New $10K gazebo planned for McKownville
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Gazebo gang: Some of the McKownville residents who will help figure out what the new gazebo — to be built with state funds obtained by Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy — should look like are, left to right, Michael Lawler, Martha Harausz, Helen Bickmore, Debbie Trees, and Don Reeb.
GUILDERLAND — Residents of McKownville have formed a planning committee that will develop ideas for the design of a new gazebo planned for the McKownville Reservoir Park. The park is situated between Western Avenue and Stuyvesant Plaza. The gazebo will be close to T.G.I. Friday’s, near where a bench now sits.
The committee, which includes Don Reeb, president of the McKownville Improvement Association, the association’s board members, and several other residents, is seeking additional volunteers.
New York State Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy has obtained a grant of more than $10,000 to cover the costs. The idea for a gazebo on town-owned land in that spot, Reeb says, originated years ago from Ken Runion, who was Guilderland’s supervisor for 15 years, from 1999 to 2015.
Committee members should consult with the Guilderland Parks Department, current Town Supervisor Peter Barber told The Enterprise, adding that that department will help build the gazebo and can even lay down a concrete pad if needed.
The committee will make decisions about style, color, whether it should be lighted at night, and other issues, Reeb said.
Barber was asked if $10,000 is a high cost for a gazebo, and he said that that amount would pay for the relatively large, park-style gazebo as well as any lighting and other design features. He noted that the town would be saving money by having the gazebo built by highway and parks employees during their regular working hours.
Asked if a gazebo located between a parking lot and a heavily trafficked road will find use, Reeb said he thought it would, since people are using the spot now. These include residents of the streets across Western Avenue who visit while walking their dogs, as well as employees from Executive Park and Stuyvesant Plaza on their lunch breaks, he said.
“There are lots of things that it’s possible a gazebo could be used for,” said Barber, and the committee will consider what might be the most appropriate for McKownville. Will the gazebo be a place for families to sit and enjoy the pond, or will it sometimes be, in the evenings when there is less traffic and less background noise on Western Avenue, a venue for small ensembles, Barber asked.
Barber said that what the gazebo will not be is “just an ornament.”
