WOODCLIFF LAKE—Borough officials unanimously approved advertising for bids Feb. 12 on the long-awaited Galaxy Gardens Park in advance of official approval of their park design plans from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The park’s design was unveiled in summer 2022 by Frances Reiner, architect, DMR Architects, to much fanfare and was posted on the borough website.
Council approved a resolution that “allows us to be ready to go” to bid on the park’s construction, or Phase II park improvements, when DEP approval is received, borough administrator Tom Padilla told Pascack Press last week. He said a likely timeline for advertising bids was this spring.
Also Feb. 12, council approved $4,500 for Joseph M. Danatzko, Affiliated Engineering Laboratories, to prepare an engineering analysis to help the borough defend itself against the claims made by Premier Pool Renovations in a lawsuit filed in January against the borough in Superior Court.
Park plans proceed apace
Padilla said one part of the planned park drains toward the headwaters of Musquapsink Brook, a Category One waterway that requires a buffer to protect water quality. Padilla said “just one edge of the park” comes near the pristine brook.
Over the last two years, park construction estimates have ranged $2.9 million to $3.5 million, with officials, including Mayor Carlos Rendo, stressing that much of the cost will be covered by county grants and donations from companies and individuals.
Padilla said once DEP approval comes through, “We’ll get everything ready to go in a couple days.” He said the council authorization will allow the park construction bid specs to be advertised, following consultations with DMR and Neglia Engineering.
Padilla said the borough will likely bond for the cost of park improvements prior to going out to bid, though much of the cost will later be reimbursed by grants or donations. He said the borough must put out funds to cover construction costs and then submit invoices for reimbursement from county or state grants.
At the Jan. 4 reorganization meeting, Rendo said the two priorities for 2024 should be construction of a new Galaxy Gardens park and new walking trails around Woodcliff Lake Reservoir. The borough purchased the 2.1-acre site for $1.65 million in early 2018, and spent nearly $500,000 to clean up onsite soil contamination from prior uses as a gas station and garden center.
Padilla said the park’s design includes a bandshell, gazebo, walking path, an area for veterans monuments, and an area for parking about a dozen vehicles that enter and exit from Werimus Road. He said the mayor and council would approve the park’s final bid specs before they are publicly advertised.
Some project delays were related to negotiations with a nearby property owner for access to the future park property and parking. In addition to Neglia’s work on the park, Council approved last Aug. 21 entering into a contract with the Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund for a $110,157 matching grant award from the 2021 Funding round of the county grant program. The resolution did not specify where the matching funds would be allocated.
Rendo said “The park is finally coming together. It’s a great thing to take an environmentally impacted area, clean it up, and give it back to the community.”
He called the park’s development a partnership of the county, community, and council and nearly a decade in planning and development.
Naming rights were one fundraising item up for negotiation, said Rendo previously. He said then that an anonymous individual had donated $750,000 to the park and that Party City had kicked in $250,000. The borough had also received a $500,000 county open space grant for the site’s acquisition, Padilla said.
DMR Architects says on its website, “The Borough of Woodcliff Lake contracted DMR to design a two-acre, municipally owned parcel in the center of town into their first Borough-owned park. The former garden center, known locally as the Galaxy Gardens site, is adjacent to the municipal pool and athletic fields, offering a central location for the project that is the culmination of years of planning.”