Fort Delaware price hike

MONTICELLO, NY — As county lawmakers seek ways to balance the budget in increasingly difficult times, they are looking to increase the fees charged to visitors at the Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History.

The current price is $4.50 for adults and $2.50 for children. The new prices would be $7 for adults and $4 for children. Upon hearing the plan, lawmakers Leni Binder and Ron Hiatt expressed the view that, with families already suffering from a challenging economy, this was a bad time to be raising prices.

Lawmaker Kathy LaBuda, however, noted that just two years ago, lawmakers were discussing closing the facility, and the price hike was a way for the facility to better pay for itself. LaBuda chairs the Public Works Committee, which oversees the Department of Public Works, which operates and maintains the facility. She said, “I don’t think $7 is unreasonable.”

County manager David Fanslau said that current low prices were actually harmful to the fort in terms of school visits, because with prices so low, some school officials perceived a visit to the facility as not providing a “quality experience.”

Binder and Hiatt said they could support the hike if a lower cost family discount program were offered. The resolution to raise the prices was tabled until the family discount details could be worked out.