Town urged to upgrade Skenesborough Park

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Cheryl Putorti asked for the town board to invest time into Skenesborough Park as it is an asset to the community in Putorti’s eyes. She suggested cleaning up brush, planting new flowers, and painting the picnic tables of the town pavilion. (Photo courtesy of Cheryl Putorti)

Chamber of Commerce member Cheryl Putorti asked the Whitehall Board at its May 18 meeting to improve the appearance of town-owned Skenesborough Park prior to the upcoming Heart of Whitehall Festival and Fireworks next month.

“I came down a few weeks ago and walked through the park myself and looked at a few things I need help with or to figure out how to handle it,” Putorti said. “I caught Louie (Pratt) one day and I have some questions of things that I feel need to be addressed.”

Putorti said there are a lot of spots in the park where cleanup could be helpful before the event. The festival will span throughout Skenesborough Park and up to the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company.

“Along the side wall of the amphitheater, there are blocks that are missing and from what I understand there are quite a few of them saved from when they were building it so there should be an extra supply,” she said. “There’s also a lot of debris and weeds coming up between the bricks of the walkway. The benches are dirty and there are leftover leaves under them.”

Putorti spoke about painting the picnic tables in the pavilion next to the amphitheater and she said she would like to see more of the dead shrubs and brush picked up.

She said it’s the little things that matter.

“The picnic tables in that pavilion are such a mess. They need to be painted and it makes a poor impression when they aren’t. Tree branches have dropped from six feet above and have been left on the ground. I’m just concerned about someone walking into them or tripping,” she said.

Putorti said that the park is a large asset to the community and believes that with a little more upkeep, the park has potential to get people to stop in Whitehall while they travel through the area.

“I feel that it is such an asset to our community, and I don’t know how long it has been since all of the board members have taken the time to go down there and walk the park, behind the museum, and look at all of the stuff,” she said.

“There’s a lot of visitors that come to Whitehall and go down there. Personally, as a chamber member, I feel—yes, the grass is mowed and that looks great, but there’s more detail we can get into that will make it pop more.”

Town supervisor John Rozell said he will start working on things before the festival.

“I can get someone to do the tables, trim the trees, and fix the blocks,” he said.

Putorti also brought to the board the idea of getting Skenesborough Museum open soon. Rozell said the opening of the museum is a work in progress and thought that the opening of the museum would be a bit faster with new Historical Society leaders. Board member Stephanie Safka said that the museum not being open is not helping with getting people to stop in Whitehall.

“That museum not being open is like having a single thorn in my side,” she said.

All in all, although the chamber is planning for the Heart of Whitehall Festival and Fireworks, cleaning up the park to beautify it is something Putorti said she wants to see done this summer.

“We have new board members and we’re trying to be more involved in what the chamber is supposed to be involved in,” Putorti said.