Park redesign project currently under construction
Construction is currently underway for a new kayak/canoe launch, dock and handicapped-accessible boardwalk at McNitt State Park, with the work expected to be completed by the end of the month.
The park redesign project, which has been in the works since 2014, is expected to make the area more user-friendly, handicapped accessible and environmentally sound — and is being funded mainly by New York state.
“I’m really impressed with what they’re doing there,” said Town Councilor Jimmy Golub, who is also the town board liaison for lake issues. “I was happy the way the plans incorporated the shoreline and preserved it so it’s not a big scar on the lake — it looks like it fits there. This makes the park more accessible for the handicapped, easier for people to get kayaks in there and also for ice fisherman, and it probably will alleviate some of the kayak and canoe traffic at some of the other lake sites; so it’s a win-win for everybody.”
McNitt State Park, located about 0.3 miles north of Chard Road along East Lake Road, consists of 133 acres of land, including about 1,300 feet of shoreline along Cazenovia Lake, donated in 1999 by Helen L. McNitt for public use and enjoyment. In 2008, a small parking area was built off East Lake Road along with a rough path to the lakeshore. There was no launch; canoes, kayaks and small portable rowboats had to be lowered down over a small, undeveloped bank to be placed in the lake.
Plans to improve the lake access at the park were considered by the state a number of years ago in order to provide a better recreational opportunity for the public, said Brian Burnett, a senior park engineer with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. “This particular project has been what we call the ‘governor’s project for the day’ — a special project the governor picked out and funded.”
The delay from the initial 2014 start of the project to the construction completion three years later was due to contracting and scheduling issues, Burnett said.
Initial discussions on renovating the park were put on hold by New York State due to a lack of funding, but were reopened in June 2014 when the Cazenovia Town Board authorized engineering work by Dunn & Sgromo PLLC to improve access from the parking lot of McNitt State Park to Cazenovia Lake at a cost not to exceed $9,500. The town paid for the engineering plans, while the state is paying for the construction costs.
“I don’t know that most people realize we paid for the engineer to come up with a plan, but [construction] is being paid for by the state, so it’s not costing us taxpayers anything of what I’m sure was a considerable sum,” Golub said.
The redesign plans, drawn up by Town Engineer John Dunkle, includes a 10-by-20 foot permanent, fixed dock for canoes and kayaks; a canoe/kayak service slide, made up of a block-and-tackle system to lower and raise kayaks and canoes from the water; a four-foot-wide wooden boardwalk from the parking area to allow handicapped accessibility; and a natural, stone stairway from the dust pathway to the dock.
The construction work is being done by River Rock Dock custom dock builders, based in Chittenango, who began about one month ago and is on schedule to finish by Oct. 2, said company owner Don Myers.
The dock is in, and the boardwalk and service slide are currently under construction. “This will be an asset to the town because … it will be so user-friendly and beautiful to look at,” Myers said.
River Rock Dock has done millions of dollars in dock work around Cazenovia Lake, donated the Lakeside Park public dock to the village, recently completed a handicapped-accessible dock ramp at Bellany Harbor Park in Rome, N.Y., and is currently constructing one on Onondaga Lake for the Lakeview Amphitheater.
“I think this will be great,” Burnett said. “I’ve been out there almost daily since they started the work and I have seen people there with kayaks and canoes and talked to them, and I’ve asked the contractor if he is getting any public comments. Everything has been totally positive — people using the site now are very excited and can’t wait for the work to be done.”
