By Kate Hill
On Jan. 19, the Village of Manlius Board of Trustees discussed the Daddy Daughter Dance, which is typically held each year at the Village Centre in early February.
During his trustee report, Tom Pilewski informed the board that he recently received a number of calls from community members who were interested in registering for the annual event.
“I told them it was highly unlikely that we were going to be holding our usual event, for obvious reasons, and that [they] should be looking at Facebook or our website for updates,” he said.
Pilewski added that he also did not believe it was likely that the village would be able to pull off any type of Valentine’s Day event in less than a month.
Trustee Hank Chapman suggested that the traditional event be delayed until a later date.
Mayor Paul Whorrall raised the idea of replacing the dance with a daddy daughter drive-in movie event.
Deputy Clerk-Treasurer Lisa Baker noted that a company that dresses up as Disney princesses and other popular children’s movie characters recently called the village to offer their services.
“They actually wanted to come to our previous event and walk around . . .” Baker said. “We thought it would be a great idea for Daddy Daughter if the little girls were [also] dressing up . . . These were just ideas we were throwing out to try to do something.”
Pilewski brought the board’s attention to the fact that because the village still does not have a recreation director, the responsibility of registering participants for such an event would fall on Baker and Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Martha Dygert.
“One serious concern is the volume of people that would need to be registered,” Pilewski said. “I know that Lisa and Martha have an awful lot on their plate right now. If we don’t have a rec director to take this over, is it a wise idea to try to pull it off in three weeks time or four weeks time?”
Baker replied that managing the registrations for the village’s most recent event was a “whirlwind” and overwhelming, but that she thought the process could potentially be handled differently in the future.
Pilewski then said he planned to meet with the Baker, Dygert and the rec board to determine whether it would be better to simply postpone the Daddy Daughter Dance until it is safe or to organize a different, socially distanced event in its place.
Trustee Scott McGrew proposed the alternative option of presenting a “spring fling” instead of the Daddy Daughter Dance once the weather warms up and the COVID-19 restrictions have potentially relaxed.
Pilewski concluded his report by informing the board that an individual who declined the part-time recreation director position last fall is now reconsidering his decision.
“I had a lengthy conversation with him and he emailed me a whole bunch of things for discussion,” Pilewski said. “So between Martha, Paul and myself — and the board, ultimately — we will come back to you with [a sense of] what the future of the rec department could look like.”
Updates on upcoming village events will be available on Facebook at “Village of Manlius Recreation” or “Village of Manlius, NY.”
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.
