No New Support. Yet!

New York's North Country Regional Economic Development Council (NCREDC) issued its report and recommendations for funding during Round V of the Consolidated Funding Application process.  Schroon Lake is lucky to have a hotel included among the priority projects but the Inn on Schroon Lake was not.

There is still an Upstate Revitalization Initiative contest among the northern economic development councils and it is possible that the Inn will be included in that list.  We will see what happens over the next couple of months.  Keep your fingers crossed!  

Wrote a post. Dog jumped on chair. Post gone.  At least Word saves automatically.

June 2015:  We leave Rockville (MD) at 5 am so we can open the Lake House during the day.  Water and electricity both work – check.  Doc checks the pipes, water heater.  Since when is replacing a heating element an annual requirement?  After a trip to Curtis Lumber, Doc installs the new element. 

Ready to turn on the water.  Seconds later, I hear “WATER WATER!”  WTF? Where? What do you want me to do? I run to the bathroom and find it exploding out of a pipe at eye level! There wasn’t supposed to be any water in that pipe to the third floor. How do we turn it off?  Finally just turn everything off again, but not until the bathroom gets its own shower.  Back to Curtis.  Doc cuts and seals the pipe below the leak.  Bathroom is dry enough to try again.  Finally, water IN the pipes and places where it belongs! Mostly.  We haven’t been able to use the “kitchen” sink or front bathroom since Doc found out where the pipes were draining!

July 4^th:  Seagle Colony young artists are in the Town of Schroon parade and stop here for dinner before singing before the fireworks.  This is the third year they are able to hang out by the lake, relax, and the first year my daughter is here to join them.  Naomi is their contemporary, knows nothing about opera or the business of singing, but was able to make some new friends. 

July 2015:  Another grant application has been submitted through New York State’s Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process.  The Inn had to be redesigned to make the numbers work and really needs a significant investment from the state.  The Inn needs investors but since I have a securities license, I can’t talk to anyone about investing.  Luckily, I have some great friends who have no such restriction. 

August 2^nd:  A great weekend in Schroon comes to an end as Naomi and I have to head back to Rockville.  She leaves for Denver for two weeks of training for her new job before moving to Chicago.  So it’s her goodbye to Schroon for at least a year and she really made it count!  After Saturday night’s performance of Into the Woods, she parties with the young artists and admits to having a great time.  They are refreshingly different from her Hopkins friends and I’m delighted to see her having so much fun in Schroon and with Seagle folks.

September 2015:  I’ve been feeling paralyzed because I don’t want to start renovating the Lake House without a plan.  Until we know that we have received a significant grant to build the Inn, we don’t know what the optimum configuration is for the Lake House.  We are going to preserve the outside of the Lake House but there is no front door.  We need to have an interior staircase (for fire safety reasons) but where should it be built?  The top floor is a very cute space.  It has two tiny windows, facing north and south, so no view! For the top floor to be used, it needs a second method of egress.  How? 

Inside, it’s as if the building was not on the lake.  Plumbing is installed on “view” walls – facing the lake.  Rooms have five, or more, doors! There should be more windows. The deck is a bit too narrow for a table and chairs and you have to walk sideways by one of the staircases to get by.  The railing height is too low.  It used to be that children weren’t allowed to stay in the Lake House because of the railing.  What’s the best way to fix it?  Place a second “invisible” railing above the existing one? Or redesign the balustrades to be higher so the building looks almost the same as it does now? 

The ceiling height of the lowest floor is all of 7’6”.  Some of the Seagle Colony young artists from 2015 wouldn’t even be able to walk around it without bending over!  The water heater is in a semi-excavated space with the stone foundation for what was likely the originally constructed “cottage.”  It screams “private dining room and wine cellar” to me.  A deck and/or patio can be added on the north side if we want to have a decent size restaurant. Should we?

We are SO ready to replace the plumbing.  The water pipes need to be buried below the frost level.  The sewer pipe needs to be buried and the contents pumped up to the street.  So we can’t work on that until we know what the load of the building will be. When the pipes are buried, they need to come up under the building.  Where?  Until we know how the inside will be renovated, we don’t know where the water should come in.  Since we will have to dig under the house to install the water and sewer, we should fully excavate the basement so we can have all the utilities there.  It feels like a game of “Whac-a-mole” where you try to figure out one thing and two more things need to be figured out first.

So what’s happening?  I have asked for a firm that specializes in historic preservation to help me work through the many options.  It probably makes sense to apply for historic designation status because the tax credits are so significant.  I’ll write some more when I get some realistic ideas from professionals.

Thanks for reading! And feel free to contact me at jpitkin@umich.edu with suggestions, questions… 

"Priority Project Status"

Those three little words mean so much today.  I submitted a grant request in August through the North Country Regional Economic Development Council (NCREDC) for funds from New York State.  The NCREDC released the list of projects that were awarded this coveted status.  Inn "at" Schroon Lake was one of them.  My understanding is that the chance of actually being awarded funding increased with that designation.  Still have to wait until December to hear what, if any, funding is available.  But it's heartening to know that all that work to put together the business plan, aka grant request, was productive.

Also great news is that Seagle Music Colony received Priority Project Status for their Campus Improvement and Centennial Celebration projects!

Julia Pitkin-Shantz

People stop by

Seems like every time I walk on the property someone stops by. To ask questions. To reminisce.  I never stayed at Wood's so I'm learning what it was like.  Usually they had stayed at Wood's Lodge many years ago and want to see what it looks like now.  Many know it's been closed and are happy to hear that plans are in the works.

People have lots of memories from the main porch of the Lodge.  There are a few steps from the porch down to the lake.  Families would take pictures there each year as their children grew up.

 A ping pong table right next to the street got a lot of use.  People mention that there was always someone playing.

There was also a "ring game."  You sit on the porch balcony and grab a string with a metal ring attached.  The game was to swing the ring to catch an "s" hook on the wall.  The greater number you got in a row, the bigger winner you were.  The wall is rubbed where the ring used to hit the wall.  The "s" hook is gone, as is the string and ring.

Marty Korn

Barry Gregson came over to look at the trees.  We had been considering buying some land near his house on Charley Hill Road and talked to him a few times.  He and I were at Marty Korn's 80th birthday celebration (great party) just down the road.  Barry's chairs are unique, extraordinarily comfortable, and made out of local wood.  As we walked around, he explained what he saw on the outside and how that would make the wood act and look like on the inside.

This one, in particular, had many branches so there will be lots of knots, and visually appealing.

Absolutely fascinating - it's a subject about which I knew nothing.  He found some trees he may be able to use parts of but the wood will have to completely dry out for a couple of years before he can work with it.

Nathan with Naomi 2005

Had to go home to Rockville for a week and am looking forward to coming back up to Schroon this week.  We're finally moving out of the apartment on Main Street that we have been renting for over seven years.  Hard to believe it's been that long.  It was the last place I saw, and hugged, my father Ron, and my son Nathan. The memory stays with me but loosing that connection will make the move a bit hard. 

Leon is ready to GO!

When I play ball with Leon in the Grove, I think about how much Nathan would have loved being there with us.  He was crazy about dogs and would be impressed with Leon's prowess.






  

Progress!

Jeff and Mike of Eric & Eric, general contractors, are making the "B deck" of the Lake House fit for human habitation.  Water flows, in the right places.  Only!  The sewer pump works again.  There is a sink in the bathroom instead of in the bedroom. 

Internet service was installed recently.  First time ever for the Lake House.  I noticed that they ran the cable through a hole in the "C deck" porch!  Obviously that section will be replaced but...

A "Pullman" kitchen - enough for us to get by with for a while - is where a bathroom used to be.  We patronize the local restaurants for most meals so what we need is a sink, microwave and refrigerator. 

Several layers of wallpaper are gone in the two main rooms.  Light fresh paint is amazing!   Transformative! 

Haven't worked on the outside yet.  Gray and white paint are crumbled all over.  It has lead in it so there are protocols we have to follow to keep us, and the lake, safe.  Soon!

I had been waiting impatiently to find out what the parameters of this year's Consolidated Funding Application Process would be.  Initial information was released on June 1, but the application was not accessible until June 17.  Shortly thereafter, I went to a grant workshop to learn what needed to be done in the application process for this year.  From the workshop until the next Town Board meeting was about 7 business days.  In that time, the architects needed to put programming to paper so I could show the Board members a visual on the concept.  With lots of other deadlines, it was no mean feat for them to pull off.  


The very next Town Board meeting was July 8th, right after the holiday weekend.  Long story short, after 2.5 hours of comments, presentation, followed by a short break, the Board voted on my request to relocate the access to a different location, to be specified later.  Three votes in favor, one opposed and one abstention.  It passed!! Really?  It's not completely done, but the ability to center the new building on the combined lots was official.  I can count on that, and can file the grant application. 

Link to the meeting handouts:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5ZPf_-1MJJda2ZrUzRTbnFkeEE/edit?usp=sharing

After leaving the meeting for a little while to thank people for sitting there all that time, I returned to the Board meeting.

At the very end, a person (whose name I didn't know) asked, "What changed since March?"  The denial had seemed final and then, as of tonight, it wasn't. 

So what did change?
1. The request.  In March, I requested abandonment and yesterday I asked for permission to relocate.

2.  The community's support.  In March, virtually no heed was paid to the few residents in attendance.  Last night, there was no choice but for the residents to be heard.

3.  The vision.  In March, I drew "word pictures."  On Monday, I distributed the architect's sketch of two floors and a sample elevation.  The sketches weren't what I had been envisioning, and will be changed, but it was a lot easier for others to see.  Vulcan mind meld - not an option.

4.  The focus.  In March, the Board debated what "abandoned" was and decided it wasn't even worth asking the Town attorney for his take.  Last night, the attorney was in the room.  

He was eventually allowed to speak and was asked to provide his interpretation of the law.  There were many attorneys and other experts in the room, some of whom do not interpret the law the way he does.  Like all good attorneys, he said what he thought his "client," the Town Board, wanted to hear.  

Who is really the client?  The Town Supervisor?  Each member of the Board, separately?  The Board, collectively?  Or is the client really the taxpayers, whose tax and utility bills continue to increase as the Town population and number of businesses continue to decline? And as school enrollment continues to fall because families have such difficulty making enough income to support themselves in Schroon? 

Anyway, onward and upward.  Just need to write the grant request and translate this community support into letters to go with the grant.  The drawings handed out at the meeting are attached.    

Wood's Lodge Estate Sale

Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-27, 2013

 

Wood's Lodge, the Lake House,

 cabins and other buildings

on Leland Avenue were full of furnishings when I bought it.  The last summer it operated was 2006, a summer that also changed the trajectory of my family's life (details in a future post).  Seven years without use doesn't improve anything; appearance, functionality, and the contents were no exception.  Electric plugs in the Lodge don't work or shorted out in our hands.  The main water valve exploded when turned on.  The Lodge was operated in the summers so the rented rooms didn't need to be insulated.  The buried propane tank was removed before I bought the property so there is no heat to turn on in the Lodge. 

 

One of my goals for the estate sale was to allow people to take pieces of the Lodge home with them.

 

Larry & Coral Pitkin

(my father's parents with my mother, Phyrne, and me in England, where I was born) had two "Miller Chairs." When I was growing up (in the summers) in Schroon, I didn't know or care why they were called that. I guess I assumed that the "Miller Furniture Company" made them. Eventually I found out that when the "Miller's place" had an estate sale, my grandparents bought some chairs. They told me about the Millers, memories of their place and how little they paid for them (always an important part of an Adirondack story). Two Miller's chairs are at my place in Schroon and will move with me over to the Lake House. They need to be reupholstered again and are far from "glam," but their story is uniquely mine and one I preserve through their presence.

 

Another goal was to "recycle" the buildings that have (far) outlasted their useful life expectancy.

 

It's the "green" way, the Adirondack way, and is one of the founding values of the inn-and-restaurant-to-be. Some pieces will be retained and worked into the design of the new facilities. But the hassle factor, time, and expense of taking all the wood and fixtures apart, preparing them for a new use, and planning around where they can be used, adds such complexity that I hoped a local recycling solution would appear. It did.  A stair railing and the wood dining room floor are being removed and incorporated in a Schroon home under renovation. The beautiful leaded glass windows in the dining room are being purchased by an artist who will decorate and sell them. They don't meet modern building codes so I was wondering how I could preserve them without actually using them. A couple starting a new restaurant in Schroon looked at the cabins and decided to take two of them to live in on site while they are building the restaurant. Perfect! Could there be a better use for cabins that have been sitting on (and off) cinder blocks for many years? There are many such brand new stories that will be passed down in families. Deconstructing the buildings is providing opportunities for town residents, and even though it's a tiny contribution, I feel like I am helping Schroon prosper.

.

Goal #3 was to use local talent and keep the money raised circulating locally.

 

Fred Bankosky of Red Horse Antiques in Schroon Lake made the estate sale a resounding success!  I requested that he "sell everything." And he did! And he is still selling! Hopefully other people will come up with ways to use the many parts left and will contact Fred to purchase them. Total revenue won't be known for a while and I'll let you know after I do!  Many thanks to Fred and his (long-suffering?) wife and helpers for making decisions I found impossible to make.  I kept trying to figure out how to keep "everything" to incorporate in the new structure, but I had virtually no clue about the value, or lack thereof, of what was there. Taking on such a huge project will necessitate hiring many other local talents, purchasing products in town, importing talent from outside Schroon who need to eat, drink, sleep and be entertained in Schroon when not working. Expenditures like these will help Schroon's economy. 

 

The fourth goal was and is to hear from "YOU."

 

I didn't grow up at Wood's like Ann, Lil and many others did.  My father was a US Navy officer, requiring us to move almost every other year until I was almost 16.  Schroon was and is my home.  I owe my existence to the Seagle Music Colony and the Town of Schroon.  I am proud that Philo Pitkin and his descendants are part of Schroon's 209-year-old history and don't want the Town to become history.  So I need the collective "you" to educate me, the sooner the better.  Four Wood siblings grew up on that property.  They must have had lots of friends.  Did you hang out with the kids at Wood's Lodge?  What was it like?  When it was in its heyday, what did you feel when you walked around?  Did you attend weddings at the Lodge?  Where were they held?  Even more important is to find out what "Wood's" should become.  Is there a feeling you can describe?  A favorite aspect that needs to find its way into the design?  What should the rooms look like?  How big should they be?  Take a few minutes to dream with me and let me know how you would complete this sentence:  If I owned Wood's Lodge, I would _____________.  Countless people ask me what I am going to do with it and I would love to be able to whip out a picture, a site plan, an elevation of the building, or even a spreadsheet.  How can I truly explain to the architect, landscape architects, hotel designer, and marketers what it will look and feel like until I hear from you?

 

There are some givens (limits) that must be remembered while you're dreaming with me.  Examples:

 

 - Height.  In our Adirondack Park, structures may not exceed 40', measured from the lowest land the building is on to the highest piece (however small) of the building.  If it is taller, I will need to ask the Park Authority (and many others) for a variance, and prefer not to do so.

 

 - Footprint.  Total square footage of the lakefront property, zoned as B-2A, allows for a behemoth of a building.  Keeping significant green space is critical to making the place attractive; I have no interest in building to the limits legally allowed.

 

 - Lake House.  Built in 1883 by Alfred Cross and originally called the Cross Cottage, the Steamboat Gothic Victorian icon must be restored.  An initial investment of about $1 million will cover lead paint and asbestos removal, the interior to be gutted, insulated, and modernized, and the porches to be restored and safe.  I am not wealthy and will seek financial support from the state and (almost) anyone who offers.

 

 - High Water Mark.  Nothing can be constructed or destroyed within 50' of the highest flood level (my unscientific explanation) without asking the Park Authority (and many others) for a variance. I prefer not to ask for a variance.  Half of the Lake House is within that 50' and is grandfathered (I don't have to remove it) but cannot be expanded. 

 

 - Appearance.  The new structure has to look like it belongs there.  It needs to look good in proximity to the Lake House.  It should not be in Steamboat Gothic style and needs to look great from Leland Avenue and from the lake.  When you first glimpse it, its natural beauty should take your breath away.

 

 - Sustainable.  Global warming is changing the status quo.  Examples of the natural destruction created by changing temperatures are visible everywhere.  The building, renovation, and operations of the inn-and-restaurant-to-be need to be "net-zero" emitters.  That impacts the construction costs, creativity required, choice of fixtures and furnishings, sourcing of materials, and everything.  Is it possible?  I have no idea, but decisions will be made with long-term sustainability as a highest priority.

 

Your suggestions will all be read and remembered as planning proceeds.  Don't expect them to be implemented verbatim but credit will be given for appealing ideas that are incorporated into the design.  I can't promise a free room or a free meal because there are many (hundreds of?) hurdles to clear.  With your support, encouragement, and willingness, the Town of Schroon and its environs will have a welcome improvement on what, since 1912, has been Wood's Lodge. 

 

A word about the "I."  My husband, Doc Shantz, and daughter, Naomi Pitkin (below on Schroon Lake),

support me in this worthy endeavor (or hare-brained catastrophe).  Doc's support varies from apathy (why didn't we buy something in North Carolina where I can play golf every day) to panic (you want me to do what!?!?) to enthusiastic (it's MY bar, you can have everything else).  Naomi figuratively pats me on the head and is happy that I'm happy.  She is returning to Johns Hopkins after a two year hiatus and we both know she needs to focus on building her own life.  Someday, this project will be ours.  But today, it's still mine.  And I drag my patient family along with me, hoping they will see what I am starting to see.  I have to keep going while they are deciding what their "support" of me should be and I love them dearly, warts and all.

 

Thank you all for caring about Schroon's history and her future.    I will be looking for your comments, referrals to local businesses, tradespeople, and suggestions!  Now I'm off to my "day jobs" so I can pay for these dreams.

 

Sincerely,

Julia Pitkin-Shantz