By Gwendolyn Craig
The Adirondack Park Agency is reviewing a number of projects that are up for public comment this month. They range from the rebuild of an electric transmission circuit to the creation of a general store and gas station out of a church.
Some of the comment period deadlines are fast-approaching.
The board, however, will not be meeting in August. There are no actionable items to consider, according to the APA’s website.
For a full list of projects under review this month and to make a public comment on any of them, go to apa.ny.gov/Hearings/index.cfm.
Here are some highlights:
NYSEG upgrades
New York State Electric and Gas Corp. plans to rebuild just over 15 miles of transmission lines from its Rainbow Falls substation to its Cabot substation in the Town of Willsboro. The electric transmission circuit is in need of upgrading to meet current standards, according to a project description.
Comments are due Thursday, Aug. 13.
Carp for plant control
Native plants are impacting recreation on Lake Gay in the Town of Russia, according to a project description on the APA’s website.
To cut back some of these plants, the Lake Gay Property Owners Association is looking to stock the lake with Triploid Grass Carp. The carp are native to eastern Asia, but have been used for vegetative control in New York.
“Triploid grass carp are created through shocking grass carp eggs immediately after fertilization with either hot or cold water,” according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s website. “This temperature shock results in the retention of an extra chromosome set, rendering the fish incapable of producing viable young.”
The association plans to stock the lake with 15 carp, adding more if needed.
Comments on this project are due by Thursday, Aug. 13.
Church to store
New owners of the former St. Matthews Church, 781 Silver Lake Road in Black Brook, want to turn the building into a gas station and general store.
Michelle and Robert Timmons bought the church in March for $35,000, real property records show. Records also indicate the church was built in 1910.
The Timmons have put in an application to the APA for their business proposal. The APA will accept comments through Thursday, Aug. 20.
More solar in the park
The company SolarPark Energy is proposing a 5 megawatt capacity solar facility on Route 9 in the Town of Ticonderoga.
Real property records show the tax parcel is on 69 acres of vacant farmland, though the solar array would be on approximately 36 acres, according to the project description. It also involves installing “related infrastructure including a new access road, fencing, landscaping, and utility connections.”
Comments must be submitted to the APA by Thursday, Aug. 27.
Saranac Lake Marina upgrades
Saranac Lake Marina is looking for a variance for the construction of a new approximately 600 square-foot structure at the main marina site and an approximately 15,000 square-foot structure at the annex site on Lake Street.
The marina is also looking for a permit to construct a covered structure over approximately 2,200 square-feet of wetlands at the main marina. That will also involve dredging sediment, construction docks and open-sided structure with skylights over about 25,400 square-feet of wetlands. It will also remove about 14,800 square-feet of buildings at the annex.
Comments for those proposals are due by Thursday, Aug. 27.
This is something good for the public.