PALENVILLE — After much debate and input from citizens, the fencing installation on the Tannery Bridge at the swimming hole has been canceled.
The Town of Catskill had put in a request to the county, which owns the bridge, to install fencing on the span that crosses the local swimming hole because people were jumping off it into the water — which the town saw as a safety hazard.
But after the town board hosted its last meeting in Palenville to get public comment on the swimming hole, the board requested the county no longer pursue fencing on the bridge, Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said.
The county was planning to install an 8-foot fence on the bridge by mid-August to prevent jumping into the water, Councilman Paul Vosburgh said at the July 7 Catskill Town Board meeting.
People who live near the swimming hole and the Kaaterskill Creek said problems around the hole last summer included noise after dark, parked vehicles blocking access to homes and children jumping from the Tannery Bridge.
Groden said the county passed a resolution, priced the fencing and issued a purchase order to buy and install the fence. The county had to ask the chosen vendor to scrap the project.
“We are out. We are done. We have canceled the order,” Groden said.
Greene County Legislator Michael Bulich, R-Catskill, said residents expressed concern about the fence being a “blight” on the beauty of the area and the county worried about its ability to maintain and plow the road with the installation.
The county was also concerned that people would still climb the fence and jump into the water, Bulich said.
Bulich said the estimated cost of the fencing was $30,000, and the order was canceled within the last few days.
“We said, ‘We’re not going to spend the money for something we didn’t want in the first place,’” Bulich said.
In July 2020, following public comments and concern due to parked cars blocking Route 23A, a lack of social distancing, excessive litter and people jumping into the water from the bridge, the board decided to temporarily shut down public access to the swimming hole. With the closure, the only access to the swimming hole was through private property.
Town Supervisor Dale Finch said in July 2020 that fencing on the bridge was a viable solution to the problems at the swimming hole, but after the meeting a few weeks ago — where the board voted to removed the temporary fencing blocking access to the swimming hole on the shore — sentiments had changed.
“After talking to a broader cross-section of the population of the hamlet, they didn’t want the bridge,” Finch said.
Some residents at the last board meeting held in Palenville on July 22 expressed concerns about children jumping off the bridge and blocking traffic.
Alternatively, Palenville resident Barbara Lubell said at the same meeting signage should come before more drastic measures such as a fence.
“As far as kids jumping off the bridge, haven’t they been doing that for decades?” Lubell said. “Hopefully they’ve checked it out before they jump.”
Bulich said although the fencing project has been canceled, the county is discussing other ways to keep the swimming hole open for locals while also discouraging people from bringing large coolers and barbecues.