Hearing unveils details on Muckross project plan

An ambitious plan to acquire and transform more than 200 acres of private land into Vermont's 17th state park took shape Monday at a community meeting on the proposed Muckross project in Springfield.
http://www.eagletimes.com/news/2015-12-01/Front_Page/Hearing_unveils_details_on_Muckross_project_plan.html

Hearing unveils details on Muckross project plan By Allan Stein allans@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD — An ambitious plan to acquire and transform more than 200 acres of private land into Vermont's 17th state park took shape Monday at a community meeting on the proposed Muckross project in Springfield. About 20 people attended the public hearing at the state office building at 100 Mineral St., where Vermont Parks and Recreation Manager Ethan Phelps revealed additional project details. The land is currently owned in trust by the Louise Breson May Foundation, managed by Peter and Adam Kunin. The trust has agreed to turn over the land and assets, including a "significant amount of money," to the state park system. On Nov. 9, Phelps told Springfield's selectboard the transfer of property should be final by Dec. 30. Phelps said the donation of property is the result of a three-year process begun by the late Edgar May, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, in 2012. May served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1973 to1983. May purchased the property in 1964. All of May's assets went to the trust after his death on Dec. 27, 2012. The site includes 214 acres of land, a main house, a smaller house, three buildings, a 10-acre pond blessed with an 80-foot natural waterfall and a working hydroelectric plant at the base. Construction of the 4,500-square-foot main house began in 1905 and was finished in 1911. Phelps said plans for the state park call for "dispersed recreational activities" such as hiking and mountain bicycle trails. The plan does not include camping sites, he said. In addition, there would be "significant work" performed on a dam at the site as well as the development of a retreat and possible conference space at the main house. A security gate will be installed at the main entrance to the site on Paddock Road, located across the Black Iron Bridge from Route 11, to control vehicle access. He said the concept plan would retain the main house, possibly convert the smaller house into park ranger quarters, and bring a summer day camp program into the park in 2016. "This is going to be a very different type of park," said Phelps. Kelsey Finnell, representing Americorps Vista, which operates the summer camp, said the four-week pilot program served 100 children last summer. Residents at the community meeting wanted to know how the project would be funded and the local tax impact of the new state park. Phelps said the project will be funded in part with state and federal dollars, including money provided through an "aggressive capital funding program." There will be a private funding component as well, he said. He said the property tax impact should be "close to revenue neutral for the town." While the state's goal is not to levy a daily user fee, "I can't promise that," Phelps said.