Sometimes municipal boards seem to just ‘grin and bear’ community input, but Cornwall’s Supervisor Josh Wojehowski said last week he very much wants the public’s comments on what needs to happen at the town’s Riverlight Park.

He said that he is looking at hosting a meeting at some point in May to talk about what the public wants to see when it comes to the town’s swimming pool and Munger Cottage. This summer only the kiddy pool will open, he has said, because the full-size pool has been leaking significantly for the past few years.

“We have to decide if we’re going to demolish it versus rehabilitate the pool,” the supervisor said. “We have to look at the pricing, and at what people really want. This is the year we need to start that process.”

The supervisor said he was skeptical that the old pool could be repaired but also acknowledged that building a new one would be expensive.

At Munger Cottage, he said the “old section of the building really needs to be torn down and rebuilt”, and he said the town has to consider that additional space is needed for youth programs, like summer camps. That too, the supervisor added, will be expensive, “but having a true recreation space really hurts us.”

“We’re looking at a two-to-five-year plan,” he said, “that’s going to cost a lot of money.”

Councilwoman Virginia Scott added “this could be a real opportunity” to create a “community and youth space” in the building that is mostly used for senior citizen events now. The town’s Recreation Department is housed in Munger.

Scott added that Wojehowski is correct in that an actual ‘plan’ is needed instead of just “piecemealing it” together.

There are already projects going on at the park, including some NY Forward funded work, like a new playground, and the renovation of the old Ice House.

Prior to a public meeting Wojehowski said he’ll have the town’s engineers begin work on a potential Munger Cottage plan; some design work has already been done for the pool.

The supervisor did not yet set a date for the meeting.