OSWEGO – Fishermen angling upstream in the Oswego River will now encounter changes; the city-owned wall in the middle of the Oswego River near the switchback will now be off limits, according to a resolution passed during the Oswego Common Council meeting held Monday, April 8.
As part of the resolution, Mayor Barlow will enter into a joint Public Safety Agreement with the Brookfield Power New York Hydro Services LLC for the Varick and High Dam Hydroelectric Facilities, the resolution now changing classification policies.
The city-owned wall will now be reclassified from Oswego public property to an Emergency Egress; a ticket-able fine being assessed to any person who uses the wall for any reason, fishing or otherwise.
According to Oswego City Engineer Jeff Hinderliter at the May 1 Committee Meeting, the wall’s use leaves fishermen trapped when the water rises, leaving them no choice but to call 911 for help.
“It’s actually public property – it’s owned by the City of Oswego, which makes it kind of precarious for us. What ends up happening is fishermen will wade out – the water will come up – they’ll climb up on the wall and then the water stays up – and now they’re stuck on City of Oswego property in the middle of the river, and they have to be rescued,” Hinderliter said. “Sometimes it’s legitimate that they aren’t aware; other times fishermen are aware of this and they know they can go there – and what will happen is fishermen retreat to that position and spend the rest of the day fishing. And then sunset comes and they call 911 or get some help to get someone off the river.”
According to Hinderliter, reclassifying the wall’s zone is an effort to further push the city’s risk management and safety missions forward, also noting that Brookfield has been asking the city for this reclassification in recent years. Hinderliter said Brookfield will put signage up around the surrounding area, and that the city would be open to discussions with them regarding signage and kiosk updates.
All 23 resolutions were unanimously passed by the Council during the meeting. To view the full agenda, please click here. All Common Council meetings are held the second and fourth Monday of every month, the next meeting being held on May 22 at 7:15 p.m. The meeting can also be viewed on the City of Oswego YouTube channel.
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