June 20, 2015
Virgil board OKs park upgrades
VIRGIL — The town board on Thursday approved buying about $17,000 worth of supplies for Hope Lake Park, based on the recommendations of Wes Kryger, president of Greek Peak Holdings, who also supervises operations at the park.
Kryger recommended to the board a list of items that have deteriorated and need replacement, including sand, picnic tables, a rescue boat, a diving dock and new buoys.
Hope Lake Park is owned by the town, but Greek Peak has a contract to oversee maintenance and operations at Hope Lake Park. Greek Peak has maintained the park since it was established in 2000.
The board approved spending $9,100 to purchase 140 tons of beach sand from Braen Stone to replenish the beachfront at the park, which Kryger said is exposed down to the fabric at the water’s edge. The board will also take $2,500 from the town’s Hope Lake Park maintenance budget, which has a balance of $4,300. The remainder will come from the town’s community development fund.
Kryger said that new sand had not been placed at the lake in more than eight years, but since that time, the lake has been lowered twice so that sand could be raked back onto the beach.
The 140 tons of sand would offer between 4 and 6 inches of additional depth across the roughly 40-by-100-foot beachfront, Kryger said.
Now, the sand on the shore is mixed with stones and mud from the bottom of the lake, creating potentially dangerous conditions for swimmers.
“I would recommend every year adding one or two loads to maintain the sand,” Kryger told the board.
Board members Matt Denniston and Jereme Stiles suggested that the board make the large sand purchase this year, and continue to add sand each year to maintain the depth.
“I’d like to see the park brought up to speed and maintained each year,” Stiles said at the meeting on Thursday, adding that the park’s appearance is a reflection on the town.
“If we had been doing that, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” said board member Eric Snow.
The board also approved spending $2,219 for a new diving dock, $3,290 for 20 new buoys, $1,170 for a new12-foot, flat-bottom rescue boat and $1,058 for 10 new picnic tables. Kryger offered board members three quotes for each item and with the exception of the rescue boat, the board members voted in favor of buying the least expensive items.
Greek Peak has a contract with the town to supervise operations at Hope Lake Park, in exchange for using the lake as a water reserve to make snow for the ski trails. Hope Lake Park generally produces a $20,000 to 30,000 deficit each year, which Greek Peak absorbs, Kryger told the board.
Greak Peak also pays $1,000 a month to the park so that guests at Hope Lake Lodge can use the park.
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