After some debate, the Delaware County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday passed a resolution that will put the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower one step closer to being rebuilt.
The board approved a resolution that encompasses agreements between the county and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which owns the land where the fire tower is to be rebuilt; Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower, which would rebuild the tower and man it with volunteers; and the Clark family, which owns the dismantled tower.
Franklin Supervisor Jeffrey Taggart asked why the county had to be the municipality to take on the liability and be the one to take the fire tower down. “The liability factor is huge,” he said. “If someone gets hurt who’s responsible?”
Taggart said if someone is injured, the person will see the county has the special use permit and being the biggest entity, it will be sued.
Andes Supervisor Wayland “Bud” Gladstone asked Assistant County Attorney Jeremy Rase if the county would be liable, as the fire tower is like letting snowmobilers drive on private property through the network of trails in the county. Property owners cannot be sued if someone is injured on their property, Gladstone said. Rase said it was a little more complicated than that. “They can sue, but the county would defend it in court,” he said.
“How much will it cost to tear down at the end of the permit?” Taggart asked. “I want more information. I would like to pull it until the next meeting.”
Hamden Supervisor Wayne Marshfield said, “We don’t need to pull it.” He said when he worked for Delaware County Electric Cooperative, the co-op signed easements all the time with property owners and never revoked one.
Marshfield said getting the cost estimates for dismantling the fire tower is “not realistic” because it’s unknown when it would be dismantled. “It could be five years or 50 years,” he said.
Taggart said he still wasn’t comfortable about letting the county be the one liable.
“It’s my understanding people can’t go up in it unless someone from the Friends of Bramley Mountain is there,” Harpersfield Town Supervisor Lisa Driscoll said.
“That’s the same way as ours,” Tompkins Supervisor William “Bill” Layton said. Tompkins is in the process of opening up a fire tower in the town.
Middletown Supervisor Carl “Pat” Davis said he conducts fire inspections at fire towers in the Catskill Park and said when volunteers are not at the fire tower people can climb the ladder but cannot access the tower itself because the hatch is locked. He wanted to make sure any time the city renews the land use permit it is under the same terms agreed to at the beginning of the contract and they are not allowed to change the terms of the agreement.
“The Balsam Mountain Fire Tower gets 10,000 visitors a year,” he said. “People travel up here just to hike the fire towers.”
Davenport Supervisor Patricia Valente asked if emergency services would be able to get to the site of the tower in case of an injury. Davis answered yes, by using side-by-side utility terrain vehicles. Driscoll said there is also a road that goes up to the tower. Valente asked if it was for pedestrians only. Bovina Supervisor and Board Chair Tina Molé said yes.
Taggart was the only supervisor to vote against the resolution. Kortright Town Supervisor George Haynes and Meredith Town Supervisor James Ellis were absent.
Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower President Ann Roberti said via email, “We are extremely grateful that the Delaware County Board of Supervisors has agreed to apply for a Land Use Permit from the NYC DEP in order to enable the Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower to move forward on the fire tower project.”
The organization will apply for the appropriate building permits and hopes to start construction next spring, she said.