Verona Beach, Green Lakes state parks to use $13M for improvements

New York has awarded more than $13 million in state funding to the Verona Beach and Green Lakes state parks for improvement projects at each location.

The funding is part of the NY Parks 2020 initiative, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release issued June 25.

“New York has some of the nation’s best locations for outdoor recreation, and through the NY Parks 2020 program we are transforming them to be better than ever,” Cuomo said in the news release. “I am proud to see the progress at Verona Beach and Green Lakes moving forward, and I encourage New Yorkers to check out a state park near them this summer.”

NY Parks 2020 is a multi-year effort leveraging a “broad range of private and public funding” to invest about $900 million in state parks between 2011 and 2020, according to Cuomo’s news release. 

The 2015-16 state budget includes $110 million for this initiative, his office added.

Cuomo first announced NY Parks 2020 in early March.

Verona Beach

Verona Beach State Park in Oneida County will use $4.2 million to pay for the completion of a new bathhouse and pavilions “in time for the summer swim season,” Cuomo’s office said.

Located on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake, Verona Beach on June 25 celebrated the grand opening of its “complete beach facility makeover,” Cuomo’s office said. 

The project includes a new bathhouse, a concession stand, public restrooms, and a first-aid station with lifeguard office and locker rooms. 

The project also expanded the beach area and provided flood protection by locating the building further from the beach and at a higher elevation. 

Crews also completed a new enclosed pavilion, community room, and three small picnic shelters near the park’s beach and campground.

They also upgraded the parking lots and drainage areas to steer stormwater run-off into landscaped bioswales that “filter silt and pollutants rather than running directly into the lake, improving water quality,” Cuomo’s office said.

Green Lakes

Green Lakes State Park in the town of Manlius will use its nearly $9 million in funding for ongoing campground upgrades and a renovation of the golf clubhouse.

The golf clubhouse is undergoing $3.1 million in work to replace the multi-tiered patio with an outdoor dining area. 

An addition to the pro shop will include new public restrooms, which “were not previously available in close proximity to the shop.” 

The project is also addressing structural issues, including improvements to drainage, surface-water collection, and utility connections, according to Cuomo’s news release.

The second phase, which begins this fall, calls for the design and renovation of the clubhouse’s interior. 

It’ll include the relocation of the kitchen and bar areas with increased seating. 

The clubhouse overlooks the fairways of one of the first golf courses that famed golf-course architect Robert Trent Jones designed, as well as the park’s glacier lakes.

Besides the clubhouse, Green Lakes’ Pine Woods Campground is currently undergoing a $2.95 million project to install improved campsites.

They will include electric, water, and sewer connections “for the first time in the Central New York region.” 

In addition, the project will include a new restroom and shower building; an improved road; and will replace and relocate the trailer-dumping station to “better suit the heavy traffic at check-out times.” 

The project includes site work to divert sewage-treatment areas away from the lake and to correct drainage problems and reduce runoff and erosion. 

The second phase of the campground project, which begins this fall, will involve construction of a second restroom building to serve campsites and the park’s newly renovated cabins, and will install electricity for the remaining sites. 

The federal Land and Water Conservation Fund contributed $1.1 million in funds toward the campground project, Cuomo’s office said.

Concurrently, a $2.9 million effort to upgrade utilities and park entry is underway. 

The upgraded utilities, including water, sewer, electric, communications and roadways, will serve the park’s northern area, which includes the park and Pine 

Woods Campground area. 

The project will address traffic issues at the park entrance and parking area with an added automated entry lane providing visitors with “more convenient” payment options. The work will also include replacing the ticket booth with a “modern” workspace for the attendant and security.        

New York has awarded more than $13 million in state funding to the Verona Beach and Green Lakes state parks for improvement projects at each location.

The funding is part of the NY Parks 2020 initiative, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release issued June 25.

“New York has some of the nation’s best locations for outdoor recreation, and through the NY Parks 2020 program we are transforming them to be better than ever,” Cuomo said in the news release. “I am proud to see the progress at Verona Beach and Green Lakes moving forward, and I encourage New Yorkers to check out a state park near them this summer.”

NY Parks 2020 is a multi-year effort leveraging a “broad range of private and public funding” to invest about $900 million in state parks between 2011 and 2020, according to Cuomo’s news release. 

The 2015-16 state budget includes $110 million for this initiative, his office added.

Cuomo first announced NY Parks 2020 in early March.

Verona Beach

Verona Beach State Park in Oneida County will use $4.2 million to pay for the completion of a new bathhouse and pavilions “in time for the summer swim season,” Cuomo’s office said.

Located on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake, Verona Beach on June 25 celebrated the grand opening of its “complete beach facility makeover,” Cuomo’s office said. 

The project includes a new bathhouse, a concession stand, public restrooms, and a first-aid station with lifeguard office and locker rooms. 

The project also expanded the beach area and provided flood protection by locating the building further from the beach and at a higher elevation. 

Crews also completed a new enclosed pavilion, community room, and three small picnic shelters near the park’s beach and campground.

They also upgraded the parking lots and drainage areas to steer stormwater run-off into landscaped bioswales that “filter silt and pollutants rather than running directly into the lake, improving water quality,” Cuomo’s office said.

Green Lakes

Green Lakes State Park in the town of Manlius will use its nearly $9 million in funding for ongoing campground upgrades and a renovation of the golf clubhouse.

The golf clubhouse is undergoing $3.1 million in work to replace the multi-tiered patio with an outdoor dining area. 

An addition to the pro shop will include new public restrooms, which “were not previously available in close proximity to the shop.” 

The project is also addressing structural issues, including improvements to drainage, surface-water collection, and utility connections, according to Cuomo’s news release.

The second phase, which begins this fall, calls for the design and renovation of the clubhouse’s interior. 

It’ll include the relocation of the kitchen and bar areas with increased seating. 

The clubhouse overlooks the fairways of one of the first golf courses that famed golf-course architect Robert Trent Jones designed, as well as the park’s glacier lakes.

Besides the clubhouse, Green Lakes’ Pine Woods Campground is currently undergoing a $2.95 million project to install improved campsites.

They will include electric, water, and sewer connections “for the first time in the Central New York region.” 

In addition, the project will include a new restroom and shower building; an improved road; and will replace and relocate the trailer-dumping station to “better suit the heavy traffic at check-out times.” 

The project includes site work to divert sewage-treatment areas away from the lake and to correct drainage problems and reduce runoff and erosion. 

The second phase of the campground project, which begins this fall, will involve construction of a second restroom building to serve campsites and the park’s newly renovated cabins, and will install electricity for the remaining sites. 

The federal Land and Water Conservation Fund contributed $1.1 million in funds toward the campground project, Cuomo’s office said.

Concurrently, a $2.9 million effort to upgrade utilities and park entry is underway. 

The upgraded utilities, including water, sewer, electric, communications and roadways, will serve the park’s northern area, which includes the park and Pine 

Woods Campground area. 

The project will address traffic issues at the park entrance and parking area with an added automated entry lane providing visitors with “more convenient” payment options. The work will also include replacing the ticket booth with a “modern” workspace for the attendant and security.