WESTWOOD—The former police pistol range on a quarter-acre slice of Westvale Park, at Harrington Avenue and Sand Road, will be permanently deeded as open space and converted into a passive park following remediation, according to an ordinance up for public hearing March 15 before Borough Council.
Ordinance 22-6 authorizes a deed restriction on the land in exchange for a 75% cost reimbursement grant for required soil remediation.
The ordinance notes the borough will receive a $167,438.06 grant from the state’s Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund (HDSRF) for remediation and redevelopment of the site, which was estimated to cost “at least $223,250.75.”
Borough Administrator Durene Ayer said the grant will pay for remediation and that the remediated property — once deeded as permanent open space — will be used as a passive park.
If the ordinance is approved by council March 15, Ayer said it was unclear how long it would take the state DEP to provide funds for the remediation.
The HDSRF is funded through a constitutionally dedicated portion of the New Jersey Corporate Business Tax, and is administered through a partnership between the DEP and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
Ayer said once the grant is officially approved by DEP, the borough would likely go out for bids on the site’s remediation. She said the borough’s share, estimated at $55,812.69, may come from bond anticipation notes.
Mayor Ray Arroyo told Pascack Press on March 2, “Getting the lead out hasn’t been quick and easy. Nor inexpensive. We are grateful for the grant funding that offsets these costs.” He noted the WWPD hone their skills at the Firearms Training Facility of the Borough of North Arlington.
In 2014, the borough engineer provided a brief history on Westwood’s range, noting it was constructed in the 1950s by the police reserves, operated some 55 years, and closed in May 2007.
The range comprised about a quarter acre on a 37.5-acre borough-owned property, which also included DPW facilities, a former municipal landfill, and the borough’s leaf composting facility.
In 2014, Boswell-McClave conducted a remedial site investigation costing $85,000 that determined the extent of the soil contamination, mostly due to the lead rounds fired on site into a range backstop composed of an earth berm and cinderblock wall. Lead contamination was found on the range’s floor and throughout the berm area.
A recent paper in Environmental Health notes “Lead is a toxic substance with well-known, multiple, long-term, adverse health outcomes. Shooting guns at firing ranges is an occupational necessity for security personnel, police officers, members of the military, and increasingly a recreational activity by the public. In the United States alone, an estimated 16,000–18,000 firing ranges exist. Discharge of lead dust and gases is a consequence of shooting guns.”
Westvale Park features two multipurpose fields, two softball fields, a Little League baseball field, and a baseball field, all lighted; an ADA accessible playground; a covered pavilion with six picnic tables; a dog park; a field house with concession stand and ADA-accessible bathrooms; and a paved walking path of 0.6 miles.
It also connects to Pascack Brook County Park through a shaded nature preserve featuring a pond and native flora and fauna.