Idle for a decade, Cobleskill’s waterwheel may be turning in a couple of months.
Creator Jonathan DiCesare updated the village board Tuesday night, saying the wheel in Veterans’ Memorial Centre Park is “fully functional,” though a few steps remain.
Mr. DiCesare began planning the waterwheel as an Eagle Scout project more than 10 years ago.
The idea was to produce electricity and promote renewable energy, and the project had the backing of then-Mayor Mark Galasso and Cobleskill Partnership Inc., the downtown improvement group.
Construction was intermittent, however, and in recent years, village officials wondered if the wheel would ever turn.
“A couple of months,” Mr. DiCesare said Tuesday night.
He needs to get the controls appropriately connected and work out the bugs.
“I want to see it running the way it’s supposed to,” Mr. DiCesare said.
The Village of Cobleskill will own and operate the wheel when Mr. DiCesare’s finished.
When running, the wheel will generate two to five kilowatts, enough for one or two houses, Mr. DiCesare said in an earlier interview.

Jonathan DiCesare, the creator of the waterwheel in Veterans’ Memorial Centre Park, told the Cobleskill Village Board that the wheel should be running in a couple of months. If so, it would complete a project that started more than 10 years ago.