This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Who's Who of Sayville

Sayville Fire Commissioner Chris Bailey.

Patch spoke with the newly elected commissioner of the Sayville Fire Department, , to find out a little more about him and his roots in Sayville.

Did you grow up in Sayville?

I have been here in Sayville since 1962. I attended St. Lawrence for elementary school and then graduated from Sayville High School in 1980. Growing up here was great… we have the many parks around town as well as Barrett Beach. There was ferry service to the beach then and on a summer day every teenager from town was there. Many of us made extra money clamming back then as well.

Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Are you active in the other community groups?

I joined the Fire Department shortly after 9/11. I have friends that have been members but until then I hadn’t made the time for the commitment. It has been one of the best decisions of my life. As a teenager in the ’70s my father was very active with the church and chaired the many Bazaars held by St. Lawrence Parish. I remember stuffing envelopes for mailings, standing in front of shopping centers selling raffle tickets for the cars we would raffle off each year, cleaning up each day after the night’s festivities at the Bazaar. Those events took a tremendous amount of community involvement and were great to be a part of.

Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

As Fire Commissioner, what is your most important role?

As commissioner, I must provide the Fire Department and its dedicated members the tools and make available the training to achieve our goal of sustaining the best emergency service available to the community. This must be attained while being mindful of the monetary costs involved and its effect on the taxpayer. The members of the Sayville Fire Department, who are all volunteers, are well equipped and motivated to respond to an emergency for our neighbors as well as the surrounding communities.

What do you love most about Sayville?

Sayville to me is first and foremost a community about family. From the many community events in town such as , the movies in the park, to the wide range of sports available to our children, little league, PAL football, lacrosse, soccer and others. Of course the schools are exceptional academically as well as the athletics available to our children. I am proud to be able see my three children play in the same parks, shop at the same stores and in some cases even have the same teachers that I had many years ago.

What’s your favorite place to shop/dine?

My favorite place in town as a kid growing up was Francis Sweet Shop. The store is long gone but you could go in there to the candy counter and everything was 2 pieces for a penny. These days I do enjoy dinner at and .

What can we expect from the Fire Department this year?

This year we will be doing some updates to the garage doors at the firehouse on Main Street. These changes will afford us the ability to move the larger trucks of today into the older section of the firehouse, in essence giving us more useable truck floor space without adding on to the existing firehouse, which is a tremendous savings to all of us as taxpayers.

How do you feel your children have benefited from this community?

As a single father of three, Sayville has been a great place for me and my kids. The many events and network of friends has been great environment for my children. My kids are all active in school sports and make full use of all our town has to offer. My oldest son, Christopher, has enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He will be leaving this July. While I am nervous, I am extremely proud of him and his desire to serve. I hope to have a big send off for him with family and friends to wish him well.

What do you see for Sayville in 10 years?

In 10 years I see Sayville continuing its path as a community that people hear about and move here to raise their families. It is difficult for today’s college grads to stay here in Sayville because of the cost of living on Long Island. We must address the issue of taxes while not negatively impacting our quality of life or the opportunities our children need to help them develop into well rounded adults. A friend of mine tells a story where he was once asked if he has lived in Sayville his whole life… his reply was “not yet.” While I have lived here for all of my life so far, I indeed plan on spending my whole life here in this wonderful town.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?