Parks will have limited use

ALEXANDRIA BAY — Several state parks that are slated for closure under proposed state budget cuts will remain open for some public use.

Kevin A. Kieff, regional director of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said the parks will remain open for public access and will not be fenced. Recreational boaters also will have access to permanent docks at the island parks, but additional floating docks will not be installed this summer, he said.

"We fully expect people to access the parks, but we will not be providing amenities for overnight use of the facilities," he said.

Following an announcement by Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa, late Thursday, the state office confirmed Friday that it plans to close 41 parks and 14 historic sites and cut services at 23 parks and one historic site to help close the state's $8.2 billion deficit.

Legislators, of course, could reject Gov. David A. Paterson's proposal when they adopt a budget for the state fiscal year that begins April 1.

Under the state office's plan, Keewaydin State Park's 48 campsites and the swimming pool will be closed, leaving only its marina open this summer. Eel Weir, Mary Island, Canoe-Picnic Point and Cedar Island state parks and the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site will be closed. Also in the Thousand Islands park system, Macomb Reservation and Point Au Roche state parks in Clinton County are slated to close.

Mr. Kieff said state park officials have yet to determine how much can be spent on security and maintenance of the parks slated to be closed.

"There are going to be ongoing maintenance and security issues," he said. "We're in contact with the state park police and border security about security issues to make sure that our parks are not used as illicit operations."

Gov. Paterson's proposed budget cuts $33 million for the state office, leaving it with $230 million to spend this year. Last year, the state office reduced the summer operations of 15 parks in the Thousand Islands Region because of budget cuts in Albany.

"The closure of any state park is devastating for a tourist-driven community like us," town of Alexandria Supervisor Martha M. Millet said.

Ms. Millet said the partial closure of Keewaydin would be a major loss for the community.

"The major draw is Keewaydin's swimming pool," Ms. Millet said. "Hearts for Youth holds swimming lessons at the pool. I don't know where else they would go."

The park also is a popular site for boating, freshwater fishing in the summer and ice fishing and cross-country skiing during the winter.

Ms. Millet said she has written e-mails and letters to local officials, including Assemblywoman Russell and state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, asking them to help keep the parks open.

"These are all very unique parks and I'm sad that they're closing them. I wish they would close some downstate parks and just leave us alone," she said.

The future of the town's proposed $3.5 million Otter Street water system also is in jeopardy as its biggest customer, the state parks office, is likely to back out of the deal. The new system would serve 97 equivalent dwelling units, or EDUs, including 50 EDUs for Keewaydin.

"I would rather see them hook into this water system, because once they reopen the pool and campsites they're going to need the water," Ms. Millet said.

Keewaydin State Park alone attracts about 48,000 visitors to the region a year, including more than 10,000 campers and 9,500 boats.

Mary Island, Eel Weir, Cedar Island and Canoe Point parks attract a total of more than 18,000 people to the region annually.