The Town of Highland is moving closer to getting the $1.8 million Bob Shepard Highland Landing Park completed and a major phase in construction was a topic of conversation at last week’s Lloyd Town Board meeting.

Project manager Mathew Smith was on hand to explain the progress that has been made and the steps that still need to be taken; namely, construction on the dock, boat launch and bulkhead to get the ball rolling.

“The park is already open, but this is the first major part of the construction phase,” said Smith. “While we are doing the construction, we are still going to try to keep parts of the park open if we can.”

“The bulkhead that we have now [on the property] is over 100 years old and we will be allowed to put a new, low bulkhead up around the rocky point to preserve maritime use,” said Smith. “There will be a safe way for people to get down to the water to fish, or walk around with the kids.”

The park is being built with a matching state 50/50 grant. This means that the State of New York funds half of the park, while local taxpayers are responsible for coming up with the other half through funds or donations in kind; in these difficult financial times, it was an easy decision about which route to take.

“Instead of having our taxpayers give money, they are being allowed to donate their time, which is what happens with this type of grant,” said Smith. “We are doing donations. This entire park has been built with donations in kind, from the labor itself, to the trucking, to the legal work.”

“Many local residents have volunteered so much of their time to make this happen,” he added. “Local architect Dave Toder of Bolder Architecture and Sal Cuciti, the park designer, have spent so much time on this. Ray Jurkowski of Morris Associates, the town’s engineer, has helped with our engineering. Everyone has really pulled together.”

The Bob Shepard Highland Landing Park has been a project in the making for some time now – in fact, Smith has been considering the idea since 1994.

“I was president of the Downtown Business Association in Highland and the post office left the area,” he said. “The post office brought a lot of people downtown every day, so we were left wondering how do we get people to come downtown again?”

The answer was the park, which received the state grant it needed three years ago but had to wait until this past fall until enough state funding became available to start major projects.

“This park is going to be amazing for tourism here,” said Smith. “Once our new dock is built, tour boats will be able to stop here, the tour guide will be telling them about our Walkway Over the Hudson – they are going to want to check out our town. I get calls all the time from tour groups who want to see if our dock is ready.”

The boat launch is also an important part of the first phase of major construction for the park.

“We should have – not a perfect ramp – but as close to it as you can get,” said Smith.

Other grants will be coming in the future for additions to the park, including an education pavilion, a meeting room, aquariums and solar stations.

“We are going to have an compass, 40 feet in diameter,” he said. “When a teacher leads a class out there, as soon as they see that compass, they are going to have tons of questions. It’s going to be beautiful, with a cedar bottom and benches surrounding it.”

The park will also have “the highest efficiency gas heating and air conditioning, along with composting, odorless restrooms.”

“Basically, we are going to have this amazing addition to our community without it costing us anything,” said Smith. “Our only real cost so far has been the electric bill, thanks to all the help, the volunteers, donations and grants.”

Smith expects to go out to bid to choose a contractor by the end of March.

Paul Hansut, Town of Lloyd supervisor, said he is looking forward to seeing all the local hard work pay off.

“What you have done is fantastic for the town,” said Hansut.

By NINA SCHUTZMAN