Brockport accepts Visitors Center bids

The acceptance of the bids for Brockport's Visitors Center and Canal Museum construction drew a round of applause from audience members at the May 3 village board meeting. More than a year has passed since the village received grant funds to revamp a section of the Erie Canal in order to make it more attractive to visitors.

Marilyn Colby spoke in favor of the visitors center from the perspective of a bicyclist. "I see it (the visitors center) being used by both bicyclists and boaters. It would be the hub of the village," she said.

Ray Duncan, co-chair of the Walk-Bike Action Group, spoke enthusiastically about the center. "Give me a hammer and I'll start it myself," he said after addressing the board.

Duncan said the center will truly make Brockport a destination and it will also demonstrate to grant awarding agencies that Brockport is a "can-do" community. Bill Andrews, the village's historian emeritus, was unable to attend the meeting so Duncan read a portion from an e-mail he received from Andrews. It said: "The visitors center will be a self supporting asset tour community. It will entice travelers to stop and tarry a bit, browse our shops and enjoy our restaurants."

Another strong supporter was Jim Goetze. "We have a state designated area on the historic Erie Canal ... let's utilize it."

The village received a $700,000 grant from the state Canal Corporation to renovate the canal wall between Park Avenue and Main Street. They also received a grant of $105,000 from the state Office of Parks, Restoration and Historic Preservation to renovate the canal area.

The proposed visitors center will be a two story structure and will provide a shower and laundry facility and an information center. Docking fees of between $10 and $15 a boat is being discussed and could generate $20,000 in income for the village, it is estimated.

At the May 3 board meeting, village officials approved three bids for the project: $169,300 to Testa Construction; $18,000 to O'Brien Mechanical Contractors; and $9,600 to Concord Electric Corp.