WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—If plans go as scheduled, borough officials anticipate the former Galaxy Gardens site should be cleared of all buildings in May and soil contaminants minimized following remediation efforts planned over the summer, said the borough administrator May 6.
Borough Administrator Thomas Padilla said the demolition is scheduled to begin Monday, May 13 and will likely conclude by May’s end, with soil blending scheduled to begin after that, taking six to eight weeks to complete.
In early February, members unanimously approved a $79,600 contract for HighGround Industrial for site demolition and clearing which must be completed before soil remediation begins.
Borough officials approved a $227,375 contract to ENR Contracting LLC, of Winslow, for environmental remediation on the property – formerly used for farmland and a gas station.
The 2.25-acre Galaxy Gardens site—at Woodcliff Avenue and Werimus Road—was purchased Feb. 1, 2018 by a split council, with Mayor Carlos Rendo breaking a 3–3 tie to acquire the property for $1.65 million. The property—following site and environmental cleanup— is planned for a passive park using a $500,000 county Open Space grant previously awarded.
The borough has received multiple grant extensions from Bergen County’s Open Space program over the last year as it continues to show progress moving to purchase and ready the site for a future park.
Previously in November, council members rejected a lone soil remediation bid that came in at $329,000. Following the lone bid, site remediation specs were revised by the borough’s licensed site remediation professional, First Environment Inc., and the soil blending project readvertised. The approved remediation bid March 4 came in more than $100,000 less than the initial lone bid.
Padilla previously said First Environment revised the soil blending bid specs using a “surgical approach” to site remediation, breaking the remediation work into quadrants requiring different types of treatment to bring the blended soil under specific contaminant levels.
Previous soil sampling determined what treatments specific soil areas needed, he said.
$500K anticipated
Later on, Councilwoman Nancy Gross and Councilman Brian Singleton wondered where funding stood for the Galaxy Gardens clean-up and Padilla provided current costs.
Members appeared concerned about how much local and county Open Space funding would remain to complete the passive park. Padilla said $592,171 was currently in local Open Space and about $200,000 would be added next month when the budget is adopted. Site demolition and remediation totals $306,975.
Subtracting the site improvement costs from local Open Space leaves about $485,196 in the fund. Once NJDEP accepts the site is clean based on First Environment’s assessment, Bergen County Open Space should release its $500,000 grant for the park’s development, Padilla said, bringing the local fund close to $1 million.
This money can be used to develop and build the park, including park design, park construction and park amenities.
Other site improvements may include ways to better accommodate pedestrians and park visitors near the busy intersection, traffic calming measures, and pedestrian safety improvements.
The Woodcliff Avenue–Werimus Road intersection is marked by a flashing light and stop signs and is a difficult intersection to navigate at rush hour.
In March after a soil blending contractor was approved, Council President Jacqueline Gadaleta said she was still undecided on putting a so-called passive park on the site. She seemed to indicate other options for the park including amenities that “children, adults and seniors” could enjoy such as outdoor athletic stations or equipment.
While members have not yet defined what the future “passive park” at the site should include, in general, passive parks do not contain recreational fields but may contain walking trails, gardens, seating, picnic tables and barbecue areas, sheltered areas, and sometimes playground equipment.
Other possibilities may be included, based on the needs and desires of residents and planners.
Padilla previously noted that council members might hire a park design consultant over the summer to prepare design alternatives to discuss.