FULTON – Members of the Fulton community brought their concerns, opinions and memories of Sharp’s Pond to the Common Council meeting Tuesday night, June 4.
Following a presentation by Department of Public Works Commissioner C.J. Smith, 16 Fulton area community members spoke during public comment.
Some expressed they wanted the pond to stay; some said they would not mind a creek. Others were more concerned with the maintenance of Rowlee Beach Park, where Sharp’s Pond is located.
Representing District 11, Oswego County Legislature Vice Chair Linda Lockwood, introduced a potential issue some people, including Jack Hackett, who lives near Sharp’s Pond, may face should the pond revert back to its natural creek.
“If this dam is taken down, it could drain their wells,” Lockwood said. “I don’t think the DEC would even allow anybody to take their water supplies away from them. There are also DEC incentive grants that you could ask for. I think if you give the DEC a chance and show them you’re working on it, I think they’ll work with you.”
Hackett, a resident on the Volney side of Sharp’s Pond, said he and his neighbors depend on the water source for their wells and said if the pond is taken out, they would need to find an alternative solution.
“I’m not here to ask you guys to save the dam or not,” Hackett said. “What I’m asking you guys to do is to work with the county, the town of Volney, to hire an environmental engineer to come in and make sure that if you did take that dam out, if or if not it will directly affect our water.”
Hackett said for most of the year they have no problem with water. However, summer months cause his well to dry up. The pond helps to create a sustainable water table for his area, he explained. He said he has tried to drill for different water sources in the past, but only found saltwater.
First Ward Councilor Tom Kenyon asked Hackett if he would take city water if they were able to get it to him. Hackett said yes, but asked for his family member, Greg Hackett, who lived on the property for years, to give some more information.
Greg Hackett recounted a few times where the well completely ran out of water, when the dam was out. He said in fall of 1963 his family did not entirely run out of water because they conserved it.
In the early 1970s, the dam was washed out following Hurricane Agnes. In the early 2000s, boards in the dam were taken out and consequently, the tenant he was renting the house to, although she was conservative with her water, ran it down below the foot valve. He bought a tank of water to deliver to her.
“This only happens during the dry season, but any other year when that pond has been up, we’ve had no problems,” Greg Hackett said. “A few years ago, when somebody went down and took the beaver dam out, which has probably been there for eight, 10 years, Jack ran out of water. He went down and built the dam back up and within a few days, he had water.”
Harry Meeker lives next to Rowlee Beach Park and often takes his daughter and dog to play there. He said although he has lived in Fulton all his life, this had been the first Common Council meeting he attended. He decided to go because Fifth Ward Councilor Dennis Merlino introduced the issue to him and that it affects him and his neighborhood.
He said he was concerned with the maintenance of the park because it had just gotten mowed for the first time that year.
“I don’t care if it’s a pond and I don’t care if it’s a creek. I’m going to be honest with you, there’s no nostalgia there with me in the sense if it’s a creek or a pond,” Meeker said. “I’ve been swimming there since 1972. Okay, it’s time to move forward.”
He said he would rather turn the pond into a stream and then invest the money they would have used in repairs into Rowlee Beach Park because he believes it is a forgotten park. Meeker said, with confirmation from his neighbor, a tree was on top of a swing set in the park for three years. He also expressed he would like a bigger police presence near the park.
Meeker said there needs to be an investigation into the water situation with Hackett’s well, but it does not personally matter to him if Sharp’s remains a pond or becomes a creek. He said he wants something to be done about it soon rather than looking for grants to fix the dam so the same conversation will not be continuing three years into the future.
Administrative Assistant to Mayor Woodward, Cathy Trowbridge, said it would have been beneficial if a committee had been formed two years ago.
“It’s important to get information from everybody, but we’re way past that point, in my opinion,” Trowbridge said.
In response to maintenance concerns in the parks of Fulton, Trowbridge said many of the mowers cannot cut the grass in the parks because it has been raining for a majority of the season, creating mud for them to get stuck in.
She said the effect of keeping taxes down is having a small number of employees to take care of the parks, the War Memorial, the ice rink and other areas.
“I just want to say for the Recreation Department, they do their best with what they have,” Trowbridge said. “Sometimes it takes a little bit longer, but they do get the job done.”
Councilor Merlino agreed that Rowlee Beach Park has become forgotten; but the interest shown by the people of Fulton is causing a revitalization to the park.
“Your excitement has brought new interest and new light and new people to that park,” Merlino said. “I’ve seen new people down there every single day. More and more people and more and more families that never even knew it existed are going there now as we speak to fish and to bring their families.”
He said given the grant process, reconstructing the dam would be a long process. He is working with Friends of Fulton to make an ADA compliant park, a rarity in Oswego County.
After public comment ended, the council unanimously approved the transfer of a vending license, to award a $25,500 bid for tree maintenance, a $7,175 bid for stump removal and to advertise for a public hearing to be held June 18 following the conclusion of the public comment period regarding a proposal to annex property.
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