The Board of Trustees of the Village of Port North is currently in the process of attempting to acquire the Fearon Marina (waterfront) property and the waterfront property currently owned by Lewis Oil. (However, the Fearon deal is subject to completion of environmental remediations, which have to be made by the current owner, and also further investigation as far as funding is concerned. And ... the Lewis Oil deal, which is part of a "sweetened deal" the village negotiated in exchange for its approval to expand the Delco Shopping Center, still has to be signed off on.) If the board is successful in its attempts, Port North will own all of its waterfront property, except for the Gulfway Marina on Shore Road. If these projects go through, it means that it will have total control of its waterfront property, wresting it out of the control of owners who are legitimately entitled to develop it according to the rights of a private property owner.

That said, at Monday's village board meeting, Port North Village Trustee Gary Levi commended Mayor Tom Pellegrino, trustee Ross Altman and Port North's Planning Board Chairman Tom Imperatore for the "yeoman's" amount of time and effort they have put in over the past few years to recapture the waterfront. We wholeheartedly second trustee Levi's sentiments, adding our applause to all of those who have supported and worked to bring these extremely worthwhile projects "close" to closure.

Anytime a municipality works to ensure that one of our most precious assets is preserved for public use, for now and the future, is a cause for celebration.

We, and all of the other countless lovers of the bay, express our deep gratitude to you and wish you Godspeed and success in your efforts.---JP