DESIGN COMMITTEE MEETING INVITATION

There will be a Heritage Park Design Committee meeting on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 7 PM at the Montezuma Town Hall. Some of the topics we will be discussing are reviewing final designs ideas presented by the SUNY ESF students, signage, planning for the Canal Sweep clean up, upcoming programs for the year. At our last meeting we decided to make the last Thursday of the month our regular monthly scheduled meeting. This is an open invitation to join our committee, whether it's for one meeting or on a regular basis.

FINAL ESF PRESENTATIONS - A LOOK AT WHAT'S POSSIBLE

Last Tuesday was another cold, blustery night we've  become accustomed to here in Central New York, but the Halls of Montezuma were warmed with brightly colored visions and ideas posted on the walls of the town hall for what might be possible in the Montezuma Heritage Park.  Representative examples originally done by over forty students of Syracuse's 3rd year landscape architectural design studio last fall were presented by four of the student designers: Lauren Christler, Megan Reymore, Sara Russo and Kyle Weissenburger assisted by  faculty members, Cheryl Doble and Maren King.

Lauren Christler's focus points to an area off of Chapman Avenue
with linkage from past to present.

Most of the designs were focused ideas that linked our community's past Erie Canal history to the present.  Using natural elements of water, plantings and organic contoured paths throughout the park, their designs showcased our history using the remains of historic sites such as the aqueduct and paper mill.  This could be created through time lines flowing from the center of our town along the canal towpath to the park along the Seneca River. Monuments, statues, and an aqueduct sculpture featured throughout the site could tell the story of how the canal was built.  Several recreational activities would provide for fishing, cross country skiing, walking, hiking, picnicking, primitive camping sites,  boat dockage, bird and wildlife observation. Opportunities were seen for Erie Canal and natural resource education using open buildings that could later be enclosed.

The remains of the Montezuma Fibre Company on the south side of

the Enlarged Erie Canal could be made into a landscaped garden or a play area for children.  The site still contains the arched doors shown in the drawing here could be incorporated into the design. 

The 60' by 80' building was  on an eleven feet high foundation. The foundation walls are still on the site. The main building  was brick, two stories high with an attached boiler house 26' by 36', costing $22,000 when it was built in 1906. 

The mill produced a heavy-weight paper product from flag (cattails), known as "Montezuma Wheat" that grew in the 20,000 acre swamp that surrounded the area. The finished product was loaded unto the canal boats for shipment.

It was noted that popular tours that have been offered including the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge, Audubon Center and Howland's Island could include this site. Much thought and consideration was given to the landscape of the parkland with boardwalks to protect the land along the flood plain areas and enhance the walking experience.  While much of the park would maintain its natural setting needing little maintenance, it was suggested the park could provide wonderful opportunities for the youth in the community to work in the park.

The students had a variety of practical, creative and innovative ideas to share while keeping with the natural elements and incorporating the Erie Canal historic resources. The design committee will consider the ideas, and begin to create a phased plan for development of the park. Anyone interested is invited to attend the planning meetings to be held on the fourth Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM at the town hall. 

The Town of Montezuma was selected to receive community technical assistance from the 2011 Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program, and will work with Karl Beard from the National Park Service.  RTCA helps communities plan, organize partnerships and achieve on-the-ground success for projects they initiate. We are very grateful to the park service and SUNY ESF for support of our project.

Kyle Weissenburger focused on a Route 31 entrance with a nearby boat launch
marketing to New York State Fishing Clubs.

Maren King of SUNY ESF faculty member discusses student ideas with
Town Supervisor John Malenick;  Stan Longyear and Paul Baker, Design
 Committee members; Bill Hecht; and Karl Beard from the RTCA program at
the National Park Service.

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT - SUNY ESF PARK DESIGN PROJECT

The follow up meeting that had to be postponed in December for SUNY-ESF students to return with their final design ideas for the Montezuma Heritage Park has been rescheduled:

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 @ 6:30 PM

Montezuma Town Hall

Dock Street, Montezuma

Unfortunately, we are not expecting  any of the students who worked on the project will be able to attend as they have moved onto to their next semester projects .

SUNY- ESF staff, Maren King and Cheryl Doble will share the results of the student's projects with us. 

Please pass the word on to other community members.  We need community input. 

Following the Feb 8th meeting, the Design Committee will be reviewing the ESF students projects and begin to develop a plan that will work for our community.  We will be taking into consideration all ideas and any concerns of the community.

Historic sites added to Parkland

Two important parcels of property have been recently acquired by the Town of Montezuma that will be included with Heritage Park project. They are significant historic sites that tell the story of the town's Erie Canal history.


Cayuga County transferred a 23-acre parcel of land west of the former Cayuga-Seneca Canal and along the south side of the former Erie Canal. The parcel is the site of the former Meil's Drydock which was first started by William Thorn and Joshua Martin in 1860.  The drydock provided a valuable service to canal business where boats were built, refurbished and repaired. The buildings in the background of the photograph above would have provided the necessary space for a  blacksmith to fashion the metal parts, bolts and nails; a saw mill to cut beams and planks, and for offices and storehouses.  Later in 1894 the business was purchased by George Meil of Veronia, NY.  Fifteen men were employed to repair boats,  build steamers and flag boats for use in the harvest of flag (cattails) in the swamps.

The other important piece of property purchased by the town is north of the present-day firehouse and at the entrance to the main trail head and former towpath of the Erie Canal. The Exchange Hotel in the photograph to the right was located here. It also had a stable to hold extra teams for the line boat compaines. Town Board meetings and elections were once held here. Built circa 1830, it burned to the ground on June 23, 1918, one of the oldest hotels in the village and on the Erie Canal.


This important site is near where the Cayuga section of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal opened in 1828 connecting with the Erie Canal. A crossover bridge allowed the mules and crews to move from the path along the Erie Canal to the Cayuga Canal. This was an important junction where boats headed either east to Albany or west to Buffalo as well as south to Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. 

Trail Blazing!

Well, maybe December is not such a good time for trail blazing, but I thought I would feature a slide show of an event last Spring.  A great group of volunteers came out to participate in the Town of Montezuma sponsored Clean Sweep program to pick up trash, trim trail hedges, chip, and mulch on the Heritage Park site. Looking ahead to 2011, plans are already underway to do it again. 

Since this is the time of year to reflect back, I've been doing some research on the history of park plans in Montezuma that goes back 45 years ago to December 1965. Not to give away my age, but that was the year I graduated from high school. David Butler was the Town Supervisor who applied for funding to acquire the parkland made possible through the  Outdoor Recreation Development Bond Act and the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965.  Byron Lapp was elected the next supervisor who carried out the long process of completing the acquisition of parkland eventually in 1971.  

As we look forward to envisioning plans for the park this coming year, we can appreciate the many years it took to complete this work. Through Byron's perseverance, we can be thankful the land has been preserved for public use and preservation of the great historic sites it holds. 

Also, if you are starting to get the Cabin Fever Blues, Mike Riley has some great suggestions for getting out and enjoying the winter here in Cayuga County that were a part of last year's Canal Splash, Flowing the Flow: The Tale of Two Erie Canals. 

http://canalsplash.blogspot.com

Wishing you a never-ending season of joy and peace. 

SUNY ESF Student Presentations - Nov 1

John Malenick, Montezuma Town Supervisor Introduces SUNY-ESF 3rd Year Design Students to the Community

SUNY -ESF 3rd Year Design Students  

at Montezuma Town Hall

Ready to give their presentations to the community

Cheryl Doble, Associate Professor at the Center for Community Design

Research sets the stage for the students presentations

explaining the basis of the work to date

On Monday, November 1, 2010, the community listened as third year design studio students from SUNY - ESF Department of Landscape Architecture displayed graphic representations of their projects and described the results of their analysis and findings of the proposed park site. Through their analysis, the students have identified potential opportunities related to the Heritage Park. They highlighted the regional aspects of the site,  history, wildlife and nature interpretation, commercial, recreation and performance such as music, plays, interpretative events and festivals.  The students did an excellent job of researching the site and analyzing the potential for the park.  There was good feedback and discussion from the audience for the students to consider as they now move on to their final design concepts for the park. 

Maren King, Assistant Director at the Center of Community Design 

Research, lists some points for the students to take into consideration 

as the community gives feedback after the presentations for

their final design project.

ESF Students to Present Park Designs on November 1

The public is invited to welcome landscape architecture students from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry on Monday evening, November 1, 2010 at 6:30 PM at the Montezuma Town Hall.  The students will share their visions for the proposed development of 140 acres of town-owned parkland with historic and natural resources in the Town of Montezuma. 

On October 1, 2010, forty-three ESF students and college staff made a preliminary visit to tour the park site followed by a meeting with design committee  members at the town hall for the purpose of developing design ideas for the Heritage Park. The design process was initiated by Supervisor John Malenick, a graduate of the ESF collage. He contacted ESF's Center for Community Design Research to request design assistance from landscape architecture faculty and students to help prepare design studies.  He realized that the time had come to look at the potential the parkland held economically and recreational for the community.  

It was important to the supervisor that community members be involved in the park design process from the very early stages, and he requested in February 2010 the town board appoint a design committee and encouraged interested residents to become involved. The primary goal for the design committee working with the students was to look for ways to approach the park development based on an understanding of community values and needs, as well as an analysis of park site conditions and Erie Canal history to use as the basis of dialogue with the broader community. Academically, the primary goals were to provide an opportunity for design students to learn and practice skills of engaging community members in the design process, to understand the important roles that community members have in creating place-appropriate designs, and to apply emerging design and graphic skills on a project that would benefit our community.

It is anticipated that the collaboration between the landscape architecture students and the Town of Montezuma community will produce a series of useful outcomes, including site analysis and inventory, preliminary lists of activities and program, and alternative design ideas around which to base in-depth design proposals.  Most importantly, it is the intent of the Design Committee that this will begin the process of additional involvement within the  community members and encourage dialogue and participation to encourage development and pride in the community.

Come and see what the students have designed. Community members will have an opportunity to offer suggestions on their designs ideas and the students will return with the final project in a few weeks. This is the beginning of a community dialogue to have input on the development of the park.