VOORHEESVILLE — Voorheesville is attempting to put together funding for a proposed project at “an iconic recreational spot in the village.” 

Former Mayor Robert Conway was referring to Tork’s Hill, located across Route 156 from the Voorheesville firehouse.  

The village is proposing to install a stage and terraced landscape amphitheater with seating for between 100 and 150 people as well as parking and walking paths on the nearly six-acre property, which was purchased by Voorheesville in 2017 for $70,000. 

Tork’s Hill has been a centerpiece of winter life in the village for many years.

The hill’s owner, Dominick Tork, would stand at the large front window of the home he built at 11 Domorro Drive to watch villagers enjoy his property. 

After Tork died in 2000, his widow, Ruth, allowed sledding to continue for another year or so, The Enterprise reported in 2015, the same year sledding was allowed to start up again. After Ruth Tork’s 2003 death, the new owner was afraid of the liability and posted “no trespassing signs” on the property. 

In 2015, Voorheesville contracted to lease the hill for a fee of $100 for the year from owners Donna Tork, Dominick Tork’s daughter, and Donna Feathers, his granddaughter.  

During Wednesday’s village board workshop, Trustee Kaitlin Wilson asked Mayor Rich Straut if sledding would be affected by the proposed amphitheater project, to which the mayor replied, “This is to enhance the sledding.”

A rough estimate offered by Straut put the project cost at about $200,000. To help pay for the proposal, the village will be applying for a grant from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. 

At the May 11 workshop, trustees approved $4,200 for village engineering firm C.T. Male to write the grant application, which would be largely based on the concept prepared in 2019 by the village when it applied to the Voorheesville Community and School Foundation for funding. The village received $10,000 for the project from the foundation. 

The matching grant program from the state, which has a maximum award of $500,000, reimburses applicants for up to 50 percent of the project cost. In the past, state funding for local park projects have been doled out to the towns of New Scotland and Rensselaerville, the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy, and Albany County.