Lackawaxen inks deal for Threshman's river launch

By LIAM MAYO
Posted 12/11/24

LACKAWAXEN, PA — In a meeting held November 18, the Lackawaxen Township Board of Supervisors authorized the township’s purchase of the Threshman property at 700 Towpath Road. The decision …

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Lackawaxen inks deal for Threshman's river launch

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LACKAWAXEN, PA — In a meeting held November 18, the Lackawaxen Township Board of Supervisors authorized the township’s purchase of the Threshman property at 700 Towpath Road. The decision was made partially in an effort to keep the operational river launch under township oversight against the potential risk of outside development interest. 

Currently, the property is owned and operated by Kittatinny Canoes. According to the campground’s website, it offers an 11-mile raft trip down the Lackawaxen River into the Delaware River, ending at Barryville, with the trip only available on days when releases are made from the dam on the Lackawaxen River. 

Kittatinny is still interested in using the river launch. However, the supervisors said, when the new ownership group Sun Communities came in and bought Kittatinny, the campground’s focus shifted away from its Lackawaxen holding, leading the campground to look to sell the Threshman property. 

The supervisors considered purchasing the property after a group in the Wayne/Pike area was looking to develop public trails along the river, according to the supervisors.

“We are kind of trying to get a step ahead of them, and maybe seal that up from that happening, and then in turn, give our residents a place to access the river,” said supervisor Jeffrey Shook. 

The property was originally bought by the Threshman family in 1954, and has been used as a boat launch since the early 1970s. Its use as such pre-dates a Lackawaxen Township ordinance banning commercial launches on the river and because it was an older use, it was grandfathered in. 

“The grandfathered rights for that piece of property now, they control that on the river now, and they only agreed to allow the township to purchase that if they kept those rights for 50 years,” said Shook. He added that if the township didn’t purchase the property, Kittatinny might sell it to another organization which would preserve those rights. 

Under the sale agreement, Kittatinny Canoes will reserve the right to launch rafts from the property. However, the agreement will restrict how often in a year they are able to do so; while township officials said they need to review and tighten up the language of the contact, they said the intent was to only allow about six to eight launch days a year, with no more than 42 people each launch day. 

Members of the public who spoke at the meeting expressed significant concern about the possibility of public access onto the river, leading to an hour of heated discussion at the November 18 supervisors meeting. 

At the meeting the township said it intends to create a parks and recreation board, composed of Lackawaxen Township residents, which would oversee the township’s public land, including the newly acquired Threshman property. 

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