ALBANY, NY, March 25 – New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens joined with Senator Betty Little, Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward and Warren County Supervisor Dan Stec in announcing a partnership between state and local agencies that will allow Americade 2011 to again utilize the popular Lake George Beach, Battlefield Park and Prospect Mountain Day Use Areas for the June 2011 event.
The agreement includes the issuance of a temporary revocable permit authorizing Americade 2011 to be held on state-owned lands in the Town and Village of Lake George.
“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to making state facilities an important part of the tourism economy in the Lake George region,” said Commissioner Martens. “We worked very hard to create a partnership between our Department and Americade and believe this framework can serve as a model in future years. This resolution would not have been possible without the efforts of Senator Little, Assemblywoman Sayward and Supervisor Stec and we appreciate their cooperation and support.”
Similar to last year’s event, Americade will pay entrance fees on behalf of participants under the terms of the DEC permit. The permit fee for this year will be $50,000, a reduction of 30% from last year’s permit fee. The reduced fee reflects direct support from Warren County in providing law enforcement assistance for traffic control.
“Americade is a tremendous economic driver attracting tens of thousands of participants who spend millions of dollars in a very short amount of time,” said Senator Betty Little. “Many area businesses depend on this boost of activity, so resolving this cost issue was very important to me. Working with the DEC, an agreement has been reached that is fair and appropriate and a good example of what can be achieved when we partner.”
“I commend DEC for working closely with state and local officials to forge an agreement that will assist in keeping Americade in Lake George,” said Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward. “Americade brings a welcomed group of motorcycle enthusiasts to the region every year allowing us to showcase our beautiful north country while fueling our economy.”
“Americade is of vital economic importance to Warren County and the surrounding communities and we have all benefitted from the responsiveness of DEC and its cooperation to secure Americade’s continued presence in Lake George for years to come,” said Dan Stec, Queensbury Supervisor and Chairman, Warren County Board of Supervisors.
“We at Americade are pleased to have agreed in concept to the DEC proposal and expect to issue a formal release of acceptance by Tuesday of next week, after review of our advisors”, stated Christian Dutcher , Americade V.P. He continued: “during the negotiations, concessions were made by all parties, with Americade taking on motorcycle public parking lot staffing responsibilities and costs which were previously provided by the DEC.
We’d like to thank our political representatives involved with this matter, Senator Little, Assemblywoman Sayward, Warren County Chairman Stec, Town of Lake George Supervisor McCoy and Lake George Mayor Blais, as well as DEC Commissioner Martens for all their efforts. We’re pleased that we were able to come together as a group to find a resolution.”
