Bramley Mountain Fire Tower to be built in June [The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.]

Dec. 6—The Friends of the Bramley Mountain Fire Tower announced the fire tower should be rebuilt in Delhi in June.

The organization released an update on the project to return the fire tower that once stood on top of Bramley Mountain. It said during the first half of November, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which owns the land on which the tower will be placed, improved the Summit Trail Road, a former logging road, so the fire tower components and the equipment needed to build the tower can get up the mountain more easily. The city also cleared the summit area to make room for the construction of the tower. The concrete footers for the tower will be set in May, and construction will begin in June.

The fire tower was in service for 25 years before it was decommissioned in 1970, according to Daily Star archives. Pete Clark, of the Clark family farm on Elk Creek Road in Delhi, bought the tower five years later and had planned to put it up on his property, but his homeowners insurance wouldn't cover it, and it has sat inside a barn on his property ever since.

The Catskill Mountain Club designed and built the Bramley Mountain Trail, which leads to the summit where the fire tower once stood. The trailhead is on Glen Burnie Road in Delhi.

Once the tower is built and open, every weekend until Columbus Day/Indigenous People's Day, stewards will be at the summit and hikers will be allowed into the cab the tower. The stewards will also provide historical information about the tower, basic outdoor education and information about the surrounding area.

The city built a second parking lot along Glen Burnie Road. The new parking lot is at least four times bigger than the original parking lot, and it should be able to handle the expected surge in hikers that the fire tower will draw.

The group signed a memorandum of understanding with Delaware County on Nov. 30, formalizing their partnership and specifying the duties for the tower construction and for the tower's ongoing operation, the release said.

The organization is still raising funds for the construction, the release said. It has raised 90% of its $200,000 fundraising goal. It received a $10,000 grant from the A. Lindsay and Olive O'Connor Foundation in October. EIGHTYMAIN restaurant owners James Arafut and Will Johnson held a fundraiser at their restaurant Nov. 8, that raised more than $2,500. Livestock Foundation announced on Wednesday it was pledging a $5,000 matching donation for funds raised through Feb. 15, 2024.

Tax-deductible donations can be made to The Friends of Bramley Mountain Fire Tower at https://tinyurl.com/3r473cek.

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