Clifton Park eyes property for park

The town will pay $300,000 for 41.4 acres of land on the Mohawk River off Riverview Road, with an eye on eventually opening the land for public recreation, town officials said Tuesday.

“It’s a beautiful piece of property,” said town Supervisor Philip Barrett.

The town is using money from capital reserve funds earmarked for open space acquisitions and not money from the town’s general fund to purchase the riverfront property from the estate of Amelia Lupe in Schenectady.

The board voted in favor of the land purchase at Monday’s meeting. The closing on the property is expected by the end of September.

A public hearing on using $157,500 from the town’s Open Space Capital Reserve Fund toward the land purchase will be held Aug. 22 in the Town Hall on Clifton Park Center Road.

“This won’t raise taxes, the funds come from outside the general fund,” Barrett said.

“I don’t foresee the town spending a large sum of money right away to add amenities.”

Town officials said Tuesday the property would make an excellent site for a variety of recreational uses, including boating. The town could also partner with community groups in the town looking for river access, Barrett said.

John Scavo, the town’s planning director, said part of the property is wooded and a pond is located on the land.

The land features a gentle slope down to the river, making for easy river access, Scavo said.

The land is about two miles west of the Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve and about one-half mile east of the town’s six-acre Mohawk Landing property off Riverview Road.

Almost all the property in the town on the Mohawk River is privately owned, so town officials were happy to consider buying the parcel when it became available.

The town will make no improvements to the property this year, Barrett said.

He said the Town Board will eventually hold public comment meetings to discuss possible uses for the property. He said short- and long-term plans for the land would be developed through this process.

The town has submitted an application for a $100,000 Saratoga County Open Space Grant to be used toward the project.

The town has also completed a full environmental assessment of the property as required by the state Environmental Quality Review Act. Town officials have determined that the purchase of the property “will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment” according to the SEQRA review.

Barrett said the property is above the last lock on the Mohawk River and would also make a good location for public safety agencies that seek emergency access to the river.

“The property lends itself to a multitude of uses by various segments of the community,” Barrett said.

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