Brockport village officials accept gift of Sagawa Park

The Village of Brockport officials accepted the generous gift of Sagawa Park, but it will be a gift from which the community will benefit.

Pat Sagawa, wife of the late Dr. Sagawa, came to the December 19 board meeting when a resolution was passed by the board to accept her donation of the park to the village. It is a gift that carries with it a market value of $100,000. The village had been involved in a long-term lease of the park for $1 annually but with Sagawa's moving out of the village, she decided to turn the park over to the community.

"Brockport was such a wonderful place for me and my family," she said. "You took two strangers and their children into this village and made us a part of it."

She spoke of how lovely Brockport is and how she will miss it now that she has sold her home.

"Even if you on the board might fight amongst yourselves, please always remember what a treasure this village is," she said.

Along with the donation of the park, Sagawa wants to give the village a $500 annual stipend in order for the village to hire a professional landscaper to come in at the beginning of each growing season and get the park ready for spring and summer.

"My husband was a simple man and I just ask that you please keep the park simple and beautiful," she said.

Mayor Mort Wexler said he remembered the Sagawa children when they were going through the Brockport School system when he was a teacher there.

"It's been a pleasure to have known you and Dr. Sagawa, you will both be missed in the community," he said.

Wexler said that while the park is a large and welcome donation to the village, the Sagawas were always behind the scenes with "quiet donations."

"Whether this park donation or the time when you donated a musical instrument to a boy who couldn't afford one, you have helped make Brockport a great place to live," he said.

December 25, 2005