Copake Waterfront & Community Revitalization Plan revealed

Part I

COPAKE — Excited to present the progress that’s been made on the Copake Waterfront & Community Revitalization Plan for the Bash Bish Brook, Roeliff Jansen Kill and Taghkanic Creek, the town of Copake held an online community workshop Saturday morning, Feb. 13.

In her opening remarks, Copake town Supervisor Jeanne Mettler thanked Project Advisory Committee (PAC) Chair Roberta Roll for her extraordinary leadership. She also thanked PAC members past and present, the New York State (NYS) Department of State for sponsoring the project and River Street Planning for its guidance.

Including the town’s Comprehensive Plan and the Hamlet Design and Development Plan, Roll said Copake has done three plans with River Street Planning. After completing the last two, she said Copake realized it was ready to take the next step, and fortunately there was money to draft waterfront revitalization plans. As the plans required the town to have its inland waterways designated by NYS, Copake got legislation passed to add the Roe Jan Kill, the Bash Bish Brook and the Taghkanic Creek to the NYS Inland Waterway List, thereby enabling the town to apply for funding.

During the last couple of years, Roll said the PAC has met repeatedly with River Street Planning and volunteers, organizing its first town-wide community workshop last February. Along with developing a community profile for the project and visions and goals, she said they picked six projects to benefit Copake the most in the coming years with the best odds of getting funding. 

Through each project, she said the PAC will be working on strengthening partnerships with state and municipal agencies, public and private foundations and organizations, residents and property owners. At this time, they aim to finish the plan by Wednesday, March 31.

River Street Planning Principal Margaret Irwin explained the goal is to create a unified Waterfront Revitalization Plan that not only considers recent town strategies, but also draws from dozens of recommended projects and programs and reflects current community input. She said they’ve tried to highlight six projects with the best odds of benefiting people, leveraging partnerships and securings [sic.], particularly when considering how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted “grant making.” These six projects, she said, will serve as catalysts for accelerating community health and quality of life; they will also build equity and forge collaboration, and are vision-driven.

From the town’s rare aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity to the premium COVID-19 has placed on outdoor recreation to the town’s need to build a track record of securing and managing grants and forming partnerships with property owners, Irwin outlined some of the respective opportunities and challenges that have been uncovered so far in the plan. She then guided those at the workshop through the community profiles among Copake’s waterways, hamlets and environments and how they fit in the revitalization plan.

Given how much of the town’s story is heavily influenced by its water bodies, Irwin said the Copake Waterfront Revitalization goals will focus on increasing passive and active waterway access for the community; conserving Copake’s biodiversity, scenic beauty, environment and heritage; adapting to change and fostering resilient waterways and landscapes; and creating virtual and physical linkages between the hamlets. For each goal, Irwin said there are 60 total projects; they plan to focus on six of those projects.

Outlining the plan’s catalyst projects, Irwin said the first project would focus on developing the Roeliff Jansen Community Library Waterfront Park, a multi-use gathering area along the Roe Jan Creek off Route 22. 

As the Taconic State Park Master Plan includes projects to expand fishing, the next catalyst project would focus on accessible community fishing. 

Other catalyst projects include environmental education and climate stewardship for Copake, wayfinding and interpretative signage, a family-friendly bicycling brand and the development of the Town of Copake Trails, Paths & Parks Plan.

Look for Part II of the Copake Waterfront & Community Revitalization Plan, focused on the community’s response to the proposed plan, in next week’s Millerton News.