Trails, Kayaks, Even Bees

Envisioned For Brookwood

By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

COOPERSTOWN – Brookwood Point could soon be host to expanded trails, kayak rentals and even beekeeping.

“The grass gets really high and hard to mow in places,” said Lang Keith, Cooperstown, a board member on the Otsego Land Trust, which owns the 22-acre enclave on Otsego Lake. “We were thinking that would be a good place to do some beekeeping.”

Such ideas were generated during the Land Trust’s second planning meeting Tuesday evening in Templeton Hall on the future of Brookwood. Over two hours, the two dozen attendees a broke into five small groups to undergo a “charette” exercise, thinking through what amenities and programs would work best on the property.

“From these ideas, we’ll create a master plan,” said John Winter, Land Trust executive director. “This will be our road map to the consistency of the aesthetics, activities and ecology of Brookwood.”

“There are lots of opportunities for amenities,” said Dan Sullivan, Richfield Springs.

Formerly Brookwood Gardens, owned by a separate Cook Foundation, the property, one of the last possible additional public accesses to Glimmerglass, has gone through five years of uncertainty since the Cook board considered selling it to Mohawk Valley businessman (now congressman) Richard Hanna.

By the time that controversy ended, the Land Trust had picked up the property, saying from the start that, if it did not generate sufficient revenues – an estimated $25,000 a year – it would be disposed of.

Last year, the Land Trust considered selling off half the property and using the money to support the other half, and actually sought RFPs to make that happen. But in December 2015, the Land Trust board decided enabling the site’s development was contrary to its mission.

Since, some $200,000 has been raised to support the property for another seven years. But again, at the outset of Tuesday evening’s session, Winter warned that if the property isn’t self-sufficient by then, the Land Trust will again look at other options.

Standing by was Lucy Townsend, owner of L.M. Townsend Catering, which owns Templeton Hall, and she remembered hearing stories of her father playing on the property.

Her great-grandfather, Fredrick DePeyster-Townsend, a celebrated Buffalo landscape architect, designed the gardens. “There was a little shack where my dad and his cousins had the Dilly Dinosaur Club,” she said. “And there was a section where they had cut down trees, and they would have my grandmother and everyone sit on the stumps while they put on little performances.”

And though such play area for children was suggested, not one group put it on their map. “There are places that meet that need in town already,” said Steve Whitesell, Cooperstown.

All five groups agreed that a new pavilion should be put up on the footprint of the old Brookwood house. “I think we should incorporate the 1820 design of the house into the pavilion,” said Whitesell. “It would really help reinforce the history of the site.

Kayak and boat storage and rentals were also on everyone’s mind, including storing the boats in the pavilion in winter. Some people have considered working with industrial racking specialists so they could make the storage more efficient for the kayaks and boats. Although, those who have their own kayaks might want to consider bringing them along. Transporting your kayak has been made easier by a variation of trailer options. For example, these 2 kayak trailer options may be of interest for those with kayaking equipment who want to travel around to different rivers and lakes.

“The old carriage path is spectacular for walking meditations,” said Ed Rowley, who was raised in Oneonta and summered on the lake. “It goes right along a bubbling brook, and you get views of the lake that many people haven’t seen before.”

For paths to be better utilized, Winter said, the old bridges would have to be looked at and rehabilitated.

And some even saw possibilities for year-‘round usage. “We want something with the least possible impact,” said Len Press, Cherry Valley, who’s son, Jonathan, is the Land Trust’s new community engagement coordinator. “One of things our group came up with was a stone hearth, so that people who ski or snowshoe could have a fire.”

The groups also called for enhanced signage and benches to allow people to sit and enjoy the views. “We baby boomers aren’t getting any younger,” said Rowley.

The Land Trust plans to look closer at the ideas presented and hopes to have a finalized master plan by the grand re-opening in May.

“I hope this gets people excited about Brookwood,” said Jonathan Press. “It’s there for the community to use