By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM -- Potsdam Town Supervisor Marie Carbone Regan is retiring after 20 years of service to the Town of Potsdam.

The last meeting she will lead will be on Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Hall.

Everyone is welcome to attend. There will be refreshments.

Rollin Beattie, elected town supervisor without opposition, will be sworn in at the same time.

During her tenure, Walmart built and opened its store on Rt. 11 south of the village, which now generates considerable sales and property tax for Potsdam.

Until 2007, there were no street lights in Unionville, and much vandalism was reported. She persuaded several absentee landlords to give the necessary right of way permissions so National Grid could install four poles and street lights.

She oversaw the refurbishing of the old Town Hall on Market Street into a new court building, and got a new town hall built on Elm Street.

She chaired the Potsdam Bicentennial Committee, organizing all the events, which helped to raise over $30,000 that paid for a number of celebrations including the Bicentennial Ball and the Bicentennial Parade, which was the largest parade Potsdam ever had.

She was the town’s chief grant writer.

She wrote a grant that gave Potsdam $50,000 to spruce up Postwood Beach and Park. With this grant, new playground equipment was purchased, a basketball court was blacktopped, and the road to the beach was extended and resurfaced. The bathhouse and concession stand were gutted and refurbished.

The town received a $50,000 grant to redo the lockers and bathrooms at Pine Street Arena.

She facilitated grants of $150,000 and used Brookfield money to build the new town hall, which is completely paid for.

Regan won a grant of $300,000 from N.Y. Parks and Recreation to aid in rehabilitating the old town hall at 35 Market St. into a state-compliant joint courthouse. This building is also debt-free, has an elevator, and no longer contains asbestos or fuel oil in the basement.

Regan would want it known that all these projects were done with union labor.

Some accomplishments were smaller but improved the lives of those they touched. For instance, Regan solicited $1,000 from Mead Westvaco Paper Mill to update the children's park in Unionville.

Regan taught at SUNY Canton from 1971 to 1997. A literature professor, she was Department of Humanities chairperson for over 15 years. She was awarded SUNY Canton Distinguished Faculty Award in 1989, SUNY-Wide Distinguished Service Professor Award in 1990, and was SUNY Canton Convocation Honoree in 2007.

She serves as a member of SUNY Canton’s College Council and on the North Country Economic Development Council.

She and her husband Robert live in the Town of Potsdam. They have four daughters, one son and 11 grandchildren.