Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • December 24, 2008
Franklin Lakes
New fencing approved at municipal fields
by Frank J. McMahon
The Franklin Lakes Borough Council has approved a
contract to supply and install new fencing, dugout enclo-
sures, and batting cage enclosures made of galvanized
chain link steel mesh at the municipal athletic fields behind
the municipal building on DeKorte Drive.
The $17,660 contract was awarded to Jan Fence Inc., of
Wayne, the lowest bidder who can meet the requirement
of installing the fencing and enclosures by the spring of
2009. According to John Ciurciu, the borough’s recreation and
parks director, the current fields do not have fencing that
prevents balls from going onto the nearby walking/jogging
path or into the nearby creek. In addition, the height of the
existing fence is only four feet beyond the first and third
base areas, which does not protect fans seated in the stands
in those areas from being hit by foul balls or balls that are
overthrown to those bases.
Ciurciu explained that the new fencing along the foul
lines will be 12 feet high and made of six gauge galvanized
wire mesh with top, middle, and bottom rails. He said the
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new fencing will extend 84 feet down the first and third
base lines, well past where the bleachers are cemented
into the ground, in order to protect the children and the
fans. The fenced in batter’s boxes, which are located near
the walking/jogging path and are used for warm-ups, will
avoid any conflict with people walking or jogging by on
that path. In addition, the player area will be enclosed so the
players cannot go onto the walking/jogging path.
Edward LaScala, a Franklin Lakes Recreation Com-
mittee member, explained to the council that the fields
are used by eight-, nine- and 10-year-olds, and most teams
have 12 players, so there are lots of safety concerns at the
fields with the swinging of bats and foul balls going onto
the walking/jogging path.
“Mostly, it’s the thrown balls,” LaScala said. “If you are
on the jogging path all of a sudden you are in the baseball
game.” The plans drawn by the fence company indicate that the
dugout fencing will be will be 21 feet long, eight feet wide,
and eight feet high with a three foot opening on one side
and the batting cages will be 10 feet by 10 feet by seven feet
and five feet high.
The existing fencing will be taken down and carted
away by the fence company.
Mayor Maura DeNicola explained that there is $15,000
in the borough’s capital budget for this project, but Ciurciu
said the balance will come from the recreation department’s
operating budget.
There are not many sidewalks in the Borough of Frank-
lin Lakes, but Mayor Maura DeNicola and the council have
issued an e-mail reminder to all residents and other prop-
erty owners to keep sidewalks that adjoin their properties
free of snow and ice in order to safeguard pedestrians.
Any residents planning a trip during the winter are
urged to arrange for their sidewalks to be shoveled while
they are away.
The borough has ordinances on the books concerning
snow removal and all residents and property owners may
review those sections of the borough code which pertain to
snow and ice removal in order to avoid a summons for not
abiding by them.
Section 373-15.1 of the borough code, added in Novem-
ber 2004, requires that snow be removed from sidewalks
abutting residential properties on main roads near schools.
It states that the owner or tenant of lands used for any resi-
dential purpose which includes sidewalks or other imper-
vious walkways along certain public streets within the
borough, must remove all snow and ice from the portion
of such sidewalks or other impervious walkways that abut
or border those public streets within 24 hours after the
snow falls or the ice is formed, or prior to one hour before a
declared school opening, whichever is later.
In case the owner or tenant of those properties fails to
remove such snow and ice within 48 hours, according to the
code, it will be the duty of the director of the department of
public works or other officer having charge of the streets of
the borough to remove the snow and ice.
The expense incurred by the borough to remove the
snow and ice from the sidewalk or other impervious walk-
ways will be assessed by the borough council and charged
against the lands that abut or border the walks, which, with
interest, will become a lien on the lands and will be added
to the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon those prop-
erties and collected in the same manner as other taxes.
The owner or tenant of lands abutting or bordering on
any such sidewalk or impervious walkways who fails to
remove the snow and ice will be subject, upon conviction,
to the penalty of between $50 and $200 for the first offense,
and between $50 and $400 for every additional offense
within 90 days thereafter with each day the condition exists
considered a new violation.
The owner or tenant of commercial lands abutting side-
walks of the public streets must remove all snow and ice
from those sidewalks within 12 daylight hours after the
snow falls or ice is formed. “Daylight hours” includes all
hours between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m.
In the case where the owner or tenant of any commercial
property fails to remove snow, ice, grass, weeds, or other
impediments as required by this section of the code the
director of the department of public works or other officer
having charge of the streets of the borough will remove the
snow and ice and a tax lien will be placed on those com-
mercial properties.
Commercial property owners who fail to remove all
snow and ice from their sidewalks or walkways will be
subject, upon conviction, to a penalty of $50 for the first
offense and $100 for every offense thereafter.
Another section of the borough code states that it is
unlawful for any person to throw snow or ice on the trav-
eled portion of any borough road after that road has been
plowed. The streets where sidewalks abut residential proper-
ties next to public streets include Woodside Avenue, Pulis
Avenue, Franklin Avenue, Franklin Lakes Road, and High
Mountain Road. A corner is deemed to include a sidewalk
curb cut.
F.J. McMAHON
Property owners reminded: remove snow
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