A little girl tests the water at Little Wolf Beach in Tupper Lake. Designers from landscape architecture firm, Terrain, unveiled what would amount to a roughly $1 million overhaul of the beach at Thursday night’s Tupper Lake town board meeting. (Enterprise photo — Jessica Collier)

TUPPER LAKE — In a presentation of draft master plans at Thursday night’s town board meeting in Tupper Lake, two New York City-based designers from landscape architecture firm, Terrain, unveiled what would amount to a roughly $1.6 million overhaul of both Little Wolf beach and a portion of waterfront on Simon Pond near the home of the Rod and Gun Club.

Meaghan Lynch and Scott Goodrich, the designers from Terrain, were accompanied by consultant Kurt Bedore, of KB Engineering and Consulting, who provided the cost analysis of the proposed plans. Bedore used industry standards and construction norms to estimate the cost of the project.

Terrain was commissioned for the project by the town of Tupper Lake through a New York State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program grant.

“We have to have this plan in place should a grant opportunity arise for funding these projects,” town Supervisor Patricia Littlefield said.

The expressed goal of the board was to make these improvements not only for members of the community but also to attract new visitors to the Tupper Lake area.

The unveiling of the master plan comes after extensive examinations of the existing sites, site visits, community surveys and use studies by Terrain. Both the designers and Bedore stressed that this is a conceptual design that remains open to community feedback and ideas. They also emphasized that the plans can be rolled out incrementally as funds become available.

The meeting was standing-room only. Among the interested community members in attendance were members from the Rod and Gun Club as well as the Adirondack Public Observatory, two organizations that stand to be impacted by any redesign.

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Little Wolf

The Little Wolf beach plan accounts for approximately $1 million of the proposed plan’s budget. Included in this design are improvements to the parking area, the addition of trees, walking trails, a new floating dock, kiosk signage throughout town directing people to the beach, and such features as bioswales to improve drainage and timber berms to control sand loss due to wind.

Additionally, the current concession area at the beach would be improved and enhanced, as would bathrooms. The playground would also be integrated into a lightly forested area to make for a more protected space for children. All RV hookups would be kept, though the locations of some would be moved. No changes are planned for the boat launch area.

“Any proposed improvements will try to balance the needs and concerns of campers and seasonal users with the benefits to the greater community,” Lynch said.

Some in attendance voiced concerns over details to the plan, whether regarding the number of trees planted or how lighting might threaten the dark skies vital to the nearby Adirondack Public Observatory.

“Remember, this is just a master plan,” designer Scott Goodrich said. “We’re talking about broad ideas right now. We’re not at the light fixture level yet.”

APO Vice President Seth McGowan, who is also the Tupper Lake Central School District superintendent, said he was not overly concerned about the possible effects of the proposed site redesign on the APO. Lynch and Goodrich assured the crowd that dark-sky friendly lighting would be used throughout the area.

Littlefield echoed the sentiment.

“Tupper Lake is all about the dark-sky concept,” she said. “One of the first conversations we had when we sat down with Scott and Meaghan was: We need to remember the dark skies at all times in Tupper Lake.”

In general, board members and attendees were in agreement on wanting to revitalize the beach area.

“I want to make (Little Wolf beach) more of a destination,” Littlefield said. “I want to bring it back to its youth when it was always busy, busy, busy.”

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Simon Pond

The master plan for the Simon Pond public access point focuses on a 1.5-acre parcel of cleared land just across Lake Simond Road from the Tupper Lake Rod and Gun Club. Unaffected by the designs are the approximately 2.5 acres of adjoining wetland areas on either side of the parcel. This proposed master plan came with an estimated cost of $610,000.

Included in the proposed plan is the formalization and layout of parking spaces, the completion of minimal grading to improve accessibility and the addition of bathroom facilities and other site furnishings and structures.

One such feature would be an outdoor fire hearth surrounded by seating. Additionally, a bird watching blind would be installed, as well as a floating dock. Another stated goal of the redesign, according to Terrain officials, is to create a destination for the many kayakers who use the Raquette River. A parking lot in the area may be set aside for long-term parking to accommodate multi-day paddlers.

Though a few members of the Rod and Gun Club showed up at the meeting, members of the group did not raise any concerns over the proposed plan. Designers at Terrain said that it was a priority for the site to remain flexible in the way it was used, noting that the Rod and Gun Club holds popular events there and this type of use should be maintained.

Terrain also recently completed a similar draft master plan for the village of Tupper Lake, focusing on a redesign of the Municipal Park, which would include a new beach. When asked later about whether she saw the village’s plan as a competitor for either Little Wolf Beach goers or grant dollars, Littlefield said she felt that the two plans were complementary, and that “the town would certainly consider being a co-applicant with the village on any available grants.”

Near the end of Terrain’s presentation, as they toggled through slides of what these new waterfront projects might look like, a voice called out from the back of the room.

“This is like a dream session.”

To which board members replied, amidst collective laughter, “You gotta dream big. You get nothing if you don’t.”