Clute Park shore needs repairs

WATKINS GLEN—After 20 years of wear and tear by the elements, the rocky shore of Clute Park in Watkins needs work.
Clute Park Manager Michelle Hyde said the high lake levels and northern winds have affected the riprap, or rocks placed along the shore. She said the elements have washed the soil out and some of the riprap rocks have dislodged. Hyde said sand at the Clute Park beach also needs replenishing. Superintendent of Streets Don Perry said the riprap was installed about 20 years ago.
Hyde said the village is working with the Schuyler County Soil and Water Conservation District to find possible funding and decide what to do with the shoreline. Hyde met with the SWCD Tuesday, April 26. Hyde said SWCD explained the beach needs to be natural, so the park won’t add more sand there. For the riprap, Hyde said the county has identified several areas where the rocks will be replaced. She added she is looking at prices now and it shouldn’t cost as much as she initially thought.
Hyde explained this is the first time in her 14 years of working for the village that the shoreline has needed work; replacing sand at the beach, however, is a more common occurrence.  Hyde said even the flooding that took place July 21, 2003, didn’t damage the park’s lake shore. She said heavy waters came from the state park, down the canal, and into the lake. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds were given for other damages.