Metzger: Report cuts costs of dam repairs

Estimated repair costs for the Tillson Lake Dam have decreased by millions of dollars.

GARDINER, N.Y. >> Estimated repair costs for the Tillson Lake Dam have decreased by millions of dollars, according to state Sen. Jen Metzger, D-Rosendale.

In 2012, an engineering report commissioned by the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation determined the dam to be in need of repair.

“At that time, the cost estimate for Dam refurbishment was estimated to be from $5 million to $9 million and the cost for Dam removal, which would destroy the lake, estimated to be in the $1 million to $2 million range,” Metzger’s office said in a press release.

But another report prepared this year by Schnabel Engineering estimates the cost at much less.

“The report prepared this year by Schnabel Engineering used a new model for passing flow analysis and, as a result, suggests that the spillway does not need to be increased in order to meet passing flow requirements at the regulatory threshold of half Probable Maximum Flood, reducing the estimated repair costs to $3.2 million,” Metzger’s office said.

Metzger says she supports the dam’s rehabilitation. Created in 1929 by Hasbrouck “Hassie” Tillson, the 22-acre lake in Minnewaska State Park is managed by the Palisades Interstate Parks Commission and is a recreational destination for local community members and tourists.

“Tillson Lake is a beloved scenic and recreational destination in the community, and supports a diversity of native plant species, as well as amphibians, reptiles, and birds,” Metzger said in the release.

“Residents enjoy the lake for kayaking, fishing, canoeing, and bird watching,” she said, “and it is also used by the Shawangunk Valley Fire Department for training.

“I am very pleased that the new study estimates a far lower and much more manageable cost for restoring the dam than originally suggested by the Commission, and I am hopeful that by working with PIPC,

the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the State will move forward with the needed dam improvements.”

A local group pushing for the repairs says the support of Metzger and Gardiner Supervisor Marybeth Majestic

will help,.

“This support from our elected representatives has been a crucial component in getting this new study done, and Friends of Tillson Lake acknowledges and appreciates this” Morey Gottesman, president of Friends of Tillson Lake, said in the release.

Metzger represents the 42nd Senate District, which includes all of Sullivan County and parts of Ulster, Delaware and Orange Counties.