Friends Of Herkimer Home

Things looking up for Herkimer Home

By Stephanie Sorrell-White GateHouse News Service
Posted Mar 25, 2011 @ 02:58 PM

Danube, N.Y. — Supporters of Herkimer Home State Historic Site will likely get their wish with keeping its gates open this summer.
The past few months have been crucial in the home’s history as the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said they would close the site and three upstate parks as a result of drastic state budget cuts. State Sen. James Seward announced Thursday funding has now been secured for the season.
“I am pleased to announce that I was able to secure $100,000 in an agreed upon state budget bill to provide for the immediate needs at Herkimer Home and begin future planning,” said Seward, R,C,I - Oneonta.
The state budget still has not been voted on or finalized. Glimmerglass State Park will operate the Herkimer Home as a “satellite” site under a tentative agreement with the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. This will keep Herkimer Home’s gates and parking lots open from May to October; the utilities to the site will remain on to provide power and phone access; landscaping, including the cemetery will be maintained; and the Erie Canalway Trail will be maintained and open to the public.
Staffing, hours of operation and additional details are still being finalized.
“They were going to close the gates, turn the lights off and remove the artifacts,” said Seward in a telephone interview Thursday. “We’ve come a long way.”
Seward noted the funding is a 66 percent cut from what the home was operating on.
Officials are describing this as a “transitional” time for the home, with the Friends of Herkimer Home group taking on a greater role at the site.
“The volunteer group has really stepped to the forefront in this battle and committed themselves to a larger role as the primary caretaker for the home’s future,” said Assemblyman Marc Butler, R,I,C - Newport.
Barbara Mielcarski, president of the Friends of the Herkimer Home, said no contracts have been signed yet, and they are not sure how the $100,000 will be utilized. She said, however, volunteers can help out with their efforts and can attend a meeting scheduled for March 30.
Seward and Butler have actively fought for the home of the Revolutionary War hero to remain open.
“We’ve said from the beginning we understand the state needs to make some difficult budget decisions,” said Butler. “But it seemed the impact of the decisions being made by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation were especially harsh for the Herkimer Home and other upstate sites.”
Seward and Butler convened several meetings with the Friends group, the Herkimer County Chamber of Commerce and local elected officials, including a brainstorming session in February that was attended by Assemblyman Steven Engelbright, the chairman of the Assembly Tourism Committee.
Mielcarski said it is the advocacy of these state officials that saved the home.
“Myself and the Friends group are eternally grateful for the hard work of [Butler, Seward, Engelbright and state Assemblyman John McEneney] and for what they’ve done to help us,” said Mielcarski in a telephone interview Thursday. “We would have closed if it hadn’t been for their intervention.”
Mielcarski also thanked the Chamber for its support and the general public who have written about the historical and personal importance of the home.
Seward and Butler were cautious about how next year will play out.
“We feel we’re in a good position now. But for next year, we’ll see where it goes from here,” said Butler. Seward said “it’s critical we get one year under our belt for now. And then we’ll go from there.”