Town, state may buy marina

Bolton | Purchase will ensure the public has access to Lake George

Published on 11/25/2004

By ANNE KUMAR
akumar@poststar.com

BOLTON -- The Town Board wants to buy a local marina to ensure public access to Lake George, and is looking to the state to help foot the $4.5 million bill.

The proposal, sent out to various state agencies and representatives last week, calls for the town and the state to jointly purchase the 4.34-acre Norowal Marina.

The marina is owned by Walter "Buzz" Lamb Jr. and has been on the market for about a year.

He is selling the business so he can retire, but said he wants it to continue as a marina.

"My hope is that someone will come in an operate it as a marina as I did for 31 years and my dad did for 28 years," he said.

The changing demographics on and around Lake George prompted board members to look into purchasing the property, officials said. Town Supervisor Alexander Gabriels III said board members are concerned that if the marina is sold to a private developer, the public could lose valuable access to the lake.

"The board is concerned that if it were to be totally developed in private hands, there is not enough capacity for the surrounding marinas to pick up the traffic," Gabriels said.

Their concerns may not be far off. Lamb said developers have expressed interested in the property for building single family homes or condominiums. But that's not what he's looking for. He supports the town's proposal.

"Once that goes away, it creates an enormous void," he said. "I feel it's critical to the livelihood of the town of Bolton. How can people access the lake if the marina closes."

The state comes into play, Gabriels said, because the marina is a main access point to more than 300 camping sites on islands in the lake. Taking away that access could cut off easy access to the camp sites, he said.

"This is a state lake, it should be able to be used by all of the citizens of New York state," he said.

The proposal calls for the town to pay $2 million and the state to pay the remaining 2.5 million.

Sen. Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury, said she plans to meet with the Town Board to learn more about the project. She said the request is not unusual.

"I need to learn more about the project and see what kind of support there is in the community," she said. "Certainly public access to the lake is important."

Several state agencies could be tapped for funding including the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the Secretary of State's office and the Office of General Services, Little said.

Gabriels said he has not heard from any state agencies, but is not discouraged because of the scale of the proposal.

In August, the Town Board hired Elan Planning & Design Inc. of Saratoga Springs to do a feasibility study on the project.

If the town were to buy the property, it could convert existing buildings for town recreation department operations and administration, for general storage and to house the town fire-rescue boat, according to the study.

The town would continue to operate the marina as a launching site, but would not maintain the boat franchise and repair service, Gabriels said. The marina would not, however, become a free launching site, according to the study.

The town would have to bond for its share of the purchase price, but according to the study, the slimmed down marina operation would generate more than $100,000 in annual income that could be used to pay off debt incurred by the town.

Gabriels said the idea is in its early stages and town officials would need to look at the pros and cons of the project more closely during the second phase. But first the town must get backing from the state.

"If the state is not willing to partner, the town can't go it alone," he said.