County protests NYS land acquisition for Bowman Lake expansion
PRESTON – The Chenango County Board of Supervisors is joining the Town of Preston in an official stance against New York’s acquisition of real property to expand Bowman Lake State Park.
In January, the Open Space Institute announced the acquisition of land adjacent to Bowman Lake State Park. The 307-acre property, located in the towns of Preston and McDonough, was secured by OSI at the request of New York State Parks. OSI will hold the land until it’s acquired by State Parks using funding provided by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund.
The property is expected to grow the size of the park by almost 50 percent to nearly 1,000 acres. OSI says the preserved land will provide an important buffer to the camping park’s entrance, add hiking trails, and add new landscapes and habitats to the park.
But county officials are objecting for fear that the state’s acquisition of real property may add an extra burden to local taxpayers, namely in the Town of Preston. Although much of the state-owned land in the county is partially taxable, state park land is tax exempt.
“Bowman Lake State Park is surrounded by thousands of acres of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest lands,” the resolution states, “and additionally, the Finger Lakes Trail traverses not only the adjacent NYSDEC forest lands, but Bowman Lake State Park itself.”
The resolution also notes that due to fiscal constraints, several state parks were at risk of closure in recent years. The state ceased operations at Hunts Pond in New Berlin in 2010.
In February, the Preston Town Board was sent a letter by the NYS Parks Department that sought the town’s concurrence when the Environmental Protection Fund is used to fund the acquisition, but board members declined.
In a letter to NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey, Preston Supervisor Peter Flanagan said the town wasn’t even notified of the acquisition until after it was reported by news outlets.
Flanagan wrote in the letter, “Since it appears to us that proper procedures were not followed for this acquisition, the Preston Town Board has resolved by a unanimous vote to withhold our ‘local government concurrence’ for use of the Environmental Protection Fund until we receive an official response from OPRHP and the Open Space Institute that satisfactorily addresses our concerns.”
Flanagan estimates that the project will cost towns, schools, and the county more than $11,000 in property tax revenues annually.
“New York State already owns 90,000 acres or 15 percent of the land in Chenango County,” he stated. “There is already precedent for cooperative trail development with DEC lands and forests as the Youth Conservation Corps developed the Copack Ski Trail connecting Copack Pond in State Forest Land with Bowman Lake.”
The New York State 2016-2017 budget earmarks $300 million for the Environmental Protection Fund – an increase from the $25 million that was contributed to the fund in the previous year’s budget.
In a statement released in January, Harvey said the proposed expansion at Bowman Lake is “another example of how New York is expanding outdoor recreational opportunities and protecting the environment for New York residents and visitors.”
In January, the Open Space Institute announced the acquisition of land adjacent to Bowman Lake State Park. The 307-acre property, located in the towns of Preston and McDonough, was secured by OSI at the request of New York State Parks. OSI will hold the land until it’s acquired by State Parks using funding provided by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund.
The property is expected to grow the size of the park by almost 50 percent to nearly 1,000 acres. OSI says the preserved land will provide an important buffer to the camping park’s entrance, add hiking trails, and add new landscapes and habitats to the park.
But county officials are objecting for fear that the state’s acquisition of real property may add an extra burden to local taxpayers, namely in the Town of Preston. Although much of the state-owned land in the county is partially taxable, state park land is tax exempt.
“Bowman Lake State Park is surrounded by thousands of acres of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest lands,” the resolution states, “and additionally, the Finger Lakes Trail traverses not only the adjacent NYSDEC forest lands, but Bowman Lake State Park itself.”
The resolution also notes that due to fiscal constraints, several state parks were at risk of closure in recent years. The state ceased operations at Hunts Pond in New Berlin in 2010.
In February, the Preston Town Board was sent a letter by the NYS Parks Department that sought the town’s concurrence when the Environmental Protection Fund is used to fund the acquisition, but board members declined.
In a letter to NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey, Preston Supervisor Peter Flanagan said the town wasn’t even notified of the acquisition until after it was reported by news outlets.
Flanagan wrote in the letter, “Since it appears to us that proper procedures were not followed for this acquisition, the Preston Town Board has resolved by a unanimous vote to withhold our ‘local government concurrence’ for use of the Environmental Protection Fund until we receive an official response from OPRHP and the Open Space Institute that satisfactorily addresses our concerns.”
Flanagan estimates that the project will cost towns, schools, and the county more than $11,000 in property tax revenues annually.
“New York State already owns 90,000 acres or 15 percent of the land in Chenango County,” he stated. “There is already precedent for cooperative trail development with DEC lands and forests as the Youth Conservation Corps developed the Copack Ski Trail connecting Copack Pond in State Forest Land with Bowman Lake.”
The New York State 2016-2017 budget earmarks $300 million for the Environmental Protection Fund – an increase from the $25 million that was contributed to the fund in the previous year’s budget.
In a statement released in January, Harvey said the proposed expansion at Bowman Lake is “another example of how New York is expanding outdoor recreational opportunities and protecting the environment for New York residents and visitors.”
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