Clayton wants community input on proposed hotel; public meeting set for Saturday

CLAYTON — The proposed $30 million five-story hotel on the Frink site has been the talk of the town since the preliminary drawings were made public last month.

Clayton Local Development Corp., which co-owns the site with the town, hopes to learn how people would change the project if they could and is inviting members of the community to a public meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Clayton Opera House, Riverside Drive.

Concerns and comments will be gathered by members of the development corporation and relayed to the potential developers — the Buffalo-based Krog Corp. and Hart Hotels — for their consideration.

Kenneth J. Knapp, a year-round resident who has been following the project closely, said any type of development on the former Frink America site would be a “vast improvement over what it was six years ago.”

“What you had there was an abandoned industrial site that was sitting on a prime piece of real estate. Lying underneath that was a toxic slush,” Mr. Knapp said.

Clayton’s LDC and town government took it upon themselves to clean up the 8.4-acre riverfront property and acquired the property in 2005.

The $2.5 million excavation project was completed in 2008 and approved by the state Department of Environmental Conservation in 2010.

Clayton began crafting a common vision with Krog for the property in July 2010 and the partners hope to break ground on the construction of a 120-to-140-room hotel as early as fall 2012, with a goal to open it in spring 2014.

However, the project designs have not been finalized and the potential developers are yet to purchase the site.

Conversations regarding the project have been kept civil for the most part. But about a dozen people — who either have criticized the proposed designs or questioned the scope of the project — have received postcards from an individual, who only identifies himself as “Jim,” that makes personal attacks against them.

“It’s someone who obviously is pissed off at us for taking a stand,” said Charlotte B. Brooks, who has received two postcards so far.

In the postcard, “Jim” makes fun of a pair of large sunglasses Ms. Brooks likes to wear — writing that her “Elton John glasses are out of style” — and says people at work and in the community do not like her.

These “silly” postcards came after Ms. Brooks had said she does not want to discourage the project but doubted a five-story hotel in a seasonal vacation spot would make enough money in the off-season to sustain itself.

She said she wanted to see a smaller facility that fits well into its surroundings.

Mr. Knapp, too, said he was not entirely satisfied with the hotel designs and hopes the architect would “take advantage of the traditional architecture of the region” but thinks the size of the proposed hotel is “very workable.”

Mr. Knapp said Krog and Hart Hotels also seem to understand that they need local support for a project like this and that it is up to citizens of Clayton to provide “constructive criticism.”

“I think their goals align with the goals of the town. This is a very positive thing,” he said. “So if you have a concern, come with a solution. Bring it in a positive light.”

Town Supervisor Justin A. Taylor had said there will be several public meetings where the town and Clayton LDC will gather input from the community.

Krog and Hart Hotels most recently built the $15 million Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel on the south end of Seneca Lake in a small waterfront community similar to Clayton.