The village's attempt to change trailer parking at its Fish Road boat launch has been sunk by the Department of Environmental Conservation, but at the same time the agency offered to work with the village to expand access to Otsego Lake for boaters.

The village recently put up signs prohibiting trailer parking at the boat launch and issued warning tickets to violators. The move drew an immediate and vocal response from angry boaters who also called the DEC to register complaints.

Mayor Wendell Tripp said the signs have since come down. The village has an agreement with the DEC to allow boat trailer parking at the site.

"When the signs went up, we were inundated with phone calls," said Alan Martel, Region Four Principal Fish and Wildlife Technician.

"It seems apparent access to the lake is a more important issue then both of us realized," he told the board of trustees during its meeting Monday night. "I'm glad to hear the signs are down."

Martel said the DEC and village have an oral agreement about providing access to the lake. That agreement came about as part of a compromise when the state dropped plans to build a boat launch facility at Glimmerglass State Park at the north end of the lake.

The agency stocks the lake with fish each summer, but stocking is linked to access and any reduction in access would result in a similar reduction in stocking, Martel said. An increase in access would mean additional stocking to provide more fish for the larger sport fishing fleet.

"There has always been a high priority for access to Otsego Lake. It's very apparent a lot of people are anxious to get to the lake," he said.

According to Martel, the DEC is ready to offer design and engineering services with the village's input and approval to create an expanded facility that would improve the existing ramp and improve parking.

"If you agree you would like to expand the facility to meet the obvious demand, we would like to work with you," he said.

The state spent more than a half million dollars on an improved boat launch reopened last summer at neighboring Canadarago Lake, but Martel would not say unequivocally that the agency was willing to do the same at Otsego Lake.

Martel was joined by area anglers who were miffed by the short-lived change in parking requirements.

"You're stepping on a lot of people's toes. I don't speak out often, but this is something that affects a lot of people," said Don Hoag, of Cooperstown, who has fished the lake for 12 years.

Brian Shevalier said he believed the problem was not so much with sportsmen, but was the fact tourists and employees of the Hall of Fame use the lot for parking.

Oneonta fisherman Rick Wallace agreed and cited seeing license plates from Ontario and Massachusetts on vehicles parked in the lot, "I don't think it's asking a lot to have that little spot for our trailers," he said.

Fred Zoeller commented that it would be a "great idea" if the village would be willing to work with the DEC because the launch is in bad shape. The lake, he said, is something other than baseball that brings people to the area.

Trustee Lee Malone, chairwoman of the Parks Board, said the DEC's offer was something to which they would have to give a great deal of thought. Malone explained that her first impression was that an expansion of the launch would require reducing the size of Lakefront Park.

"There isn't room without taking part of the park," she said Tuesday morning. "People absolutely love the park. There will have to be a lot of thought about what we're willing to give up."

Mayor Tripp said Tuesday the offer from the DEC came as a surprise. Without the details of the offer Tripp did not want to make a judgment, but if the DEC was willing to provide the money to improve the launch, it should be examined.

If the DEC's motivation is to increase access to Otsego Lake by enlarging the launch, that is a different matter and Tripp agreed with Malone that it would almost certainly impinge on Lakefront Park.

"I should think if the DEC is trying to create a bigger or new launch there must be other places around the lake that are more suitable," he said.

The mayor said Cooperstown is small village with limits on space and streets congested by tourists during the same time of year people are interested in getting their boats on Otsego Lake. Those factors would seem to make the village a poor choice for the location of an expanded launch that would attract more vehicles and trailers.

Before a decision can be made, however, the trustees will have to be presented with more information about the agency's offer of assistance, Tripp said.