TIDA Islander Access Project Approved

Dive park enhancements and divers event proposed for Alexandria BayBy Pamela McDowell, Staff Writer

Alexandria Bay — Improvements have been proposed for the SCUBA dive park between the Cornwall Brothers Store Museum and the Alexandria Bay Riverwalk. The enhancements would include a new nonslip walkway into the river and a large deck with seating and new educational signage at the site.

Todd Keister, director of Thousand Islands Divers Alliance, attended the Feb. 10 Alexandria Bay Village Board meeting, along with two associates, to request the divers’ project.

He explained that one of the most popular and easily accessible shipwrecks in the St. Lawrence River is the steamship Islander. The 125-foot long wooden steamship caught fire and sank near the Cornwall Brothers Store in 1909, and there it remains.

Mr. Keister explained the alliance would like to build a 16-by-16-foot wooden deck with built-in seating for divers in addition to the existing gazebo, which is no longer large enough to accommodate the number of divers that visit. He also proposes replacing the wooden ramp to the river with an aluminum, nonslip stairway with two handrails into the river. He explained the existing wooden ramp becomes slippery, has one railing, and large stones at the bottom. The divers have joked that the wooden ramp can be considered a “widow-maker.”

The alliance would also like to add additional historic signage and safety rules at the site. Mr. Keister said these enhancements would cost the village little or nothing. Grants have been applied for and donations raised.

Members of the village board were amenable to the proposition. Deputy Mayor Judith Fulmer said the project may fit well with the goals of the New York Forward grant awarded to the village. She offered to interface with the grant officials to determine if some of the money can be used toward the dive park.

Another request by the diver alliance was to place a portable restroom at the site. Mayor Mike Putnam responded that the village is currently renovating the former chamber of commerce building nearby, and it will include restrooms and possibly an outdoor shower for divers.

The board agreed preliminarily to allow metal signs to be installed near the Upper and Lower James Street docks that would promote dive flag awareness for boaters.

A discussion followed about whether the village would be open to hosting a diver’s weekend event. Village Board members agreed such an event would be appropriate, and the divers alliance will speak with the chamber of commerce and the Village Board about possible dates and activities involved.

In other matters, an announcement was made that residents can expect to receive phone calls requesting them to sign easements for the upcoming water distribution replacement project. A village representative will ask residents who have not returned their easements to meet at the municipal building when a notary is available to witness the signature. The project will be underway in spring.