(Photo by Will Dendis)
The Village of Saugerties is applying for a $20,000 matching grant from the state to update its waterfront plan.
Trustee Patrick Landewe, lighthouse keeper and member of the Waterfront Revitalization Committee, recently said it was the state that suggested the plan be updated and that the plan should concern issues such as how the village would deal with hurricanes and tropical storms, which are expected to be more numerous in the future.
The plan, like a master plan, provides goals and supporting information meant to inform subsequent laws and projects. The grant would help pay for professional assistance.
An earlier plan, drafted 30 years ago, provided an outline for several projects, including the creation of the Tina Chorvas Waterfront Park and restoring the Saugerties Lighthouse.
According to Alex Wade, who manages special projects for the village, the only remaining major project envisioned by that plan which has not been completed was to run sewer lines on Lighthouse Dr.
The only item left, he explained, would be to run sewer lines along Lighthouse Dr. “But there’s a rock ledge there that would have to be taken care of, and residents have installed expensive septic systems to handle their waste and would not be happy to have to hook into a sewer system,” he said.