Village dedicates newest street
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

Bath village board members last week chose the name Community Drive from a list of recommended names submitted by village residents for a street accessing Wilson Park from West Morris Street.

BATH - It took a villagewide effort to come up with the name "Community Drive" to christen a 45-foot-wide paved lot extending from East Morris Street to Wilson Park.

Bath village officials last month agreed to invite recommendations from the public to name the property as a prelude to dedicating it as a new village street. The lot runs between the newly opened fire station and O'Malley Hall of St. Mary's Catholic Church.

And "O'Malley Way" or "O'Malley Lane" were two possibilities village trustees considered after being advised by Mayor David Wallace it may be undiplomatic to name the street after a specific individual, such as former fire Chief Mark Conrad. "I'm reluctant to name it after any individual, no matter how deserving," Wallace said, raising concerns other individuals may have their feelings bruised by a possible oversight.

For several minutes, trustees seemed stumped by the variety of recommended names. "I liked a lot of them," said TrusteeDonna Simonson.

But if "Community Drive" sounds bland, it at least had the value of being uncontroversial. Trustees repeated the name aloud before indicating their support. It was approved unanimously.

The lot currently serves as access to a parking area adjacent to the public park, as well as an avenue for fire trucks returning from calls, allowing the emergency vehicles to swing behind the fire station and drive forward into parking bays.

According to village street Supervisor Jeff Muller, the village came into possession of the lot, which included a house, when it acquired the land for Wilson Park. Muller assured village attorney John Leyden the lot is wide enough to meet required specifications of a village street.