Feb 2023
Update on Chippewa Bay Boat Launch Project
An update on the public boat launch project:
We have some momentum! The Town of Hammond and its engineering company are working with the Local Committee—headed up by Jadd Brown and Roger “Butch” Reifensnyder, with input from our trusted Site Manager Allan Menkel—on changes and refinements to the Town’s original plan. The CYC Board is actively engaged in the discussions, of course.
For background, there was significant criticism of the original plan for the project—to be funded by a NY State grant—which inspired the formation of the Local Committee to better represent all stakeholders. The Local Committee’s goal, which the Board supports, is to upgrade and improve the public boat launch, to make it both more resilient to changing conditions and more efficient to use and manage, without radically changing the nature of the facility.
This project is important to the CYC because of the deteriorating condition of this invaluable asset which many of us use. It will also improve the aesthetics of the public launch and docks. And it will be paid for by the state government. In addition, part of this effort supports our ongoing work with the Town to improve parking conditions at and around the launch, with new rules, signage, and a new parking lot up the hill (which the Town plans to buy as part of the overall project).
Once a new plan has been drafted to the Town’s and the Local Committee’s satisfaction, the CYC Board will review it to consider approval. We all agree that this is a necessary and worthwhile project, but it will not proceed until we have the right plan in place, to preserve and protect CYC and local access to the river.
~ CYC Board of Directors
