An additional $200,000 will go to complete construction at the Sterling Nature Center.
During a special legislature meeting on Wednesday, the Cayuga County Legislature received a brief presentation by the county’s parks maintenance supervisor, Doug Dello Stritto. He said change orders were recommended by the contractors responsible for plumbing, HVAC, and floor finishing at the new building due to rising costs and delays associated with procuring materials.
Following the presentation, the legislature voted to allocate $200,000 in ARPA funding to complete work at the center.
“Anyone who’s been up there and has reported back to me is completely impressed that it’s a county-operated building,” Legislature Chair Aileen McNabb-Coleman said following the vote. “This something we own; this is something we’ve built, and they’re very impressed by it. It’s a really good sign of good things to come.”
In 2021, the county accepted $3.8 million in grant funding from the Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) to create the new 5,000 sq ft interpretive nature center as well as improve facilities and trails at the Sterling site. This was matched by $140,000 from Friends of the Sterling Nature Center and $900,000 in ARPA funding.
Work on the site began in 2022. It is hoped that the new funding will allow the center to open as soon as possible with the Lake Ontario REDI hoping to have the building open for the April 8 total solar eclipse.
“There are several target dates upcoming with the eclipse and other things that we’re attempting to get to, to have the building available for those,” Dello Stritto said.
Located along Lake Ontario, the Sterling Nature Center consists of 14,00 acres of land with two miles of shoreline on the lake.
