Clifton Park takes ownership of Kinns Road Park

CLIFTON PARK — Clifton Park has secured ownership of the popular Kinns Road Park from Saratoga County, capping a two-year effort.

The town was officially granted ownership of the park Wednesday after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that transfers possession of the 64-acre parcel from the county to the town.

Saratoga County acquired the park from New York state in 1938. The town officially set its sights on owning the park in 2015, after concerned town residents protested the county’s intent to clear-cut wooded areas of the park. The county dropped its logging plans and entered into an agreement that formalized the town’s responsibilities regarding caring for the park, even though the town had been informally overseeing the park’s day-to-day upkeep for years.

The town has since entered into a partnership with Capital Region BOCES, in which students receive vocational training by maintaining the park and cutting down dead trees.

The recently passed law was the town’s second attempt to get ownership of the land. In 2016, the state Senate passed a bill that was almost identical to this year’s legislation.

The first bill died in the state Assembly because the town was unable to complete an Assembly-requested updated environmental survey of the land before the end of the legislative session. But the town was able to conduct the survey this year, which lead to the Assembly’s decision to send the legislation to the governor for approval.

The law was sponsored by Sen. Jim Tedisco, R-Glenville, and Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, R-Ballston.

Kinns Road Park is extremely popular among town residents, who use it for hiking, running and dog-walking.

“Kinns Road Park has been managed by the town for many years and continues to be an integral part of our growing recreational network in Clifton Park,” Town Supervisor Phil Barrett said in a prepared statement. “Town ownership and our commitment that the park will be preserved for future generations is the best outcome for Clifton Park and the many people that frequent Kinns Road Park.”