Photo by Joanne Beck
Public Service Committee members passed along a grant of $7,000 for final approval Monday for the purchase of additional kayaks and accessories for the Youth Bureau’s kayaking program at DeWitt Recreation Area in Batavia.
Genesee County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens reviewed the program and grant during the committee’s meeting and said that although it’s an Interpretive Center/Youth Bureau grant award, it also “supports kayaking at the park.”
Kayaking is an activity that has been steady at DeWitt Lake, made even more popular with lessons offered twice a year by Conservation Education Program Coordinator Shannon Lyaski.
Hens shared that his department will be seeking a replacement for Lyaski, whose last full-time day will be Oct. 14. The committee approved Hens’ request for a part-time, temporary position to allow her to remain until the vacancy is filled.
It will be a loss for sure, Legislator Marianne Clattenburg said.
“She grew so much in that job and really changed it,” Clattenburg said.
The request was to create one temporary, less than full-time (19 1/2 hours per week) Conservation Education Program Coordinator position to allow the current employee to assist with the transition.
Salary for Conservation Education Program Coordinator, Management, Grade 112, Step 7, would be at the rate of $29.48, effective October 7, 2023, through December 31, for a total cost of $8,308.69.
Another reason for the increase in kayaking is a kiosk rental that took a bit longer than expected to arrive since first reported in The Batavian in May but is finally at DeWitt.
Photo by Joanne Beck
The set-up provides everything for someone to get a kayak, life jacket and paddle and get out on the water for some fun.
“The feedback from the community has been positive,” Hens said.
The agreement between the county and the rental company is for a period of five years, at a total cost of $16,000, for the installation and activation of smart lockers, fully equipped with kayaks/lifejackets and locker signage. Kayak users would then pay a rental fee through the use of the kiosk that would go back to the county.
This park amenity expense will come out of the Capital Project DeWitt Improvements Phase IV, with $6,000 of this cost offset by a donation from the Association for the Conservation of Recreational and Natural Spaces (ACORNS), for a total cost of $10,000 to the county.
This latest grant that Hens reviewed on Monday is from the Youth Sports Education Funding, and once officially approved by the county Legislature, will increase the County Park Program Expense in the amount of $7,000 to be offset by an increase in Revenue in a like amount.
