YBPA members preview upcoming year, with Street Dance & Summerfest discussed

By Terry Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

Youngstown Business and Professional Association members received updates on a number of local interest items at their spring dinner meeting held April 8 at the Youngstown Yacht Club.

The session led off with YBPA officers for 2025 taking their oaths from Porter Justice the Hon. Dave Truesdale. They include Melissa Kudel, president/acting secretary; Dotty Riordan, vice president; and Steve Kennedy, treasurer. Board members include Lewis Bean, Cheryl Butera and Truesdale

Plans for 2025 came next, with Kudel updating attendees on the status of YBPA’s $6,042 grant application request with the William G. Mayne Jr. Business/Community Enhancement Program administered by Niagara County. The application submitted March 31 requires $3,021 in match funds by YBPA toward village community projects for 2025.

“We did apply for it a couple of weeks ago; we are looking to replace the Youngstown and U.S. flags through the grant. We are also looking to make improvements to the pavilion at (Veterans) Park,” Kudel said.

An announcement on this year’s grant is expected May 6 at the Niagara County Legislature session.

She went on to update meeting attendees on a successful St. Patrick’s Day in the village, and some changes in store for this year’s “Welcome to Summer” Street Dance, planned for Thursday evening, June 19, on Main Street. Kudel said musician/vocalist Dave Stayner of Youngstown will provide the entertainment this year.

She noted YBPA is considering date changes for next year to better correspond with the school year calendar. In the meantime, Kudel said a YBPA committee is already busy planning the June program: “I’m working with the Kids Corner and Cheryl is working on the contracts; we always need vendors.”

For more information, email YBPA@youngstownny.com or visit the YBPA on Facebook.

YBPA officers take their oaths from Porter Justice the Hon. David Truesdale. (Photos by Kevin Cobello and Dawn Cobello, K&D Action Photo and Aerial Imaging)

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In other news from the session:

•Porter Councilman Tim Adamson said the town would not hold its annual Porter-on-the-Lake Summerfest benefit in 2025, citing the event’s financial struggles.

“Unfortunately, this year, we’re not going to have the Summerfest,” he said. “For the past couple of years, it (event profits) just kept declining (despite) a lot of work (that) we put into it. We had great sponsorship and great help from all the people in the community. It’s (been) one hell of a lot of work.”

Adamson said much has been done to the site, by the town, since the early 2000s when Porter first acquired the property. It was known as Hooker on the Lake and was the site of various functions by Occidental Chemical Corp.

“It was a big park and, eventually, they moved out and they sold that to the Magma Corp., a big auto parts company out of Canada,” Adamson said.

“Back in 2008, the land became available from Magma Corp. and, rather than see a bunch of condos going there, the Town of Porter bought the property … for slightly under a million dollars. … They did it with the money they received from Chemical Waste Management.”

“To this day, the whole park is kept up,” Adamson said, noting work by Supervisor Duffy Johnston to secure more than $300,000 in grants toward park improvements including a new exercise gym; new walking trails connecting neighborhoods to the park; waterfront improvements, including new benches, a gazebo, landscaping, and a parking area with electrical charging stations; frisbee golf; new children’s playgrounds, shelters, pickleball and basketball courts.

Adamson closed by announcing a new memorial tree planning/enhancement program being offered by the town at POTL.

“(The) memorial trees will be living remembrance that will also benefit the community for many years to come,” he said. “If you would like to commemorate a person, you can arrange to have a tree planted at Porter-on-the-Lake Park.”

For more information, visit www.townofporter.net or call 716-745-3730.

Finally, YBPA reported its 2025 business of the year and community service award honorees will be announced June 10 at a membership meeting at Bandanas. YBPA will hold its annual community presentations program Sept. 9 at the Niagara Frontier Golf Club.