Villages receive waterfront grants

By KERRY McAVOY, The Leader-Herald
Three Montgomery County villages have received state grants to improve their waterfronts.

The villages of Fonda, Fultonville and Fort Plain will use the money to pay for site plans and design fees for projects along the Mohawk River. The municipalities must match the grants with local money.

Fultonville will receive $135,000 to design a public park on the waterfront. The park would include a scenic overlook, shade pavilions, a parking area and floating docks.

A news release from the state Department of State Division of Coastal Resources said the park, which would be on a third of an acre, would span two adjacent village-owned parcels.

Fonda will receive $70,500 to design a park next to the Canal Corp. maintenance facility. The project would include parking areas, an entertainment pavilion, landscaping, the relocation of a security fence and the installation of a new street and fence around the Canal Corp. facility.

“We’re at step A right now,” Fonda Mayor Kim Flander said. “This is very exciting right now.”

The Canal Corp. would allow use of part of its land for the new park and is considering closing its entrance off Route 30 to avoid traffic problems.

A new street would run from just off Park Street to two new parking lots. The road would make for easier access to the waterfront for a new boat launch, according to the news release.

Fonda, Fultonville and the towns of Glen and Mohawk will share the local cost of the design of the Fonda and Fultonville projects. The municipalities will create a Mid-Montgomery County Partnership.

Flander said her Village Board will meet with Montgomery County Planner Doug Green to discuss the plans.

Flander said her village will be careful with the money. She said she wants to make sure everything is documented perfectly.

Fort Plain will receive $27,500 for a waterfront project. The village must match the grant.

The proposed Old Military Road Trail loop would connect with the Erie Canalway Trail. The

project would include improvements to existing trails, the Old Military Road and the village road system. The project also would include sidewalks and bike lanes and improvements to a bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Fort Plain Mayor Guy Barton said the bridge, just off Military Road, is 200 years old.

“Twenty-seven thousand dollars isn’t a lot, but it’s a start,” Barton said.

The grant applications were submitted in December 2007. The grants will come from the New York State Environmental Protection Fund Local Waterfront Revitalization Project.

Officials in the three villages do not yet know when the waterfront projects will begin or be completed.