Engineer and mayor hear residents’ opinions on redesign of pool area — Pascack Press & Northern Valley Press

WASHINGTON COMMUNITY – Members of the community’s Recreation Advisory Board spoke in favor of their recommended concept plan for a “large grassy area” on the former swim club property on Ridgewood Boulevard North during a public forum June 25 at the Senior Center.

Although no cost estimates were provided, Recreation Advisory Board members emphasized that the Passive Recreation Plan calls for a 50,000-square-foot grassy area that can be used for children’s activities and adult recreational activities such as Frisbee. The plan includes amenities such as event space, a walking/biking trail, a dog park, four pickleball courts and a children’s playground.

Mayor Peter Calamari, who moderated the June 25 meeting, which was also recorded by WCTV-NJ and is available online, called the meeting a “starting point” for the long-awaited recreation proposal for the former swim club, which was purchased by the municipality in April 2022.

He said a second public hearing would be held in September and invited citizens to submit comments on the project.

Kevin Boswell of Boswell Engineering provided a 30-minute overview of the proposed Great Lawn concept plan, noting that the site’s topography and environmental constraints played a key role in developing the passive recreation proposal.

Recreation Advisory Board chair Eamonn Twomey said the committee “unanimously” supported the passive recreation concept plan, which calls for a large grassy area, walking and cycling trails and a convenient dog park on the former 6.1-acre swim club site. Reading from the advisory board’s letter, Twomey noted that the concept plan allows for flexibility that benefits both younger and older residents and minimizes costs and maintenance of the property.

Two other recreation committee members spoke in favor of the proposal: Timothy Ritter said the proposed large lawn is “non-dedicated” and could be used for T-ball, girls’ softball practice games and possibly soccer and lacrosse. And Jim Hanson said he liked the concept plan’s “non-dedicated, unplanned” open space.

He pointed out that additional baseball fields are “just baseball fields” and that children could get hurt if they fall on dirt instead of grass. He said the large lawn means “very little cost” to maintain and only needs mowing.

Hanson said that while pickleball may just be a fad, the four courts being built near the Garden State Parkway would minimize potential noise complaints from the noise caused by the plastic pickleballs bouncing around.

He mentioned that a basketball court at nearby Gardner Field is accessible from the former swim club site. A proposed trail would allow for biking and dog walking, and a newly planned dog park would give people a place to walk, socialize and participate in activities at Gardner Field.

Hanson called the cost of the proposal “probably the least we could afford as a city to benefit from.” Officials did not provide cost estimates at the June 25 public hearing. On July 8, Pascack Press requested a cost estimate for the Great Lawn Concept Plan, but no response was received by press time.

Council President Michael DeSena asked Boswell if an enclosed building such as a community center could be built on the site after the city accepted a $438,750 grant from the Bergen County Open Space Fund. Boswell said no. He said that while an open-air pavilion or shade structure could be built, county restrictions on grants made approval of enclosed structures unlikely.

Boswell explained the elevation drop of the site from the entrance and the parts around the pool and building area to near the Garden State Parkway, where the elevation drops from 138 feet to a depth of 114 feet.

He said the areas away from the current basin slope very steeply and that building those areas would require large and expensive retaining walls.

The original concept plans called for softball and lacrosse fields, but both required “very expensive” retaining walls due to the topography of the site and could require the removal of a large number of trees, another lengthy and costly undertaking.

Susan Broskie of Ridgewood Boulevard North asked Calamari if the township would consider leaving a 40-foot-wide buffer zone between the new large lawn and sidewalk and her property. She said the proposed plan only shows a 20-foot-wide buffer zone. She said she has a fence there and asked if the fence would stay up.

Calamari said they would leave the fence there “in some form” and possibly move it to “maximize their buffer zone.”

Broskie said she hopes the additional buffer will help mitigate noise from music and other events at the planned park.

Local resident Patrick Fay wondered if the land could be regraded and fill imported to make it more suitable for building baseball fields.

Boswell said imported fill soil would have to be tested for contaminants and tree removal would likely require state approval.

Fay expressed concern that the Great Lawn “could attract outsiders” who would want to grill or otherwise gather there. Boswell acknowledged that concern, noting that it is a local policy decision and that there are cases where such problems arise.

Local resident Mary Ann Ozment raised concerns about a “water problem” on parts of the recreational facilities due to drainage issues. She also expressed concern that the swim club’s secluded location could potentially invite undesirable activities.

At the June 5 council meeting when Calamari first introduced the proposal, DeSena, Councilman Tom Sears and Councilwoman Daisy Velez expressed disappointment with it. DeSena called it “a boilerplate plan” and Velez said that while she was glad to see a plan for the property, she would be “lying if I didn’t say I’m disappointed not to see fields on it.”

Calamari said the recreation committee has reviewed five designs for possible recreational uses on the site. No information was provided on the other concept plans.

Sears asked why the plans for Boswell’s swim club concept were made, noting that they were looking for a recreation center, baseball fields and maybe even a hockey field. Velez suggested moving the dog park away from the planned children’s playground for safety, noise and odor reasons.

She asked if a “wading pool” could be built near the children’s playground. DeSena said he did not believe the “existing infrastructure” of the former swim club would support such a use. “This is a starting point. It’s far from an end point,” Calamari said.

View the meeting by clicking on the “Swim Club Site Plan” link on the municipality’s website.