Delaware to vote on Bramley Mountain Fire Tower

Vicky Klukkert, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·3 min read

Jul. 25—The Delaware County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on a resolution Wednesday, July 26, that may allow the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower to be rebuilt.

The resolution encompasses agreements between the county and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Friends of the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower and the Clark family, which owns the dismantled tower.

According to the resolution, the county would receive a land use permit from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection that would allow the fire tower to be rebuilt on the property. The Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower will be the organization that will operate and maintain the fire tower once its built and the county Department of Public Works will pledge to take it down once it has served its life or if the permit is not renewed.

The Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower organization has been raising money to rebuild the fire tower along the Bramley Mountain trail for several years and has a memorandum of understanding with the DEP to operate and maintain the tower once it's built. However, the DEP needs to issue a land use permit with a municipality to allow a structure to be built on city property.

County Economic Development Director Glenn Nealis said building the structure on city property was a big issue, because part of the city's land acquisition program doesn't permit structures to be built on its property. The county had to apply for a land use permit to place the fire tower on the property and had to assure the city it would be taken down at the end of its life, which could be 50 years.

Because the fire tower would be located in the town of Delhi, Delhi was approached to be the municipality to apply for the land use permit and enter into an agreement with the DEP, but the council voted not to enter into the agreement in February. According to Daily Star archives, the council didn't approve the agreement because there were many unknowns to the town, including the costs, control and what the town would be responsible for.

One of the concerns was over insurance costs associated with making sure the tower was removed at the end of its life. Nealis said the DEP never put a price tag on what it wanted the town to commit to, which may be one reason why it was not approved. Nealis said he spoke with the county's insurance broker and the county could pay into a surety bond or reclamation bond throughout the fire tower's life, which over 50 years did not make financial sense and would be cost prohibitive. He said he went to county's DPW Committee meeting in May to ask if the department would be willing to take down the fire tower once its useful life is over and the committee agreed at its June meeting. By having the DPW say it would take down the fire tower, the insurance cost went to $25 per year instead of thousands per year, he said.

The county will enter into a lease agreement with the Clark family for the fire tower. Pete Clark, of the Clark family farm on Elk Creek Road in Delhi, bought the tower in 1975 and had planned to erect it on his property, but his homeowners insurance wouldn't cover it, previous reporting said. It has been stored in a barn on the property.

Friends of the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower President Ann Roberti said if the resolution is approved, the organization will apply for the appropriate building permits and hope to start construction next spring.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.