Story reprinted from article first appearing in the May 27, 2006 issue of New Enterprise.
Ski Bowl Park recommendations. By John Warren.

    NORTH CREEK – Marko Schmale, chair of the Ski Bowl Park Advisory Committee, presented a series of recommendations to the Johnsburg Town Board during their regular meeting May 16. Saying the committee was trying to identify the best things to do right now for the Town of Johnsburg with the least expenditure, Schmale laid out a series of recommendations while referring to new planning maps of the park prepared by the LA Group. The suggestions come as the town has secured nearly a million dollars for park improvements, Supervisor Bill Thomas said, adding that the town is currently seeking an other $800,000 in grants for construction of the new ski bowl hut.
    Among the most pressing and easily actionable recommendations that were the focus of the presentation were: indicating a crosswalk between the pavilion and the Little League field; installing playground equipment on the beach side of the pavilion by the beginning of June; adding shade trees to the upper Tot Lot.
    Other recommendations focused on better delineating parking areas and the Ski Bowl Road in an effort to regulate the speed and type of traffic traversing the park. Most importantly, the current south entrance on Route 28 will be designated the main entrance. Other immediate

  actions include: blocking off Ski Bowl Road just north of the former Ski Bowl Hut and on the northern edge of Duke Hill; line road edges with boulders to restrict vehicular access and better define parking areas; transform the current leaf dump to parking; create a parking area to the west of the tennis court and south of the Little League field and grade the road to that parking area; additional signage to redirect parking; designate a parking lot along the east side of the dump road which is also suggested to be renamed.
    The town board was supportive of the work of the committee. “We’ll follow through as best as we can to implement the recommendations,” Thomas said. “This is the best chance we have to improve the park by leaps and bound,” junior board member Sterling Goodspeed added.
    The Ski Bowl Park Committee meets publicly at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek. The design and placement of the proposed replacement Ski Bowl Hut will be the topic of the June meeting. The public is encouraged to attend.



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