Crown Point docks to reopen

Crown Point docks to reopen

Town taking reservations for Monitor Bay service

By LOHR McKINSTRY  (originally published in Press-Republican)

A state-of-the-art shore retaining wall is now protecting docks and campsites at the Monitor Bay Town Campground on Lake Champlain. The work has been completed, Crown Point Town Supervisor Charles Harrington said. The $285,000 project was partially funded with a $117,500 State Department of State Environmental Protection Fund Act grant. The town issued five-year municipal serial bonds to pay for the work, which included the new protection wall at the campground docks and electrical and water services.

Harrington said the campground barrier was damaged by wave erosion in 2009, then again by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. “We’re now accepting reservations for dock space from Crown Point residents. The docks had been closed due to unsafe conditions.”

Riznick Construction of Crown Point was the low bidder for the work at about $224,000, plus $12,000 for the electrical and water hookups at the docks. The project also has engineering costs. “They removed the old railroad-tie retaining wall and stairs and replaced the wall with modern, long-lasting vinyl,” Harrington said. The project had been approved by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, Adirondack Park Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Harrington said the town will take dock reservations until Feb. 28, with a $500 deposit and the rest paid at docking time. Monitor Bay campers can reserve from March 1 to 31, he said, after which reservations will be open to all. For town residents, the rates are $720 for up to 16 feet of dock space and $45 for each extra foot. Non-residents pay $900 and $56 an additional foot for the space.

Harrington said a celebration commemorating the reopening of the town docks is planned for this spring, with a date to be set. The town nets about $15,000 a year on the 42-site campground.