Bay seeks funds to repair deteriorating dock

ALEXANDRIA BAY — The village needs outside funding to repair its collapsing Upper James Street dock.

The final cost of the project is yet to be determined, but the village board has discussed spending close to $200,000 to rebuild the public dock.

"I do not have this in my budget," Mayor Terry J. Robb said, adding that village officials will meet with state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, later this week to ask for financial assistance.

The deteriorating dock has been closed since Jan. 12 after village officials determined it was unsafe for pedestrians. Repairs will be made this winter and village officials hope to have the work finished this spring, before the start of tourist season.

Mr. Robb said he was glad the dock, a popular destination for visitors and residents of Alexandria Bay, collapsed in the middle of winter instead of last summer.

Hundreds of people walk on it during major events in the summer, such as Bill Johnston's Pirate Days, Mr. Robb said.

Village Trustee Steven E. Jarvis said the dock is a fundamental part of the village's commerce and that the village will spend as much as is needed to repair it.

Mr. Jarvis said about 300 feet of cement cribbing, which holds up the dock, has disintegrated because of decades of deterioration.

"There has not been any structural reinforcements since the dock was built in the 1930s," he said.

An engineer from Fourth Coast Inc., Clayton, and a local contractor have conducted a visual survey of the dock, he said, and determined that the cement cribs should be replaced with 6-inch steel pilings. The village board could either replace the wood decking or rebuild the dock with steel and cement, Mr. Jarvis said.