FULTON, NY – The city of Fulton was one of many Oswego County municipalities that benefited from New York State Regional Economic Development Council grant money awarded Thursday (Dec 8.)
$62.2 million was awarded to Central New York, with more than $2 million awarded specifically to Oswego County projects.
In the city of Fulton, $61,500 was awarded for a feasibility study to determine the cost of developing eight recreational trails throughout the city of Fulton as envisioned by the volunteer group, Fulton Footpaths. The trails will connect to each other as well as the city’s parks and highlight areas that work off existing trails.
The idea, originally as part of the city’s comprehensive plan has sparked the creation of the volunteer group, Fulton Footpaths led by co-chairs Brittney Jerred and Marie Mankiewicz and a number of other volunteers that make up a subcommittee devoted to the project.
Those involved are hopeful the trails will improve the quality of life in Fulton, encourage physical activity, promote tourism and spur economic development once completed.
“We are thrilled to receive word that this funding was awarded. We are grateful to the City of Fulton officials, to the mayor, the councilors, to the Regional Economic Development Council, to Fulton Community Revitalization Corporation, and to all of our elected officials and the community groups and individuals that supported this project throughout the past year,” said Fulton Footpaths Co-Chairs Marie Mankiewicz and Brittney Jerred in a press release. “This is an exciting time for Fulton and planning out the trail improvements will help position Fulton to secure future construction dollars.”
The trails intend to be paved working off of existing sidewalks and trails and complete with pedestrian lighting, while also hoping to include benches, markers and kiosks showcasing Fulton’s history, artistic murals highlighting local wildlife, and perhaps even exercise equipment stations throughout the trails.
“We imagine that the firm who completes the study will use existing sidewalks and resources wherever possible. The paving will not all be new, rather sidewalks and trails we do have will hopefully be better defined and any improvements made will need to be affordable and coordinated,” Jerred said.
However, the feasibility study and eventual construction of the trails are largely dependent on the approval of an updated Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) which a committee of city officials and volunteers have readily been working on.
“Applying for this grant for a feasibility study for the trails, we were told as part of that the city would have to update the LWRP plan, which is something the city has wanted to do and has really dove into. The LWRP plan will really lay the groundwork for the city to do a lot of things, the trails being one of those things, but really it will just allow for more grant opportunities for the future,” Jerred explained.
The LWRP committee has been working off a LWRP draft that was last edited in 2005 for the city’s waterways. The current plan will consist of the areas along the Oswego River/Canal and Lake Neatahwanta.
The committee dedicated to restructuring the city’s LWRP recently met with Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr. and the Fulton Common Council to update them on the progress of the plan and prepare for a public meeting happening next week.
The six person committee is made up of Joe Fiumara, Director of Fulton Community Development Agency; Brittney Jerred and Marie Mankiewicz, founders of Fulton Footpaths; Barry Ostrander, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation; Kelley Weaver, founder of Friends of Fulton Parks; and Charles Smith, Commissioner of Department of Public Works.
Together, these six committee members have put together a presentation regarding the current progress of the city’s LWRP draft to gain public input and feedback.
“The draft that we are following from 2005 has given us a great foundation, but a lot of the information was very outdated. The plan itself is a good layout, we are just restructuring it,” said Jerred.
The first public meeting, scheduled for Tuesday (Dec 13) from 6-7 p.m. at the Fulton Municipal Building located at 141 S. First St., will provide an overview of the purpose of an LWRP, the process that it entails, and the committee’s current status in that process.
The public will receive copies of the first two updated sections of the plan, waterfront revitalization area boundaries and inventory and analysis. They will be able to review the information and provide input in hopes to create a stronger sense of community ownership of the city’s waterfront and involve all stakeholders while creating a plan to revitalize and encourage use of the waterways for economic and recreational growth.
“You know, Fulton was once referred to as ‘the city the Depression missed’ because we were so rich in industry but what a lot of people don’t know is the reason we had so much industry is because of the river. People in Fulton, they’ve never really been that interested in the river, but right up until we closed Nestles, we were pumping 10 million gallons of water a day out of Oswego River to cool the condensing machines,” Mayor Woodward told the committee. “People love the lake, but I don’t think they ever really fell in love with the river.”
With this updated LWRP and a total of three public input sessions, Fiumara said he is hopeful that love will be found through making the river more scenic and recreational.
With that, the committee is hopeful that economic development will grow right alongside recreational use.
“It’s about making the city of Fulton right for the extra money that’s out there,” Fiumara said, noting that with an updated LWRP the city will be eligible to apply for more grants through the NYS Department of State, Parks and Recreation, Department of Environmental Conservation, Canal Corporation, and more.
Committee members insist the plan will be ever evolving, hopeful for ample public input to provide a wide array of activities or ideas that are possible for the waterfront.
“They don’t have to have suggestions or ideas in order to come to the meeting, they will be able to review all the information and can provide their input after the fact. This is the first of three public meetings throughout the process, so we will always be accepting public input” said committee member, Kelley Weaver.
At the end of the process, the city will finalize an LWRP plan to submit to the Department of State for approval.
“We just want to help our city. The trails are something that can benefit everyone, and the LWRP is something that other organizations and city agencies can attach themselves to to provide countless opportunities for the city,” Jerred said.
missing or outdated ad config
I think this is the second Grant of this type that the city of Fulton received. The last one did a study for a river walk. What has happened with that one. These groups do great work but they need to have money to follow through with what the study show needs to be done. They need to do events like the old I think it was called “Cracker Barrel Fair” the Hospital did to do additions to the Hospital. I will attend this meeting it appears to be a very interesting one and informative .
Hopefully the Lake will pass all tests so it is swimmable this summer. However,is the bath house useable? The cost of sand and life guard chairs and money to pay a lifeguard is there.Is the dredging contractor coming in again this summer(2017) ?? Trails are awesome,but if the lake smells and is not usable,perhaps fix the big problem first? The gains that have been accomplished are awesome on the lake—-but the goose problem down there is fighting against us.
Absolutely silly. The city is nearly bankrupt and the county isnt that much behind financially. Lets toss $61k at a feasibility study. You could have asked me for free. NO. The city needs to fix its sidewalks, curbs, and street lights first as a core service to its citizens. Then you can drool over the fantasy paths which will cost several hundred K to build. Who will maintain it? Where are those funds coming from. More pie in the sky, feel good fantasy from CNY.
To bad they don’t receive a grant to fix the dam streets..
Erik is right. Fulton and Oswego’s infrastructure is falling apart,taxes are rising along with sew/water fees and they keep throwing money down the drain. (No pun intended). Wake up politicians and voting people. They way to make the cities more attractive is to fix what’s wrong not make more rediculus things to maintain. Soon no one is going to be able to afford to live here or want to because both cities look terrible. Want a grant, get one to bring industry like a Ford truck plant to go with Novelis producing aluminum right next door. Get some windmills out in the lake for low power cost for industry. Last but not least. Start advertising that Oswego county is open for BISINESS and has the power and water right here…..
Please let’s not forget about our eastside and westside pools these kids need this to happen.
The outside environment is not even usable over half of the year. I’m not saying it is a waste of time and money to execute funds and energy towards improving the outdoors, but I am saying that the lack of indoor recreation is a large reason for the low morale, and high levels of disease in our local environment.
Instead of spending $70,000 on six people studying side walks, maybe invest that money into a couple bulls that can renovate a city building and create a useful recreation venue.
I think this is a very positive thing for Fulton. So many people can benefit from a safe, scenic place to get exercise, be outside and enjoy our community. Plus updating the LWRP will enable more public projects to be funded. Pretty sure money from grants like these can’t just be moved around for government to spend on things like infrastructure, industry, etc.
These grants are not flexible to just be used for anything. They are dollars allocated by the state for projects in this genre. It is not just the infrastructure of Fulton and Oswego, infrastructure nationwide is deteriorating. You need infrastructure to facilitate industry. If infrastructure grants become available, which would include things like sidewalks, sewer and water lines, curbing, roadways I would assume the City would apply for said grants. That being said I would love to have more recreational areas to walk with my children and explore the outdoors. Last I checked you can walk in the snow. Snowshoeing is great exercise and fun. No need to be kept indoors when you can enjoy fresh air. I’m sure most children spend enough time watching tv and playing video games. People complain that there is nothing to do recreationally in Fulton. Developing a trail network could open people’s eyes to the natural resources that envelope this city but are underutilized thus potentially highlighting areas which could generate revenue or boost the economy. The problem is the negativity with the people of this City. We should just throw in the towel and never try to make life better, currently or for future generations. It is so EASY to sit back and describe what is wrong with a situation every time someone tries to do some good for this City. IT WOULD BE MORE BENEFICIAL TO TRY TO HELP CHANGE THINGS THAN SIT BACK AND COMPLAIN. Oh forget it, that might involve some work, involvement, and thought.