Latest news with #CanalCorporation
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pendleton scout restoring buoy boat for Erie Canal's bicentennial
Troop 47 Life Scout Carter Kennedy is aiming to deliver a refinished canal buoy boat to the Town of Pendleton by late summer, in concert with area-wide commemorations of the Erie Canal bicentennial. Kennedy, 15, will make a formal presentation to the Pendleton Town Board on Monday. What he'll propose is his service project in pursuit of Eagle Scout status, that is, the highest rank in Scouting America. The buoy boat was donated to the town by the state Canal Corporation a couple of years ago, and recently Pendleton resident Jim Sobczyk, who helped facilitate the donation, reached out to Good Shepherd church-sponsored Troop 47 inquiring whether the troop would take on restoration as a service project for the bicentennial. Mike Kennedy, past Troop 47 scoutmaster, current troop committee chair, and Carter's dad and Eagle project coordinator, said the restoration challenge appealed to Carter personally as the Starpoint High School sophomore was looking for a project with 'a bit more substance.' The buoy boat, which has been stored at the town highway garage, does appear to require some TLC to make it fit for permanent display in Canal Park near Ship 'N Shore bridge. Carter said the boat needs patching, window repairs and replacement of some parts before it's painted. The requisite color scheme is blue and gold and the paint must be oil-based, he said. After the boat is hauled to Canal Park and set on a cement pad, which is to be poured by the town, Carter will oversee planting of a flower garden around the boat. Before any of that can happen, Carter has to get formal permission from the town board. Once given the green light, he'll finish fundraising and coordinate his cadre of volunteers — adults in the community and his fellow scouts — to get the job done. When he was interviewed he said he was still working up a final cost estimate, for the necessary construction and landscaping materials, but he expects it'll come in between $2,000 and $3,000. Assuming all goes as planned, Carter said, his project should be completed by August-September. So, what is it about a banged-up old canal boat that called out to a teenager in 2025? It's a symbol of Pendleton, Carter said. The Kennedy family home is situated across from the Erie Canal, he and his troop do a lot with it, including running a flotilla every spring, and when the canal was constructed his great-grandpa's farm had to be moved. 'It's a reminder of the history of the canal, why it's there and how it shaped the town,' he said.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Flight of Five Phase III project wins state funding
Jan. 28—The Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation (LHDC) has secured almost $1.2 million of state funding for a new round of Flight of Five locks rehabilitation work. Gov. Kathy Hochul's office on Tuesday quietly announced the full scale of funding awarded statewide through Round 14 of the Regional Economic Development Council process, and the list shows Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation was awarded three grants: $775,000 from Empire State Development Corporation, $250,000 from Market New York, and $150,000 from the state Canal Corporation, all in pursuit of further improvements to the remnants of historic Erie Canal locks 67 through 71. Confirmation of the state awards does not signal impending construction, however, according to LHDC chair David Kinyon. The corporation's proposed Flight of Five Phase III project — rehabilitation of three pedestrian bridges and installation of light fixtures, removal of debris in Lock 68 that was not addressed during Phase II, and repair/replacement of railings — carries a roughly $2.3 million price tag and is dependent on federal funding to cover the balance. Congress has yet to act on U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney's 2024 request for $1 million in support of the Phase III project. "Obviously with the change in administration it's uncertain when Congress will get to act on that particular appropriation," Kinyon said. "We are communicating fully with our state partners to keep them informed as we work to complete the funding package." While full financing isn't yet secured, Kinyon said the state awards are "very exciting news" for LHDC, as they're the first significant capital awards for Flight restoration since Phase II was completed in 2019. "They come at a very important time as we begin to celebrate the bicentennial of the Erie Canal," he said. "The announcement encourages us to continue pursuing our goal of fully restoring all five locks." Locks 69 and 70 were restored to working order in 2014, and lock 68 was rehabbed in 2019, at an overall cost of about $5 million. The latest estimates for restoring the last two locks, 67 and 71, are $17 million and time To Be Determined. Full rehabilitation is made complicated — and costlier — by the fact that the bottom and top locks in the series are occupied with infrastructure used by the state Canal Corporation to operate the modern Erie Barge Canal.
