WOODCLIFF LAKE—While Woodcliff Lake, Park Ridge, and Hillsdale wait for instructions from Suez to begin preparing and opening the 1.5-mile Woodcliff Lake Reservoir Nature Trail, the water utility says the towns have not yet completed agreements to seal the deal.
The decade-long struggle to open up a nature trail ringing the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir was kicked off either by Suez, according to its spokeswoman, or local officials in Park Ridge and Woodcliff Lake, according to local mayors.
Whatever the case, both sides have yet to see eye-to-eye on what’s needed or required to open the trail.
Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo and Park Ridge Mayor Keith Misciagna told Pascack Press early this year that Suez was the hold-up, with Rendo upset after a Suez official had told Borough Administrator Tom Padilla that the trail would not open in 2021.
Hillsdale Mayor John Ruocco said his town was waiting to apply for state grant funds for trail construction. The other towns already had received trail improvement grants.
Mostly, the mayors expressed frustration at why an agreement each approved several years ago was still not implemented, noting that the trail was approved by the state’s Watershed Property Review Board in April 2019.
All three towns passed resolutions favoring the long-anticipated trail around the reservoir, hoping once approved by the state, they could begin work and open to the public.
However, the property is owned by Suez, and part of the reservoir’s watershed, requiring extreme care and caution with any proposed use, said spokesperson Debra Vial.
In spring 2019, Pascack Press reported that the nature trail had overcome its last administrative obstacle though Suez has since noted that the state watershed board required additional easements in place before trail work could begin.
Vial told Pascack Press June 3 that there “are a lot of easements and issues to be resolved” and that Suez was “working towards the opening of a pathway” around Woodcliff Lake Reservoir.
Vial told Pascack Press that she would verify what outstanding easements and issues were left to be resolved by the municipalities and Suez.
She said that issues with fencing, lighting, path construction and maintenance, and security concerns still needed to be resolved. Vial said about two months ago, it appeared that the required agreements between Suez and the three adjacent towns were also not in hand.
She said she would double check what agreements had been signed and what was needed by Suez for the trail to move forward. We did not hear back from her by press time.
“It’s a long process, and with the pandemic during last year and more, everything is different,” regarding the trail, Vial said.
She said because state officials have not been in office for a regular workday due to Covid-19 concerns, progress on what Suez needs to provide to the state has been delayed on both ends.
“This is our property that we are trying to open to the public and in the midst of a pandemic,” she said.
Vial said the utility was restructuring its watershed property team to protect its surface water reservoirs that serve 1.2 million customers, including 860,000 residents in Bergen and Hudson counties.
“We have to open it up the right way,” she said, noting that Suez was working “to allow people on a really precious piece of land” that encircles the reservoir.
Earlier this year, Vial told Pascack Press much work was needed before the trail could open. All the mayors seemed surprised by the new delays but said they were willing to do what needed doing for the trail to open. However, Vial said much work remained.
When the Watershed [Property Review Board (WPRB) weighed in on the proposal, it provided a list of conditions that SUEZ and the municipalities must meet before the path can open, said Vial.
She told us in February, “One of those conditions included a conservation easement and, shortly thereafter, the state asked SUEZ to finalize five other easements as well. That process continues and we will review these easements with the state.”
She added, “All conservation easements must be carefully examined because the properties in the watershed are essential to protecting the water supply that serves more than 860,000 residents in Bergen and Hudson counties.”
Vial said then that the state WPRB also set other conditions, including the installation of security cameras, signage and fencing.
“Some of those conditions must be met by the municipalities before the path can be opened. The municipalities must also sign and return the agreement,” she said.
That statement seemed to puzzle local mayors, all of whom previously noted they signed off on agreements with Suez in 2019. Suez did not specify what other agreements were required to be signed by the municipalities.
Rendo told Pascack Press in February that a spokesperson invited to attend a Pascack Valley mayors meeting and discuss the issue was not available though it appeared then the project was moving along.
However, Pascack Press reached out to the mayors of Woodcliff Lake, Park Ridge and Hillsdale recently to seek their understanding of the trail’s status. Only one mayor had responded by press time.
On June 7, Rendo told Pascack Press, “The issues addressed by [Vial] have been resolved by the agreement drafted by Suez that I signed in September of 2019. Our understanding is that SUEZ and the DEP are still addressing several issues: easements may be one of those issues.”
He added, “We are willing to continue working with our partners, Hillsdale, Park Ridge, Suez, and the DEP to make sure these trails become a reality.”