State park workers start the prep jobs

WATKINS GLEN, KEUKA PARK--With May opening dates, area state parks are beginning preparation work to make sure the park is in prime condition for visitors. Ron Roney of the Watkins Glen State Park said they are having crew members scale the mile and a half length of the gorge cleaning up the debris left over from the winter weather. He said the park plans to open the gorge by mid-May, with camping opening the second weekend in May, adding there are many preparation components to take care of before then.
"All components take a considerable amount of time," Roney said. He added the scaling work generally takes the longest to do at six weeks, while other work like getting the water turned back on at their seasonal buildings takes about four weeks to finish. Roney said other work includes conducting building repairs, replacing any damaged steps or capstones, repairing potholes in roads and getting campgrounds ready. He added once Memorial Day passes, then they will take about three and a half weeks to get their pools ready for opening by the third week in June.
Roney said there were 10 people on staff helping with the cleanup coming out of the winter, while adding seven more people this past weekend to work behind the scalers to clear debris. By the summer, he said they will have a total of 50 employees working at the state park.
Roney said with camping, they will accept walk-ins beginning May 8, and will begin accepting reservations Memorial Day. He said only three of the six camping loops will be open prior to Memorial Day, adding all of the loops were freshly paved as of last fall. Roney said Memorial Day is the time where attendance starts to take off and get busy for the park.
Meanwhile in Yates County, Ross Lovell of the Keuka Lake State Park said his crew is beginning work this week to give the park a spring cleaning, saying they only have about a three week window to get the park in shape before opening.
"This year, because it is so wet, we are not able to get out on the lawns or anything," Lovell said. "We are turning the water on, all of the buildings get winterized in the fall so we have to charge all the buildings with water and put the plumbing back together. Once we [finish that,] we rake up all the debris that falls off the trees and clean up the beach area."
Lovell said there will most likely be a little more cleanup this year compared to previous years because it was such a harsh winter. He said they have less time to operate than usual as well because the winter weather has gone on longer than usual.
"We are a little more condensed in being able to get out and do it because the winter hung on so long," Lovell said. "In a mild year, if we could, we would get out earlier in the season, but this year not so much."
Lovell said they also have to rake and clean every single campsite, in addition to cleaning out the fire rings located at the sites. He said they will also try to fix potholes in the roads and whatever other work they can fit in before the opening date.
"There is quite a lot to fit in during a very small window of time," Lovell said.
He said some of the work can be done during the operating season as well, but added they like to get as much done before opening as possible. Lovell said there are five people on maintenance and one in the park office currently, but added in the summer they will have upwards of six people in the office, as well as two additional maintenance workers and five lifeguards for the swimming area.
"The other thing we do this time of year is we are accepting applications for summer jobs, so we do interviews for the positions," Lovell said. "It takes up a fair amount of time as part of the process for spring."