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Community Corner

Village Parks Supervisor Rewinski Steps Down

Current and former village officials recall Rewinski's service.

Earlier this month, Southampton Village Parks Department Supervisor Thomas Rewinski retired after 38 years of service to the village.

In June 1973, then-Parks Supervisor Gene Dombrowski met Rewinski, a Southampton native in a village park. “The weather was so bad that year. It was raining and we didn’t have heavy machinery like we do today. We just couldn’t stay ahead of it,” Dombrowski recalled. He offered Rewinski, a recent high school graduate, a part-time job at $100 per week. Throughout the summer, his employment was continuously extended and eventually he was hired full time.

According to long-time friend and assistant to the Mayor Brenda Simmons, Dombrowski was a great influence in Rewinski’s life and career.

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Six years ago, Dombrowski retired and recommended that Rewinski take his place. "Tommy carried on the traditions during his time as supervisor," Dombrowski said. "I had a sense of pride in turning the baton over to Tommy when I left, and he did a great job."

During his time as supervisor, Rewinski was instrumental in turning the parks department into a “green” program. “Tommy wanted to protect the water and the health of the people using the parks,” Dombrowski said. During Rewinski’s tenure, all village parks became organic and were maintained without the use of fertilizers.

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In 2008, the village board passed an ordinance to protect trees on village properties and right-of-ways. The ordinance bans mutilation, damage or removal of trees, and prohibits residents from placing Dumpsters or other structures within 30 feet of a village tree.

It was Rewinski who had the idea for this ordinance after he learned in a class at Cornell University that soil compaction was detrimental to trees' root systems. 

During his last weeks as parks department supervisor, the village board named Rewinski the Employee of the Month for June.

“One of the reasons why I like Rewinski so much is that he’s such an incredibly humble guy,” said village Mayor Mark Epley during the June 9 board meeting, “He wants no recognition. He said, ‘Look, for 38 years I had the honor and pleasure of working for the village and its residents. I did my job and I tried to my job the right way.’”

In honor of service to Southampton, the village will be dedicating a park bench to Rewinski’s family. “The world should have more people like Tom Rewinski,” Epley said.

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