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Environmental Commission
TRI COMMUNITY TRAILS GRANT
Posted: November 17, 2009
Representatives from Byram Township, Hopatcong Borough, and Stanhope Borough met in October to kick off a tri-town trails project supported by a 2009 grant from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC). Byram and Hopatcong received the ANJEC grant for work on trails, which will link with a planned Stanhope trail. This joint effort will enable residents of the three communities to enjoy regional access to other established trail systems throughout northern New Jersey and into neighboring states.
Kerry Miller, Assistant Director of ANJEC, attended and reviewed the terms of the contract which had been signed by Byram and Hopatcong. Stanhope sent a letter in support of the grant and has promised to help with the various grant tasks. Ms. Miller expressed her enthusiasm for the three-town project, saying, "ANJEC encourages towns which have used ANJEC Grants in their own communities to reach out and work on a regional basis to further the successes in their own towns." She stressed that the work is to be completed by June 30, 2010. The evening was very successful and participants showed much enthusiasm about the prospect of an interconnected trail network.
Trail Committees from the three municipalities include Margaret McGarrity, Adam Rosenberg, and Scott Olson from Byram, Cliff Lundin, Mary Takacs, and Malcolm Piester from Hopatcong, Ann Johnson, Lorraine Bender, Janice Hunts, Nicole Member, Owen Newson, and Barbara Utz from Stanhope. Cliff Lundin was selected to be the Chairman and Margaret McGarrity will be the contact person for ANJEC and maintain records for the group. Stanhope will work on Public Outreach.
A group tour was recently held to review the possible links to connect trails from each town. In attendance was Brenda Holzinger, a consultant working with the New York-New Jersey Trails Conference, who had been hired to advise the group on the steps needed to accomplish a tri-community trail link. Pictures were taken along the way to document the areas that need work to make the connections happen. A meeting was held on November 3rd regarding actions each town must take between now and the end of January. The next group meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 8th at the Byram Municipal Building in the Council conference room (behind the main meeting room) at 7:30 p.m. For further information, please contact Margaret McMcGarrity at (973) 347-2500 x138 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or your municipal representatives on the Project team.
Members of the Tri-Community Trail Link Project Team prepare to scout trails. Left to right: Cliff Lundin, Brenda Holzinger, Adam Rosenberg, Barbara Utz, Malcolm Piester.