By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On May 12, the Village of Manlius Board of Trustees discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a number of upcoming community events.
Mayor Paul Whorrall announced that the Memorial Day parade has been canceled.
“I spoke to the county executive and he said ‘No, we’re not going to be ready for that,’” Whorrall said.
At the time of the meeting, the summer playground program was still on.
“[The county executive] is going to try to put a blueprint together for all villages . . . of what they would like to see in order to have summer programs continue,” Whorrall said. “So I am waiting for that.”
At this time, the Village of Manlius Recreation Department will host Doug’s Fish Fry on Saturday, May 23, as scheduled.
The Doug’s ToGo! truck will be parked in the Village Centre parking lot from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The board also discussed the possibility of holding the May 23 fishing derby.
The mayor said if the county permits such events, the plan is to safely space participants around the pond and to forego the awards ceremony.
Trustees Tom Pilewski and Hank Chapman both expressed apprehension about the possibility of a crowd gathering at the derby.
“We are talking about 10 days from tomorrow, and even if we set it up a certain way, I would just hate for this to be a bad situation,” Pilewski said.
Whorrall announced that Scotty’s JUMP N’ FUN Party Rentals will not be providing rides and games for the annual Fourth of July celebration.
“They don’t think they can meet the requirements of social distancing and sanitizing that they’ve got to go through,” Whorrall said.
The mayor suggested that the village cancel the July 4th festivities.
“We can wait a little longer, but the thing is we are not going to have rides and we are not even guaranteed that they are going to allow us to put 10,000 people in this village together for a parade and fire works by July 4,” Whorrall said.
Chapman said even if the festivities are allowed, he does not think it would be responsible for the village to host such a large gathering.
After a brief discussion, the board decided to move forward with the July 4 chicken barbeque only.
In lieu of the typical Independence Day celebration, the mayor proposed a fall festival with similar activities such as fireworks, a parade and movies.
Whorrall noted that there is a possibility that the fall event might attract even more people because residents will have returned from summer camp and vacation.
Recreation Director Benita Rodriguez suggested that the festival be scheduled around the fall fishing derby.
Details on the fall festival and other community events will be announced when available.
Manlius village board meetings are usually held the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Manlius Village Centre, 1 Arkie Albanese Avenue, Manlius.
For more information, visit manliusvillage.org or call the Clerk’s Office at 315-682-9171.
