Yates park upgrades honored by state public works association

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 March 2023 at 6:33 pm

$2.5 million project to be recognized in Binghamton ceremony

Photos by Tom Rivers: Yates Town Supervisor Jim Simon speaks during a Sept. 24 ribbon cutting for upgrades at the Yates Town Park. Simon also announced the new pavilion at the park would be dedicate in honor of Russ Martino, the retired town supervisor and elementary school principal.

YATES – The Yates Town park improvements will be recognized this week as a project of the year by the New York State chapter of the American Public Works Association.

Yates already was honored by the Genesee Valley Branch of the APWA on Jan. 26. Now it will receive statewide honors on Thursday in Binghamton.

Yates will receive the award for project of the year in the category for Small Cities/Rural Communities Structures.

The $2.5 million park upgrades include a 75-foot-long pier, a pavilion with bathrooms, new playground equipment, a kayak launch, a crusher-run walking trail, and new parking lot with sidewalks.

The project was 95 percent funded by the state, which made $300 million available to southshore communities through the state’s Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative or REDI.

That was in response to historic flooding along the shore in 2017 and 2019. That flooding destroyed part of the shoreline at the Yates park and the town used a separate $400,000 grant from the state to put in a massive breakwall.

The park upgrades included a new elevated platform or pier that extends out into Lake Ontario. Other projects at the park featured a pavilion with bathrooms, new playground equipment, a kayak launch, a crusher-run walking trail, and new parking lot with sidewalks. There will also be horse-and-buggy turnaround with hitching posts.

The project turned a small park with few amenities into a site that Yates officials believe will become a vibrant destination

The town worked with the MRB Group for engineering services and Keeler Construction in Barre served as the general contractor.

Town Supervisor Jim Simon plans to attend the awards banquet on Thursday with Jon Hinman, the Town Engineer from MRB; and Dave Herring, representing Keeler Construction.

By winning the state award, NYS APWA will submit the Yates project to APWA National for consideration for a national award. Those awards will be announced later in the spring.