FULTON, NY – A local resolution has requested the addition of Lake Neatahwanta and the Oswego River to NYS Department of State’s listing of Coastal Waterways and Designated Inland Waterways.
The resolution, unanimously passed through the Fulton Common Council, is the first step to receiving the state designation. If approved, Fulton’s waterfronts will join a listing of 11 Coastal Waterways and more than 120 Designated Inland Waterways.
The request was spearheaded by Fulton’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (LWRP) committee, recognizing the added designation has the potential to provide additional funding sources, especially in reference to the Fulton Footpaths trail way project that Brittney Jerred and Marie Mankiewicz have co-chaired since setting the idea in motion.
“We were surprised, and I think the state was surprised also, that the Oswego River wasn’t already on the list,” Mankiewicz said.
The request will be forwarded to state representatives Assemblyman Will Barclay and Senator Patty Ritchie. State legislation is needed in order for the water bodies to be added to the list, Jerred explained.
“Other communities have added waterways in this manner,” she said.
The designation will help the city gain approval through the Department of State for the LWRP that a six-person committee has been readily developing, expanding on a draft originated in 2005.
The LWRP, defined by the state as “a locally prepared, comprehensive land and water use plan for a community’s natural, public, working waterfront, and developed waterfront resources.”
An LWRP can “provide a comprehensive framework within which critical waterfront issues can be addressed … including: waterfront redevelopment; expansion of visual and physical public access to the water; coastal resource protection, including habitats, water quality, and historic and scenic resources; and provision for water dependent uses, including recreational boating, fishing, and swimming.”
Part of the development of Fulton’s LWRP includes long-term uses for both Lake Neatahwanta and Oswego River waterfronts and includes solicited input from community members.
One part of the city’s long-term uses for Fulton’s waterfronts in the LWRP includes the completion of eight interconnected multi-use recreational trails developed under Jerred and Mankiewicz, co-chairs of Fulton Footpaths, after finding inspiration from previous studies done that contained recommendations on how to improve the city’s quality of life.
One of those recommendations in the city’s comprehensive plan included a trail network.
A $60,000 grant for a feasibility study awarded Syracuse-based Environmental Design and Research (EDR) to conduct the study. Currently underway, completion is expected by the end of February which will be followed by a public input meeting.
Priority on trail funding and construction will first center around two trails: the Pathfinder Trail beginning at Indian Point and stretching throughout the city along the Oswego River and the Canalview Bridge Walk that loops around both bridges crossing the Oswego River.
The Pathfinder Trail will pick up work started by Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr. and past city officials to improve Indian Point, a trail in particular that city officials as well as Jerred and Mankiewicz are excited to see through to completion.
The construction of the trails will require multiple funding sources, Makiewicz said, with state designation on the listing of Coastal Waterways and Designated Inland Waterways providing additional funding options when seeking grants.
The designation will help the city seek funding for additional waterfront projects as well, including ongoing dredging work at Lake Neatahwanta.
Mayor Woodward noted that lack of such designation may have prevented Governor Cuomo from including Fulton’s Lake Neatahwanta on a list of twelve lakes throughout the state receiving a portion of the total $65 million the administration designated to fight blue-green algae.
“This designation will open up funding opportunities on both the state and federal level which is never a bad thing,” said Mayor Woodward.
The designation will not require any additional mandates, Jerred said.
“This was important for the LWRP committee, this designation will open up to finalize the plan eventually,” Jerred explained.
The LWRP is currently being drafted with anticipated completion by late spring, Mankiewicz said, at which time the final draft will be sent to the Department of State where an internal process will determine approval.
Upon approval of the feasibility study and furthermore, the LWRP, Fulton Footpaths officials will begin seeking funding for construction.
Though a timeframe cannot be anticipated for approval of funding, Mankiewicz and Jerred remain hopeful that construction of the trails could begin as early as next year.
“We never thought people would get so excited about it, so it’s got us more excited than ever,” Mankiewicz said.
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