Open Space Purchases Proposed With Funds Being Eyed for Turf Field

The Bernardsville Borough Council may be eyeing the borough's open space trust fund to finance a $1.2 million synthetic turf project at the Upper Polo Grounds, but the open space advisory committee, along with a professional planner, is looking to spend the money on other projects.

A new version of the borough's Open Space Plan, the first update since 2002, was just completed at the end of June. The plan catalogs the approximately 745 acres of public owned open space in Bernardsville and also suggests the acquisition of additional land to connect trails and expand such holdings as the Mine Brook Greenway.

The borough has been looking at one property for possible acquisition, and the open space committee has been working on the potential acquisition of a few other pieces of land, said Pat McFadden, chair of the open space committee.

The open space plan next will go before the Borough Planning Board to be considered to be included in the municipal Master Plan, said McFadden and Sherry Frawley, chair of the environmental commission and also a representative on the open space committee.

Included in that plan are several pieces of property that connect existing open land in Bernardsville and also provide better access to property already owned by the borough, Rosalie Ballantine, a member of the environmental commission, told the Borough Council on Monday.

"There are a couple of gems" of pieces of land being considered for acquisition through the open space trust fund, said Ballantine. 

New park suggested

"A new public park along the Mine Brook could be designed in a way that would help mitigate the flooding risk and connect downtown Bernardsville with several existing and potential open space properties," suggests the updated open space plan, which is posted online.

"This would require a large amount of vision and reimagining a portion of the downtown," the report says. Open space surrounding the Borough Hall at 166 Mine Brook Road present some possibilities for expanding and adding to trails, the plan suggests.

Members of the environmental commission have pointed out that any land acquisitions in Bernardsville would be expensive.

The borough's open space trust fund, fed by a 2-cent open space tax on local property tax bills, has about $5.5 million built up over several years, according to figures discussed at Borough Council meetings. The council is considering placing a question on this November's ballot asking whether voters would approve $1.2 million of that amount to be used for placing a turf field over an existing grass field at the municipally owned Upper Polo property off Seney Drive.

As an alternative, the Borough Council also has introduced a bond ordinance that would allow the town to borrow funds to build the turf field. Both the bond ordinance and a final vote on whether to place the referendum on the November ballot are scheduled to again come before the council on Aug. 12.

"If they spend that [open space] money, we would never get it back in open space," McFadden said on Tuesday. In about 10 years, a turf field would need to be replaced at additional cost, she added.

McFadden said that the suggested new open space plan must be approved by September if the borough is to keep its "Sustainable Jersey" certification. That certification is awarded for environmental planning and other energy-efficient steps taken by municipalities.

Local ordinance allows 20 percent of the annual replenishment to the open space trust fund to be spent on the development and maintenance of recreational facilities, rather than just open space purchases.

About $200,000 is available through that budget for recreational development, McFadden said.

The borough's open space tax brought in an annual $500,000 to add to the trust fund about five years ago — but declining property values have reduced that revenue to just over $455,000, Borough Administrator Ralph Maresca said on Monday night.

About a week before Monday's council meeting, the environmental commission met and approved a resolution to send to the council asking that the borough limit itself to taking 20 percent of the open space trust fund's annual income to spend on an athletic field project.

However, a public vote could override that 20-percent limit. And Borough Councilman Joe Rossi noted at Monday's meeting that the council could potentially change that 20 percent ratio in the existing ordinance.