TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Nearly 17 months after its purchase, the mayor told local officials in August that an engineering survey of the 6.2-acre former Washington Township Swim & Recreation Club would be conducted to help the engineer determine the site’s best recreational uses.
Mayor Peter Calamari told officials of the survey during his regular update at the Aug. 14 meeting. Calamari said some original recreational options for the site were not feasible and Boswell recommended an engineering study of the entire site.
Based on its $19,000 proposal, the township’s engineer, Boswell Engineering, should complete a detailed survey by early October that allows a local recreation advisory committee and officials to better determine what recreational options and facilities might work out best on the Ridgewood Boulevard North site, the mayor said.
The administration authorized the engineering survey to provide a detailed rundown of elevations, utility markouts, and property boundaries on the site, which was originally acquired for $800,000 in April 2022. Early this year, the council accepted a $438,750 county Open Space grant that restricts the property to certain active and passive recreational and conservation uses.
In August, Calamari also told the council that after Boswell completes the survey, Boswell will submit another plan with site recommendations for the recreational board to review.
He said some original recreational proposals for the property “just won’t work,” and following the survey, Boswell will present site proposals likely to fit on the current property, said the mayor.
Then, the recommendations for property use will be presented to the council, he said. Calamari said that all of Boswell’s recommendations would be known to the council as well as what the recreational board was recommending.
“Boswell believes a full survey should take place at this time as every square foot of usable space matters,” Calamari said at the Aug. 14 meeting.
Calamari agreed that the council has final authority to fund and approve the recreational uses on the former swim club site.
Before accepting the nearly $439,000 county Open Space grant early this year, the council considered not accepting it, given the potential open space and conservation use restrictions placed on the property’s future uses by acceptance. (See “Council weighs taking $439K open space grant,” Michael Olohan, Dec, 12, 2022.)
In his March update, Calamari said the recreational advisory committee, township administrator, and himself had met with Boswell Engineering representatives onsite at the swim club to discuss future property uses. He said then “many ideas were expressed” and that Boswell was researching what is possible. He provided no specifics during the update.
(See “Mayor updates on big town projects,” Michael Olohan, March 13, 2023).
The township DPW is storing vehicles and seasonal equipment on the swim club property until a new DPW facility is built. It was not clear if the new facility could house the current DPW vehicle inventory. Vehicles have been stored at the swim club since May 2022, following the site’s purchase.
Prior to that, some DPW vehicles were stored at Our Lady of Good Counsel on a monthly lease agreement. (See “Calamari: $4.5M DPW Plan won’t fit all vehicles, equipment,” Michael Olohan, Aug. 21, 2022.)
A new $5 million DPW facility is planned on the site of the former DPW facility, which was razed last year due to soil and ground contamination from leaking gasoline and oil storage containers that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.
Further discussion and a possible decision on the DPW facility final design may occur at the council’s Sept. 18 meeting.
We requested a copy of Boswell’s proposed engineering survey. The topographic survey of the swim club property will include elevations and locations of items including, but not limited to buildings, pavement, walls, fences, visible utilities, utility markouts, and trees (6 inches in diameter or greater).
Moreover, field surveys of drainage and sanitary facilities, including pipes, will be done from above ground and be approximate, said the survey proposal.
The proposal notes that Boswell will produce a drawing of the entire site that shows all boundary and topographic data with contours provided at one-foot intervals and elevations. The timeline for the survey report was estimated to be five to eight weeks, said the proposal.
Last December, Calamari was questioned about what future uses Boswell would recommend on the swim club property. He told council then that he could ask Boswell for an opinion on potential recreational uses on the swim club property before a final decision was made on what might go there, or whether council would vote to accept the county Open Space grant.
He said then that a survey was underway on the potential uses of the site.
In December, Calamari had said that recreation officials told him they wanted more field spaces at the swim club and that he would reach out to officials to get a better understanding of potential future uses on the site. It was not clear if recreational fields were possible or not.
Also, in July 2022, councilman Steven Cascio speculated to Pascack Press that it could take up to five years before the swim club property is ready for use by residents.
Cascio told us then that the topography of the site makes it likely that only one recreational field can be placed there.
He said then that to demolish all the structures there, including the pools, and start from scratch to make the site into active and passive recreational uses would likely cost $2.5 million to $3 million.
Efforts to contact the mayor and administrator for comment on the swim club topographic survey and future recreational uses were not returned by press time.