by Alex Brooks
The Friends of the Dyken Pond Environmental Center have purchased a 23 acre parcel of land near the center of the Dyken Pond Center’s developed area. The parcel has frontage on “Otter Cove” beginning at a point right next to the Center’s boat launch. The back of the property extends to a point very near the “Amphitheater” which the Center uses for some of its programs.
The President of the “Friends,” Jim Bonesteel, said when his group found out that the Gundrum property next to the Dyken Pond Center had been sold, and Stonybrook Properties was proposing a residential development on that land, many were concerned that building of that kind so close to the heart of the Dyken Pond Center
“would have a major impact on the quality of the experience” for visitors to the Center.
They began discussions with the principal owner of Stonybrook Land, David Lipinski, about buying the Otter Cove parcel as a buffer zone to put some distance between the Center and the new development. They had several meetings with Lipinski and dickered about the price for a while, until Bonesteel and another member of the “Friends” went out to dinner with Lipinski; by the end of the evening they had worked out an agreement. The price for the 23 acre parcel was $100,000. Closing costs, attorney and appraisal fees came to $8,000, so the total cost of the purchase was $108,000.
The “Friends” began fund-raising in the Spring of 2008 and in the course of a year were able to raise $44,000. Twenty thousand dollars of that came from foundations, and $24,000 was donated by individuals. In May of this year came the break which made the purchase feasible, when the “Friends” were awarded a matching grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation for up to $50,000. Soon after that the Norcross Wildlife Foundation agreed to an interest free, one year loan that allowed them to go ahead with the purchase. They closed on the property on June 9 of this year.
They are now working to raise the remaining $14,000 so that they can pay back the Norcross Foundation. A fund-raising letter has already gone out, and Bonesteel said he is very hopeful that the Friends will be able to raise the remaining funds by next spring when the loan is due.
Bonesteel said, “I am overwhelmed by the amount of support we have received for this project.” He waxed lyrical when describing the beauty of the parcel, which is all forested land. Bonesteel said it has a lot of wildlife activity on it. The Dyken Pond Center will create a new trail running near the waterfront across the new parcel, which will connect to the Center’s existing trails.
The project has taken a great deal of Bonesteel’s (and others’) time over the past year, what with the fund-raising, grant applications and the many meetings and telephone calls. He said that at present he is very busy getting paperwork done for the State to finalize a contract for the $50,000 grant.
The Friends of the Dyken Pond Center already own two parcels adjacent to the Center’s lands, so this will be the third parcel of land that they are holding. Because they are a non-profit organization they do not pay taxes on these parcels, but on the first two they have been making a payment in lieu of taxes to the Town of Grafton, which they try to keep at the same level as taxes on the property would have been, Bonesteel expects they will do the same with this new parcel.
Between the County owned land of the Dyken Pond Center, the three parcels owned by the “Friends” and several other contiguous parcels with conservation easements on them, there is now a tract of protected land comprising 393 acres.
The Friends of the Dyken Pond Center was formed in the early nineties and has been supporting the activities of the Center for 18 years. They sponsor a summer educational camp for kids (now in session) including scholarships so low income kids can also attend and a number of other outdoor and educational programs throughout the year. They also provide funds for supplies and maintenance of the Center such as when they have paid for materials needed for several Eagle Scout projects undertaken on the property. The organization has a Board with 16 members and has about 130 dues-paying members.