Midland Park August 17, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 The pavilion at Wortendyke Park in Midland Park will be getting lights to allow for early evening programming. The borough council last week adopted an ordinance appropriating the funds for the project, which is estimated to cost less than $44,750. Half of the moneys will come from a Bergen County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund grant. The borough will provide the other $22,375from its own open space trust fund. The project will include bringing in the electricity and installing electrical outlets and fixtures under the pavilion. The original plans had also included installing bollard lighting around the walking/bike path. The council decided Wortendyke Park pavilion lighting ordinance adopted to delete this option, since the park closes at dusk. Borough Administrator Addie Hanna said she is now discussing with Bergen County Open Space reallocating those funds to some other amenity at the park, perhaps trek-construction seating. The pavilion provides sheltered space for family and neighborhood picnics, arts and crafts and other recreational activities. Concerts and movie nights will now be an option as well, officials said. The lack of electricity at the 11-acre park has limited its use since it was built. No evening activities can be planned there, and daytime activities that may run into dusk or require a microphone have been curtailed. The pavilion Future leaders was erected with open space trust funds in 2004 at a cost of $100,000. The lighting represents the next phase. The borough targeted the park for improvement more than 10 years ago and began searching for outside sources of revenue to clean up the underused, overgrown property which abuts a residential zone. Federal Bikeway Grant moneys were secured to install the bridge over the brook, put in the bike path, cut down dead wood and seed the area. The construction of the park-and-ride facility off Central Avenue by New Jersey Transit, at no cost to the borough, opened up the playground area and provided parking for it. The building of three new homes on Englishman Drive resulted in the developer improving the access road, adding parking spaces, and donating some funds for the lighting, which are now in escrow and will be applied to the new project. The modular playground adjacent to the park-andride lot was finished in 2007 after years of delays caused by the state Department of Environmental Protection over wetlands buffer encroachment issues. At Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, two Midland Park teenagers recently graduated from Class #7 of the Bergen County Youth Police Academy, a two-week camp co-hosted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and the Bergen County Police Department. Pictured: Cadets Michael Powderley and Jacob Taylor flanked by Midland Park Sgt. Michael Powderley, Cadet Powderley’s father, and Bergen County Undersheriff Harry Shortway, Cadet Taylor’s grandfather.