By Kevin Coughlin
Morristown is poised to receive nearly $133,000 from Morris County to complete a trail around Foote’s Pond.
Then the question becomes: Will there be a pond to walk around?
“It’s all good. I just hope we can move forward with dredging of the pond. Without the pond, we won’t have much of a trail,” said Councilwoman Alison Deeb, who has voiced concerns that the pond is filling with silt.
Next month, the Morris County Freeholders are expected to approve the grant to enable Morristown to build nearly a half-mile of trails to complete a loop within the 14-acre Foote’s Pond Wood, off James Street adjacent to the Thomas Jefferson School.
It’s the largest of grants totaling $661,000, recommended this week by a county committee for disbursement to 13 towns under the county Trail Construction Grant Program. Voters approved this program in 2014 as part of the county’s tax-funded Preservation Trust Fund.
Morris Township is slated to get $78,620 to create a handicapped-accessible, paved half-mile trail in Jockey Hollow Top Preserve, in the vicinity of Rolling Hill Drive.
Hiking, biking, blading, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are among activities anticipated there, on a path envisioned as a part of Township trail network eventually linking the ValleVue Preserve, Lewis Morris County Park, the Morristown National Historic Park at Jockey Hollow, the Jones Woods Loop Trail, the Fosterfields Living Historical Farm and Ginty Field.
TO DREDGE OR NOT TO DREDGE…
The town of Morristown has pledged to spend almost $33,200 in matching funds for the Foote’s Pond trail.
“Completing this trail extension will increase access to passive recreational opportunities for residents of Morristown in the natural environment of Foote’s Pond Wood,” the town wrote in its grant application.
The pond connects to Great Brook in the Great Swamp Watershed, and is more than a century old. Once used for wild game hunting, the property was gifted to Morristown in 1939 by the Robert Foote Estate, for passive recreational use.
It’s situated about a mile from the downtown. Morristown officials contemplate a series of trails to provide nature education for schoolchildren and respite for residents and members of neighboring Temple B’nai Or and the Loyola Retreat House.
Responding to a report last month by the town Environmental Commission, Morristown’s council has authorized a $30,000 hydrology study.
It should determine the 2.9-acre pond’s role in holding storm water, and predict what impact dredging (or non-dredging) of the pond might have downstream.
Mayor Tim Dougherty, whose administration applied for the trail grant, said he was pleased the project has gotten the blessing of the Freeholders’ nine-member trail advisory committee.
As for dredging Foote’s Pond–an undertaking estimated to cost $1 million–the Mayor expressed support for the council’s deliberate approach.
“You can’t dredge something willy-nilly,” said Dougherty, a Democrat. “That’s not the scientific, responsible approach to dredging.”
Deeb, a Republican, said she would like the administration to solicit community input on park improvements at Foote’s Pond, as it has done with creation of parks at Speedwell Avenue and Headquarters Plaza.
Foote’s Pond has been studied a few times over the years. The state issued dredging permits in 2005, during a prior town administration. Those permits expired.
‘COUNTY GREENWAYS’
Morristown has three years to spend the county trail grant, said Deena Leary, Morris County director planning and public works.
The trail advisory committee includes four members of the Morris County Park Commission: Betty Cass-Schmidt (chairperson) from Pequannock, Julie Baron of Morris Township, Barbara Shepard of Boonton Township and Richard Seabury of Montville.
Rounding out the panel are Isobel Olcott of Harding and Nita Galate of Mount Arlington, both from the county planning board; and at-large members Duncan Douglas of Boonton Township, Tom Malinousky of Long Hill and Chester Township resident Marty Epstein, owner of Marty’s Reliable Cycle in Morristown.
Voters authorized the trail program by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. These are the first grants under that program. Sixteen towns applied; 13 projects were approved, based on their “shovel-readiness” for construction, according to the county.
“This is a very wise investment in the improvement of our county’s recreational opportunities, which improves the quality of life for all residents, making Morris County a better place to live and work and locate a business,’’ Freeholder Christine Myers, liaison for planning and preservation, said in a statement.
Freeholder Doug Cabana, liaison to the park commission, added that the money will “help create recreational greenways across the county.’’
Let’s hope the dredging gets approved soon . Our lovely pond is sadly filling in.