering Committee helps to fundraise, provide advice and support and serves as ambassadors for the project. The Steering Committee includes: Susan Bang, Rob Cooper, Tammy Cooper, John Crawford, Wendy Curtis, Sara Doar, Lisa Hermann, Cathy Fenn, Joe Frydl, Claire Goodman, Julie Schroeder, John Scutieri and Betsy Trotta.

We all should be thankful for these volunteers who have given their time and energy for a community project that will serve all age groups and help make memories for children that will last a lifetime. Stephen Waite recalls: “I spent a lot of time at the old Denney Pool as a kid and made many friends there, some I still keep in contact with.”

Mayor Najdek also thanked Millerton’s Anna Clune, who wrote the successful grant application for the village. And Najdek also noted that it mattered that the village was in good standing with its grants.

Hopes were high that the grant for the pool would be forthcoming after a visit in late July by Carl Heastie, Speaker of the New York State Assembly, and State Rep. Didi Barrett (D-106). Heastie and Barrett stood together in the park to announce that funding for the Phase 2 renovation would be ensured.

Weeks later that assurance now has become a certainty.

The NY SWIMS capital grants are funded in the 2025 state budget. The first round of funding totaled $90 million, of which $38 million was for grants to Dutchess County and towns and cities in the Mid-Hudson region.

Hochul said of the new $150 million program: “We’re making sure that all New Yorkers know how to swim through the largest statewide investment in swimming since the New Deal.”

We salute the Eddie Collins Memorial Park Revitalization Committee and its Steering Committee members for all their selfless volunteer service to make it possible for Millerton to once again have a community pool. Imagine what it will mean for the children who attend summer camp in the park in coming years.