EMAIL TO THE EDITOR: Thanks for the memories, from the bottom of my heart

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES………

A recent article in the D & C headlined “UMBC’S FAIRYTALE ENDS BUT MEMORIES WILL LAST FOREVER”. A local headline could just as well have read “GENESEO MAYOR’S FAIRYTALE ENDS BUT………..”

Memories all of us share are the streaks that eventually have been broken, be it CT women’s basketball at 111 straight wins, Yul Brynner’s 4625 performances as the King of Siam, or Cal Ripken’s appearances in 2632 consecutive major league baseball games.

As Ripken wryly noted, you hang around long enough, you’re bound to see some changes.

One such change that is hard to fathom in 2018, is that in the mid-1980’s we sought the expertise of a select advisory group to recommend the hardware and software we should purchase in order to  wean us from bookkeeping manually, and position the Village for the age of technology.

Since those early days in 1986 there has been just the one mayor, but changes have included a complete turnover in staff and a considerable amount of attention to the Village’s infrastructure.

We’ve built and rebuilt stuff: a water filtration plant, a water storage tank, a DPW building, an addition to the firehouse, a pavilion at Highland Park, a waste water treatment plant, the wall at the Village Park, a dog park, and restrooms at Highland Park and the Village Park as examples.

We’ve acquired properties: 9 acres that gave rise to a DPW complex away from residential areas and recreational facilities, 2 parcels that led to a new entrance to Highland Park and paved the way for the establishment of Teresa House, 5 acres that allowed for the expansion of Highland Park, and a parcel that became the new entrance off of Center Street to the Municipal Lot.

We’ve completely rehabilitated streets/sidewalks and the out-of-sight water and sewer pipes: Court, Wadsworth, Bank, Park, Main, Center, Ward and Chestnut.

In conjunction with the Town, we’ve preserved the shell of the Geneseo Building by replacing the original slate roof, the original windows, and restoring the brick exterior.

While these are some of the more visible changes of a tangible nature, one consistent that has not changed is the basic character of this Village: the loving, caring, compassionate, sharing community we know as Geneseo. This is an amazing place to live because the people make it so.

Even though this fairytale is over, our memories will last forever. It has been a great privilege for me to have served the residents of this special place. I am confident as I retire that Geneseo’s employees will still embrace the precept that our ultimate purpose has been to serve the greater good, and Geneseo will maintain its reputation as a great place to live.

Thanks for the memories, from the bottom of my heart,

Dick Hatheway