PASCACK VALLEY—Nearly $2 million of Bergen County Open Space funds likely will go to 16 towns in the Pascack and Northern valley later this year, according to preliminary recommendations made by the Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund advisory committee at the Sept. 7 Bergen County Board of Commissioners meeting.
The recommendations were detailed on a list referenced in a resolution approved unanimously Sept. 7 and provided to Pascack Press following a public records request to the commissioners’ communications office.
Six Pascack Valley towns are recommended for a combined $757,377. The county said it plans to award $18,410,890 from its Open Space Trust Fund in 2022.
- Emerson is recommended for $85,001 for Hillman Field lighting improvements and walking path. The borough’s grant application requested $371,959 for a matching grant, estimating a total project cost of $818,918.
- Hillsdale is recommended for $85,001, for Beechwood Park trail, boardwalk replacement, observation platform, guardrails.
- Montvale is recommended for $78,625 for Huff Park playground improvements: rubberized safety surfacing at playground.
- River Vale is recommended for $85,001for Mark Lane Sports Complex lighting replacement: LED field lighting upgrades.
- The Township of Washington is recommended for $438,750 toward its latest acquisition, 6.1 acres on Ridgewood Boulevard North that used to belong to the private Washington Township Recreation and Swim Club.
- Westwood is recommended for $70,000 for Jake Voorhis Park basketball court asphalt surface.
Northern Valley towns recommended for grants: Closter, $87,038; Cresskill; $75,000; Demarest, $46,793; Englewood Cliffs, $124,210; Harrington Park, $87,038; Haworth, $50,000; Northvale, $22,597; Norwood, $87,038; Old Tappan, $85,001; Rockleigh, $87,038; and Tenafly, $87,038.
The 2022 Northern Valley Open Space grants recommended totaled $1,170,934. Total Open Space funds recommended for Pascack and Northern valley towns equaled $1,928,311.
County officials said most towns received less than requested, due to the number of requests.
A public hearing on all grant recommendations is set for Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Learning Center, fourth floor, County Administration Building, Hackensack.
Bergen County Board of Commissioners spokesperson Lucine Beylerian told Pascack Press that residents with questions on grants should consult their local officials before the Oct. 19 public hearing. The hearing will take public comments of up to 5 minutes.
Final awards will be approved at a commissioners’ meeting in December, said officials. That’s approximately 45 days after the Oct. 19 public hearing. The grants will be voted on as a whole, not individually, county officials said.
Officials told Pascack Press that Open Space grants are reimbursement grants, so approved applicants fill out an agreement, and will have two years to complete the requested project. Funds will be disbursed after project completion.
Township bonded for more
Although the Township of Washington was hoping to win a county Open Space grant of $675,000 to fund up to 90% of the former club’s purchase price of $750,000, the preliminary funding recommendations received from the county Open Space Trust Fund committee allocate $438,750 to reimburse the township, or about 65% of the funds requested.
“I look forward to keeping the property as open space, and adding additional uses to our existing inventory of parks and fields,” Calamari told Pascack Press on Sept. 12.
Last year, the township did not receive nor apply for a county Open Space grant. Recently, Calamari said he had received “positive” feedback following a summer tour of club grounds by county advisory committee officials.
The grant reimburses approximately 58% of the total purchase price. The property became available early this year in a sheriff’s sale following non-payment of taxes.
In 2021, the township bid $1 million on the property but was outbid by another bidder, identified only as a “summer camp” for an undisclosed price. However, that deal apparently fell through and the private club owners restarted confidential negotiations with the township and mayor.
Pascack Press was copied on a memo sent to club bondholders in early January 2022 telling them that they were back in negotiations with the township following the breakdown of prior purchase negotiations. (See “Township back in talks on swim club,” Jan. 3, 2022 and “$792K swim club bond approved; mayor says township no longer bound on use,” Feb. 12, 2022, Pascack Press online.)
Calamari said recently the township engineer, Boswell Engineering, was preparing a study to examine uses for the swim club and other recreational sites but could not provide a timeline.
[The township also has been storing DPW vehicles and equipment at its new property as it wrestles with where to site a permanent new DPW headquarters, after its previous one was razed amid environmental remediation at the municipal center site. See “County offers ‘last-resort’ help on DPW,” Sept. 12, Pascack Press. — Ed.]
Recommendations a good guide
Although the committee recommendations are noted as “preliminary,” the 2022 funding recommendations are generally followed by commissioners, said a county spokeswoman.
In 2021, the county Open Space Trust Fund awarded nearly $19 million for open space grants, which included grants for open space acquisition, historic preservation projects, county park improvement projects, farmland preservation and municipal park improvement projects.
The largest Open Space grant last year in Pascack Valley was $110,157 to Woodcliff Lake for its Galaxy Gardens passive park.