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August 15, 2008

North Elba vigilant over venues

Councilors ponder state of post-event locales

By KIM SMITH DEDAM

LAKE PLACID -- Town councilors from North Elba talked this week about sports amenities in their community and how to keep them in top shape.

Ironman, lacrosse, a new recreation path and zip line were all on the table.

Water samples from Mirror Lake tested after Ironman showed no impact from the nearly 2,500 swimmers taking two laps to complete the 2.4-mile swim portion of the competition.

Supervisor Roby Politi (R-North Elba) said "coliform bacterial counts were way below results that would require further testing."

The water is tested immediately after the swim every year, even though town officials have been advised the amount of water in the lake dilutes any pollutants from human bodies.

"We test every year," Politi said, "and once again we have obtained negative results."

NEW SPORTS FIELDS

Six brand-new athletic fields built behind Cascade Acres near the Lake Placid airport were put to heavy use last week for the first time, councilors said.

The Lacrosse Tournament, which drew more than 5,000 athletes and their families, was the first to experience the full-sized fields laid out beside the Chubb River.

Event organizers told town officials it was a stunning location for their tournament, Councilman Chuck Damp said.

"It's close to a miracle that they (finished fields) even happened," Politi said.

The wet summer made crowning the field for optimum runoff a challenge.

The fields were seeded three weeks before the tournament, but three inches of thick grass grew in time.

Next year, Lacrosse Tournament planners hope to hold a week-long event with more games, Politi said, to begin two weeks after Ironman.

BIKE PATH

The council looked to next year for starting construction of the bike path.

Damp said oversight of the North Elba-Ray Brook stretch of the recreation path has been awarded to Barton and Loguidice, environmental engineers from Albany.

Six requests for qualifications were submitted, after the previous engineering firm pulled out.

Funding is in place, in part, from Department of Transportation grants and Transportation Economic Assistance money.

But final cost estimates are not complete.

"Sound like they are ready to hit the ground running," Damp said. "We're going to be turning dirt in the spring.

"I know I've said that twice before," he added.

The nearly four miles of trail would run parallel to the train tracks, providing a recreation corridor for bike and pedestrian traffic from Lake Placid to Ray Brook.

A second phase of the project would connect the path to Saranac Lake.

ZIP LINE

North Elba Town Council also approved a request from the Olympic Regional Development Authority to locate a Zip Line system beside the ski jumps at the McKenzie-Intervale complex.

The thrill ride, a harness seat attached to cable, would sail up to 100 feet in some places over the steep ski-jump hill.

"It's not going to go over the shooting range, is it?" Damp quipped.

Politi recommended approval of the request "with the assurance it does not affect the international status (Federation Internationale de Ski regulations) of the ski jumps."

"It's a real valid point," said Councilman Jay Rand, who abstained from voting because he works for ORDA as general manager at Whiteface Mountain.

Council unanimously approved the Zip Line.

The council also moved to request a speed-limit reduction from DOT dropping 35 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour in a school speed zone in front of Northwood School, between Mirror Lake Drive and Cobble Hill Road. The suggestion came from residents there and school headmaster Ed Good.

kdedam@pressrepublican.com

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