Town of Urbana gets its waterfront park
MARY PERHAM THE LEADER

FILE PHOTO Pictured above, the undeveloped south shore of Keuka Lake will become a public park under the auspices of the Town of Urbana.

HAMMONDSPORT - The Town of Urbana has a new lakefront park, with private contributions paying for an 8-acre lot along Keuka Lake.

Town Supervisor Richard Gardiner last week said the town received checks within the last two weeks totaling roughly $400,000. That, combined with an anonymous contribution of $500,000 last year and various other donations, means the land purchase for the park will go through.

The closing was approved by the Urbana Town Board Thursday morning, Gardiner said.

The park will be called the Glenn Curtiss Memorial Park in honor of the famous aviator and inventor from Hammondsport. It will be situated on land near Keuka Lake formerly owned by the B&H Railroad and is accessible from Lake Street.

"This is wonderful," Gardiner said Thursday. "This is our legacy to the people in the town, this beautiful park."

Gardiner, and council members Thomas Chadwick and L. John Webster will step down at the end of the year.

The project has had rough sailing during the past 10 years. The 8-acre parcel is part of an 11-acres plot town officials twice tried to acquire through eminent domain. The land was originally owned by the B&H Railroad, which abandoned the property in 1997.

The title was then transferred to B&H board member and local businessman Michael Doyle. Doyle and developer Peter Krog are now building a condominium on 2.5 acres next to the site of the proposed park.

When early negotiations with Doyle fell through, the town launched its first eminent domain proceedings in 1999. Although voters favored the first proposal, the proceeding lapsed because of missed deadlines.

A second series of negotiations with Doyle also failed, with town officials again launching eminent domain proceedings in 2003. However, the $1.35 million bond required to buy the land was voted down, 421- 378, the following year.

After the failed referendum, a group of residents supporting the park launched a fundraiser. The grassroots effort grabbed national attention after the proposed Lakeview Park was renamed after Hammondsport native and aviation pioneer Glenn H. Curtiss. The project netted a number of private and organizational donations, with one anonymous donor contributing $500,000.

When the fundraiser fell short of its goal, Doyle and town officials signed a revised agreement earlier this year, contingent on the bond being passed.

The agreement pared down the size of the park, from 11 acres to 7 acres and cut the original estimated price from $1.35 million to $1.1 million.

But voters turned down a $500,000 bond in May, 340- 207. Opponents were upset by limited access to the lake and argued the price should be reduced.

Gardiner said the new contributors also wish to remain anonymous, and negotiated the final cost with Doyle. The size of the lot was also increased by an acre, he said.

Gardiner said final approval by the B&H Railroad board was expected this week, with Doyle already agreeing to the deal.

"The land is now forever open for the future," Gardiner said.