The article below was the basis for a letter published in the Bernardsville News on July 23, 2009.
To see the plan map and detailed description in separate windows click on map and description. Suggestion: Maximize each window and then toggle between them. The description contains six pages. For a table of contents click index.
Editor:
It’s a balmy mid-summer day as I write this for residents of Bernards Township. And I’m thinking that I would like to be in, or on, or just looking out over a nice lake. Today we have to drive many miles for this opportunity. But with imagination, and the will to achieve what we imagine, we can have a large lake for our use and enjoyment right here in Bernards Township.
The place is now the Tilcon Millington Quarry and the time–when the lake will be full and available for fishing, boating, swimming, and other things–will be about 2020. The lake will be inside what I call Quarry Park. The park will contain 100 plus acres and will have facilities for active and passive recreation, such as trails for walking and biking, a put-in ramp for non-motorized boats, and a slope for snow sports. Operations for a bathing beach will be financially self-supporting like Pleasant Valley Pool.
A detailed concept plan is described in a letter to the Planning Board dated July 17, 2009. This is a slightly revised version of a plan first submitted to the board on August 17, 2004.
The board is currently engaged in a review of the township master plan. I intend to present the park plan to the board during a period for public comment. The plan is presented here in two parts: a drawing of a map and a description of the map. To view them in separate windows click on map and description.
The map includes a private community of townhouses on the south slope that is surrounded on three sides by the public park. I call this Lakeview Village.
The wrapup for the letter to the Planning Board contains these comments:
•The park with lake and adjacent land will serve the general public and support many kinds of active and passive recreation.
•The lake will be part of the public park and be managed by the township. This will remove the uncertainties associated with management by a private association.
•The park will be a valuable amenity for the residents of Lakeview Village. The Village will probably become the premier townhouse community in the township.
•The fiscal impact of the substitution of townhouse units for single family units will be positive, because the property tax revenue for each public school student will be higher.
•This can be a case of win-win for the quarry owner and for township residents.
Bernards Residents: You can have this park if you tell your township officials you want it. Start by attending and speaking at the Planning Board public hearings on the master plan. Then speak to members of the Township Committee.
Bill Allen, July 17, 2009