The Morristown boat launch is getting a major overhaul this year in an effort to provide better access to the St. Lawrence River.

A $104,000 renovation will see the ramp extended further into the water, getting rid of the precarious drop-off that currently threatens trailers and boats, and will rid the launch of potholes.

“We didn’t want to put a Band-Aid on the existing ramp, because in two years we would be putting money back in,” Mayor Cheryl A. Shatraw said.

Mrs. Shatraw said she hopes to get a permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation in time to begin construction in the fall. “I have the application form; we have the drawings for the new boat ramp,” she said.

Bidding for the project will begin after DEC approves the permit.

Meanwhile, the public restrooms adjacent to the boat launch have been fitted with security cameras in an effort to deter vandals.

“We have been having problems in the park,” Mrs. Shatraw said. “The troopers and Sheriff’s Department have been doing a good job keeping track, but people are still going into the bath houses and breaking things.”

Several of the cameras will be trained on the marina as well. “Over at the McDonald’s docks, some people had untied a boat (a few days ago),” Mrs. Shatraw said.

She said she hopes the cameras will stop law-breaking before it happens and allow police to apprehend the guilty parties in incidents that do occur.

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