Morristown has said no to a “healing arts park” behind town hall, ending a three-year volunteer effort to convert a municipal parking lot into a community space with a labyrinth, amphitheater, sculptures and vegetation (“bio-swales”) to cleanse storm water runoff.
The leader of those efforts, Kristin Ace, said she got the bad news just before Christmas in a meeting with town officials who concluded the plans were too labyrinthine.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” said Kristin, who lives across Franklin Street from town hall and volunteered last spring to raise $3 million for the project.
“I believe this would have been an extraordinary asset to the community–not just my ward, but to everyone in town, including the hospital.” Morristown Memorial Hospital is a short walk from town hall, and the proposed park was envisioned as a place where hospital visitors, patients and the general public could find serenity.
Mayor Tim Dougherty’s administration opted to tackle a more immediate issue concerning the parking lot–restoring trees to provide a visual buffer for residents on Franklin Street, said town Administrator Michael Rogers. The town set aside about $100,000 six or seven years ago for improvements to the parking lot, he said.
“This is about the ability to take what we have, as opposed to sitting around waiting for funding that may never happen,” Michael said.
Last month the town council approved $2,200 for landscape architect Carolle Huber to create scaled-back plans for the buffer. Carolle had drawn up plans for the healing arts park after brainstorming with Kristin Ace and Laura Leach, a member of former Mayor Donald Cresitello’s administration, Kristin said.
“The park could have been a huge asset to the town” and the Franklin Corners neighborhood, said Carolle, a founder of Grow It Green Morristown who helped start two community gardens in town.
Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman has supported the park proposal. But she sided with the Mayor and town administrator during last month’s meeting with Kristin.
“My objective is to finally and quickly improve the view that residents of Franklin Street have of the parking lot,” the councilwoman said. “The way we’ve chosen to go is sooner rather than later. And I know Carolle will do a great job.”
Neighbors have been asking town administrations to clean up the parking lot for more than a decade; efforts picked up steam three years ago when the town removed dead trees that once served as a buffer to the Franklin Corners neighborhood.
Residents have complained about junked municipal vehicles creating on eyesore on the property, which serves as the back entrance to town hall. They also have raised concerns about poor lighting of the area.
Mayor Cresitello suggested adding a park prior to his defeat in the 2009 Democratic primary by Tim Dougherty.
The healing arts proposal, which would have incorporated sculptures by local artists vetted by the Arts Council of the Morris Area, would have eliminated about 75 parking spaces behind town hall, Kristin said.
At the time, the estimated price of the project spurred charges of elitism from critics who contended the park would unfairly benefit one neighborhood over others.
Kristin, an entertainer and holistic healer , said she did not buy those arguments and remained confident she could have raised the money. Someone wrote her a $100 check after she addressed the town council last year; with sadness, she returned the check last weekend.
“Whatever helps the town hall–a place everyone goes to first whenever they need something, if that’s a place of safety and beauty [because of a park], if that is what we put as our public face–only good things can come from that for our town,” Kristin asserted.
Poetry readings, art shows and other passive forms of recreation where contemplated for the park, which might have included a fountain, butterfly bushes and a soothing lavender garden.
Anne Aronovitch, executive director of the Arts Council of the Morris Area, had high hopes for the park.
“We’re disappointed that the Healing Arts Park will not be moving forward at this time,” Anne said via email.
“The Arts Council’s involvement in the selection of public art to be incorporated into the project was very exciting. Our experience tells us that public art fulfills a critical role, enhancing the aesthetics of a community, and promoting a sense of place as well as dialogue within the community. We are hopeful that there will be other opportunities to bring public art projects into the community.”
Kristin said discussions continue on how to restore and improve lighting of the lot. The junk cars are supposed to go, she said, and after that she anticipates no dumpsters or machinery will be parked facing residents. Kristin also hopes that a municipal driveway will be relocated to become the sole access point to the parking lot, allowing room for more greenery in the buffer for Franklin Street residents.
Michael Rogers said the work could be completed by the spring or summer.
Franklin Corners resident Margret Brady praised Kristin’s efforts.
“What is proposed is a major improvement over what we now have,” Margret said via e-mail.
“Once those changes are made, I’m sure the town will begin to see the potential for further improvements that will not only make town hall look better but function better. Most important from my point of view is that the potential for a fatality resulting from an accident caused by the poor visibility for police vehicles, pedestrians and visitors crisscrossing the lot, which now has no clear markings or traffic patterns, will be diminished.”
As for Kristin, she is prepared to refocus on her artistic career. She has written and performed a pair of one-woman shows and now is writing a screenplay. All she will say for now is that it’s a comedy.
“My energies are better served in that creative arena,” she said.
PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF MORRISTOWN HEALING ARTS PARK
After all these years of attempting to improve the appearance of Town Hall, petty politics blocked every opportunity to get something done. I am glad to see that as a result of the efforts of Kristin Ace and her committee that there will finally be a start to improving the appearance of this lot. People coming to Town Hall are trying to figure out where the entrance is and not really looking at our homes. The parking lot makes such a bad impression on each and every person, who comes to Town Hall. Most of us would be embarrassed to have the entrance to our homes lokk like this. Every property is Morristown is valued according to the impression that people have of the Town. No one wants to live in a community that takes no pride in itself. The recycling center looks far cleaner and neater than Town Hall. I applaud the Town for finally planning to do something.
This was predicted. A nice idea ground to a pulp in politics. Of course, Miss Feldman managed to get her supporter Carolle Huber both the money for the original design and for the scaled down design. All the rest of the stuff is smoke and mirrors, as the Essex and Morris Counties Democrat establishment has no intention of awarding a major park project to an “Independent” councilmember. (for that matter, neither would the Republicans) Mrs Brady played both sides of the issue and will be happy with some trees to block the parking lot and help maintain the value of the houses there. So the ladies ultimately run to the side of the Mayor, who probably has a massive tax increase to deal with shorlly, which will quietly make even a scaled down park a forgotten dream. Ms Ace did everything right except know the minds of the people she was dealing with.