When you think of Montclair’s Nishuane Park, you probably think of the area west of the Nishuane School, with its swimming pool, tennis courts and baseball fields. But Nishane Park also includes Carey’s Woods and extends down to the grassy hill where Llewellyn Rd, Elm St. and Orange Rd. meet.
It is there that town officials are have proposed a water treatment facility–and residents of the area are not happy.
According to the township, an area totaling 0.426 acres is being proposed for the Nishuane Well Production Facility Project. Approximately 0.056 acres of that will consist of the building and the remaining diversion area of approximately 0.370 acres will be for an access road off of High Street. In addition 0.234 acres is required as temporary workspace utilized during construction.
“The water is necessary for the residents of the area, as well as the entire township,” says former Councillor Cary Africk. “I have reviewed the plans for the small pumping station and I also visited the site. I believe the overall effect will be very positive for the local area, as well as the entire town.”
Gary Obszarny, Director of the Montclair Water Bureau and Sewer Utility, says the well will increase the town’s water capacity, bringing an additional 825 gallons per minute to the town. It will also provide a new source for fire flows.
Residents of the area say the new structure–which is roughly 40x40x28 feet, about 2 ½ stories tall–will mar the landscape and obstruct the hill that many children use for sledding during the winter.
“The end of the park where the well station would be built is only a few acres and is completely separate from the rest of Nishuane Park,” Barbara Adams, who lives across from the park on Llewellyn Road, wrote on the Montclair Watercooler (quoted here with permission). “Its landscape is very different from any other green space in Montclair. It is made up of very old tall trees and gently sloping hills. The footprint of the proposed building may not seem that big but the height and volume of it will have a huge impact on the park.”
Obszarny says the town is growing and needs the additional water capacity: new dorms at MSU, the CentroVerde development project, and other new construction, necessitate the formation of a new municipal drinking water well. And Nishuane Park, he says, is the best place to construct one.
“That area is already drilled and permitted and is proven to have water,” he tells Baristanet. “It is right between two pressure zones and is ready to go.”
Cary Africk says the media has somewhat misleading referred to the proposed well as a water treatment facility. “While this is technically true, using the same logic you could also call the Brita in your refrigerator a water treatment facility,” he said. “This is a canoe, not an aircraft carrier.”
Barbara Adams has seen the design plans for the facility and calls them “disappointing.”
“The building itself is essentially an over-sized three car garage with a big 28ft high smoke stack at one corner,” she tells Baristanet. (The “smoke stack” is a column that strips the water of volatile organic compounds.) “It looks like any other maintenance building. The only attempt to integrate it into the community and neighborhood is the intention to clad it in faux stone with clapboard siding at the peak. It does not look anything like any building in the area.”
Irving Geddis, a longtime Montclair resident who grew up near the park, used to walk through Carey’s Woods as a child, on the way home from the Nishuane School, playing among the debris of what used to be the old sandstone belonging to the Carey family. He says the family gifted the grounds to the township in the 1940s to be used as a park.
“That piece of property is precious. It’s a jewel,” he says. “And now the town is going to take the best portion and put a building on it.”
Geddis believes the well has just as much to do with development than with new drinking water.
“This is not just about the well but about urban renewal,” he says. “In order to tear down all the buildings and build new ones, you need water and water pressure.”
The cost of the project is close to $2 million, but according to Obszarny, that will not mean an increase in taxes for residents–rather, the new well will be a revenue generator. The town will sell some of the new water–which will be the most expensive in town–to New Jersey American Water.
“It’s paid for,” he says of the well. “And it will pay off for a long time.”
That is unlikely to console people like Barbara Adams and Irving Geddis, who are planning to attend two public hearings on the proposed facility next week to voice their opposition.They are urging others to do the same.
If you are interested in attending the hearings, the first one will be held on Weds., January 16, at 7:00pm at the municipal building. The second, to be conducted by 4th ward councilwoman Renee Baskerville the Montclair Water Bureau, will be held the following day, January 17th, also at 7:00pm and also at the municipal building. Both meetings will be in the second floor conference room.
There are far worse things that could happen to that park and neighborhood than a new well.
For a new clean water supply, to use a portion of open space otherwise used as a park, seems practical. How did all this start?
The “smoke stack,” or air stripper is INSIDE the building. The only thing penetrating the roof is a small “chimney” type structure less than a foot tall.
Several other things:
On the various blogs people have been talking about Bloomfield’s water being contaminated with VOC’s, specifically THM’s. THM level depends on a number of factors, including the distance the water must travel, how long its in the lines, and most important temperature.
Montclair currently HAS NO PROBLEMS with THM’s. The air stripper that is part of this well, as in other wells, is what is used to remove any VOC’s.
And, with the water supply being closer to the residents around Nishuane will insure their water is even fresher!
Oh, and another thing people are overlooking? As part of this agreement for the Nishuane well the Town has agreed to invest over $135,000 in improvements to Nishuane Park, in the vicinity of the well probably.
This is so NIMBY it ain’t funny.
So the VOCs are going into the air instead of the water?
No the VOCs are being scrubbed and not released.
Irving Geddis, a longtime Montclair resident who grew up near the park, used to walk through Carey’s Woods as a child, on the way home from the Nishuane School, playing among the debris of what used to be the old sandstone belonging to the Carey family. He says the family gifted the grounds to the township in the 1940s to be used as a park. “That piece of property is precious. It’s a jewel,” he says. “And now the town is going to take the best portion and put a building on it.”
In 100 years some guy will say, “As a child I used to walk through Carey Woods playing among the debris of what used to be that three-car garage thing with the smokestack on top.”
I think we can satisfy our pangs of historic sentimentality by taking a photo of sledders at the next snowfall and donating it to the MPL.
I also think before the town starts selling/developing the numerous pocket parks, it should give the right of “first refusal” to each neighborhood to buy and turn them private. Of course, to maintain our Open Space ratio, the township should deed restrict against any future development.
The town hired a consulting firm to produce a report on the project, available at the clerk’s office. In the report the evaluation of options neglects to mention they could tap into this water source from outside the park, for example by buying one of the properties on Orange Rd that have been on the market. But since the hole already exists they’re taking the path of least resistance rather than try to preserve open land. We’re going to suffer the loss of open land because someone drilled a hole in 1982.
The report reduces the value of the land to “aesthetics” when people play, sunbathe, and sled in this area.
The report discusses how the construction costs will be paid, but not the remaining $680,370 of project costs.
The report assumes Glen Ridge will pay part of the construction costs, but if they don’t then the share that Montclair residents pay will double.
The report says the water is also intended for Clifton and Little Falls but doesn’t mention those towns contributing to the construction costs.
The township says it would contribute $130,000 for “recreation improvements” but doesn’t get specific. I would hope all that money would go into Nishuane Park.
From what I’ve seen, the mayor and most of the council are not seriously listening to arguments against this well. The only chance for preserving this open space is petitioning Green Acres and the NJ DEP.
The deed for this land, dating from the time it was sold to the town from the Carey family, clearly states the land is intended for use as a public park. A well production facility just doesn’t qualify as park infrastructure.
Why is this an either/or proposition? Berm the facility into the earth. This enables easy roof access for the public, and allows the utilization the roof for recreational purposes. This is more and more frequently done
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8179/7897542616_211971ffaf_z.jpg or
http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/ntu_singapore/ntu_singapore1.jpg
and it’s not exactly a new idea.
http://www.homeintheearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/EarthShelteredGreen.jpg
Curious, when was report prepared?
The report was prepared last October.
Thank you May 17.
I have to agree with pac2 about this being looking like a NIMBY issue. The economic and geographic arguments are solid. The voters affirmed the development strategy to increase ratables to offset taxes. Development on this scale always requires the Township to make substantial infrastructure upgrades. The increase in water rates will be on a fee for service basis – not property taxes – which is another strategy the TC is pursuing. The development strategy relies on developing open spaces, including pocket parks. The 4th Ward voted by a 9 to 1 margin for this TC and their plank of more development.
Thanks Frank. I agree with much of what you’ve said. But none of those statements answer the question, “Why not just put the well across the street, instead of inside the park?”
Projects like this take years to develop. Whoever let the original hole be drilled in 1982 bears some of the blame for the loss of open space. And the past few councils also bear some blame for letting this plan go on without insisting the Water Bureau at least try to find an alternate hole that taps into the same water source, which the Water Bureau concedes is possible. The past councils waved it through rather than deal with it, and this council is simply brining it to fruition.
To your point about 30 years in the planning – and the master plan development schedule – urgency does not seem to be a major consideration. MSU can probably wait a little longer. This is a strong argument for the site opponents.
If one accepts the well house will be on public property, in the area, and new permits are not an obstacle, then it seems to boil down to whether the additional cost is worth the trade-off.
There is no mention of costs for an alternate scenario. However, since the utility debt is self-liquidating, Montclair will get its full cost back at some point.
Can someone make the report available to the public- not just through getting a copy at the Clerk’s office.