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Town hears Army Corps may offer Overlook Park property; officials say transfer will take time
Summary
Town of Newburgh officials said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicated it may transfer the Overlook Park parcel to the town as soon as 2026, but local staff cautioned the process could require restarting approvals and take around two years.
Town of Newburgh officials told the Parks Board on Oct. 2 that staff from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers raised the possibility of transferring the parcel that includes Overlook Park to the town.
"They would like to give us that property sometime at '26," the town manager said during the meeting, reporting on a recent Corps site walk-through. The town manager said the Corps raised the offer unprompted during the inspection.
Deputy Town Manager Andrea Balboni cautioned that the town would likely have to "start over" the transfer process and that obtaining a formal transfer could take about two years. "Andrea says that we have to start over, and that it takes two years," the town manager relayed.
Board members discussed several site-specific needs that would accompany responsibility for the property. The town manager said crews are working on an action plan with Corps staff to address erosion, leaning stone walls and areas where fencing or netting may be required for safety. He described work at the overlook as a priority and said the Corps’ on-site inspection made clearer the scale of repairs needed.
The board also discussed a sinkhole near the overlook and the difficulty of installing a permanent fence there because the sinkhole’s profile changes over time. The town manager said the town and the Corps are exploring options and who would pay for identified improvements.
Officials said FEMA is also involved in planning repairs to trail and esplanade washouts caused by recent floods; the town manager said FEMA will determine which of several repair options (one of which costs about $4,000 more) the agency will fund. The town indicated it would coordinate timing of planting and restoration work around the first freeze and replanting next spring.
No vote or formal directive occurred on the transfer during the meeting. Board members said they would expect any property transfer to return to the Parks Board for review and for the town to obtain clearer timelines and responsibilities before accepting ownership.
