Fifteen entries in this year’s boat parade. Congratulations to the 2020 winners below.
Photos of all entries are on the GALLERY page.
Best Decorated Boat 2020 – Rick and Cheryl Fitzpatrick
Most Patriotic Boat 2020 – the Goguen Family
This past Saturday, June 27th, volunteers once again helped to hand pull invasive water chestnuts. It is a somewhat messy job, but we are so very thankful for the two dozen volunteers who came out to help:
Molly Ashford, Sarah Ashford, Ken Bosen, Patty Bosen, John Bruford, Jennifer Clark, Vaughn Clark, Bill Cleary, Teri Cleary, Ryan Haney, Ron Jensis, Bernie Kelleher, Melonie Langdon, Dan Langer, Robin Langer, Linda Leader, Rosemary Palella, Jeanette Palella, Erik Piecuch, Paul Poux, Lisa Rich, Briggette Roos, Fran Sindlinger, Bridgette Tom. Sorry for any incorrect or misspelled names.
More photos can be found on the GALLERY page.
Boat Parade: Starts 1:00 pm from One Tree Island. Decorate your vessel to tour the lake, entertain your neighbors, make some noise, and have a ton of fun. Be recognized for the best decorations and most patriotic boat.
Ring of Fire: Light your flares at 9:00 pm along the shoreline for the annual Ring of Fire. Flares and KLC merchandise will be available at the Rt. 28 launch from 9:00 am to noon on July 4th or call Pete Walkes 914-217-6770 if you can’t wait.
The Kayak Rally will NOT be held this year, but look for it to return next year.
Keep your fingers crossed for great weather. Please stay safe and have another spectacular Fourth of July on Kinderhook Lake.
******* WARNING *******
Copper Sulfate will be applied to Kinderhook Lake
Monday morning, June 29th
See the FAQ page for information and warnings
about Copper Sulfate treatment for algae control
Exciting News!
KLC is hosting a calendar fundraiser this year! All you have to do is submit your favorite pictures of Kinderhook Lake with the required forms before October 1, 2020. If your picture is selected as a winner, it will be featured as one of the months on the KLC’s 2021 Calendar and you will receive a free calendar. No purchase is necessary to enter or win! The forms are available below and submissions or questions can be sent to klphotocontest@gmail.com. Good luck.
Volunteers have been hand-pulling water chestnuts at the north end of Kinderhook Lake for years and it has been paying off through a reduction in the weed beds. But we cannot take our foot off the pedal now. To continue to reduce the spread of this aquatic invasive species, this year’s water chestnut hand-pulling event is planned for Saturday, June 27, 9:00 am – 11:00 am. Volunteers are needed.
Please meet at the north end of the lake in your kayak, canoe, rowboat, raft, or any vessel that can navigate very shallow water. Don’t forget heavy gloves and perhaps a rake. A few teams of volunteers may be dispersed to various coves around the lake where new water chestnut growth has been identified. Pulled weeds will be transferred to the ECO-Harvester and brought to shore for disposal. In the event of pouring rain or lightning, the ‘pull’ will take place at the same time on Sunday, June 28. Some light refreshments may be available. Check here or on Facebook for any potential changes.
Over the past few years, there has been an increase in parking congestion at the Rt. 28 launch. This means many KLC members have been unable to launch their boats or park their trailers. Therefore, going forward, the launch parking lot will be limited to KLC members only.
If you are not a KLC member, you may not park in the launch parking lot. Non-members are still welcome to launch cartop boats but must arrange to park elsewhere. Any non-members who would like to park at the launch must become a KLC member, leave their membership poster displayed on their dashboard as proof of membership, or have a trailer sticker if they have a trailer. If you are already a KLC member with a cartop boat, please be sure to display your member poster on your dashboard. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
Before Repairs
After Repairs
The latest repairs to the dam have been completed. As a reminder, two deteriorating downstream faces of the dam were in desperate need of repairs. Unfortunately, getting to an existing sound surface to attach the new concrete face required removal of greater than the expected 6” of existing concrete. In fact, an average depth of 8”–12” of existing concrete needed to be removed before the new concrete face could be properly applied. This condition could not have been determined until the existing deteriorating concrete was removed. Accordingly, this raised the final cost of engineering and construction to $81,339. Kudos to Keller Construction for completing a difficult project quickly and efficiently, and thanks to Board President Bernie Kelleher for managing the engineering and construction.
Of course, the higher construction cost has placed a greater burden on the KLC. The difference between available funds in the Dam Reserve Fund and the final construction cost has increased to over $26,000. We acknowledge and very much appreciate the generosity of donations so far, but we are still a long way from replenishing the Dam Reserve Fund. While we understand that some families may not be in a position to help due to the current state of the economy caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, we ask that those who are in a more fortunate position to please consider an additional donation to the Dam Reserve Fund. Donations can be made with your mail-in membership application, using our online membership payment system, or via the “donate” button found in the right column of this website. Every dollar counts, even just a few if that’s all you can do.
The lake is rising to summer level at this time and we are looking forward to brighter and healthier days ahead. Thanks to everyone for your generosity and support.
This coming Saturday’s (3/28) Membership and Merchandise Day has been canceled due to health and social distancing concerns. We will determine if the next such event on 4/11 will be held based on conditions as we get closer. Thanks for your understanding.
One of the primary missions of the KLC is to maintain and upgrade the Nivers dam. Over the past decade, the KLC has completed well over $200,000 of major upgrades to the dam. Projects have included new coffer steel and concrete support to the upstream side of the dam, relining of the sluice pipe, repairing the sluice gate, replacing the old pedestrian bridge, and refacing several areas of the downstream side of the dam. None of these upgrades would have been possible without the generosity of our members.
Another project is now required to reface the deteriorating downstream main spillway and adjacent face of the dam. While a certain level of repairs will always be required to maintain an operational dam, we hope this project will be the last in this series of major upgrades, and will insure that the dam remains in good condition and fully operational for many years into the future.
As can be seen in this photo, the face of the main spillway is spalling and deteriorating. An area just west of the main spillway looks the same. This project will require chipping away approximately 6” of deteriorating concrete face, installing pins grouted into the remaining sound concrete dam, installing a grid of epoxy coated steel reinforcing bars, and forming and pouring a new concrete face to the main spillway and adjacent area. Approximately 620 square feet of concrete surface needs to be replaced. An added expense of this project will be the need for a crane to reach the face of the spillway in order to remove the demolished concrete facing.
Design of the repairs has been completed by Ed Horn, the same Professional Engineer who has designed the previous dam upgrades. Engineering and construction is expected to cost approximately $68,000 based on the low bid received by one of the experienced contractors who has successfully completed other major upgrades to the dam. Thanks to the Board’s yearly transfers from the General Fund, as well as member donations, we have a Dam Reserve Fund balance of approximately $52,000. However, to help close the gap between available funds and the cost of engineering and construction, we ask that all members consider making an additional donation to the Dam Reserve Fund a high priority this year. You can either make an extra donation to the Dam Reserve Fund when completing your 2020 KLC membership application or simply click on the DONATE button in the righthand column of this page. Thanks in advance for your support.
Remember the old adage – Without the dam, there would be no lake!
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