Corps of Engineers wants $10k, plus fees
Talk on the street in the town and village this past week is that ‘West Point is taking back Long Pond’.
And, in fact, it may be true.
Supervisor Bob Livsey confirmed on Monday that in order for the town to again lease the Long Pond Recreation area for the 2019 season it will cost, at minimum, $10,000.
“Since 1974 the Town of Highlands has leased, in five year increments, Long Pond,” Livsey said at Monday’s Town Board meeting. “Our latest lease expired in December. Normally, I’m notified that it’s time to renew the lease. I wasn’t this year, so I sent a note to them asking to renew it.”
He said he’d been “hearing the rumors on the street” that the deal may be off this year.
Livsey read a letter from Deputy Garrison Commander Tom Cowan at the meeting:
“This note is about the Long Pond lease which expired December 2018. The Corps of Engineers is telling me that the new fees will be $25,000 with an appraisal or $10,000 without the appraisal, plus there would be a rental fee which they say must be at fair market value and a processing fee.
Evidently in the past the post has paid these fees because the town was not able to. I cannot justify this expense at these prices.
My proposal is that we take over running Long Pond, the town and us sign an MOA [memorandum of agreement] which allow patrons of the town to use Long Pond for a fee similar to what they have been paying in the past.”
Cowan said he is willing to meet with Livsey on the matter and the supervisor said he will absolutely take him up on that.
The town has been paying $1 a year to lease the recreation area, although Livsey did say that about five years ago the town was asked for a $2000 fee.
The town brings in about $25,000 in revenue from Long Pond each summer, Livsey said, through user fees (those using it can buy full summer or day passes, and there are fees to have parties in the large pavilion). But he said the town spends about $50,000 each summer in upkeep. The town also continues to make improvements to it, adding a large basketball court several years ago, new seating options, electricity at the pavilion, etc. The town also staffs it with lifeguards and maintenance workers.
Perhaps the most significant use of Long Pond each summer is by Summer Playground participants — about 100 children are bused, with their camp counselors to Long Pond twice a week for seven weeks as part of that program. Livsey said if it does turn out that West Point ends up running the facility he will fight to allow the camp to continue to use it.
Livsey acknowledged that the town “could save money” if West
Point takes back the recreation area, but said he would insist on a 15-20 year contract for continued use by Town of Highlands residents and programs.
“Should we go with this MOA, it will really have to be strong on our side,” the supervisor said. He asked his fellow board members for their ideas on how to proceed, and said he has already spoken at length with Recreation Director Aaron Falk about the issue.
The supervisor said he has developed a bit of a trust issue when it comes to Army officials in recent years, with the most recent issue being the transfer station on Rt. 293.
“They said they were shutting it down, filling in all the holes and we had to find another place for our garbage,” he said. “We did, yet they’re still using it.”
