Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • November 30, 2011 Franklin Lakes Informational kiosk installed at nature preserve by Frank J. McMahon The installation of an informational kiosk at the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve has been completed by the Belleville firm of GK Brothers Construction, LLC. The small roofed booth is located at the beginning of the main trail near the upper dam and adjacent to the boat ramp. Half of the $4,750 cost of the kiosk will be covered by a Bergen County Open Space grant while the other half will be paid for with borough funds appropriated for the nature preserve. Designs for the kiosk were reviewed by the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve Executive Committee, which eventually decided on one prepared by Merisa Tiberi of Boswell McClave Engineering, the borough’s engineering firm. GK Brothers provided all the labor and materials to construct the kiosk according to the plans prepared by Tiberi. The kiosk is about 10 feet tall and four feet deep with a slanted copper roof supported by half-cut log posts set three feet in the ground. The design includes several simulated wood panels that will contain information about the nature preserve and historical information about the property, a map, and the rules and regulations for the use of the site. The design also includes a shelf with Plexiglas covered inserts that might contain push pins, small pencils, and scrap paper. The 143-acre nature preserve that is dedicated to hiking, fishing, and birding was officially opened at a June ribbon cutting ceremony at the entrance to the nature preserve on High Mountain Road in North Haledon, just south of the Franklin Lakes border. The nature preserve is a passive recreation area that features hiking paths, a small picnic grove in a stand of pine trees, good fishing, and scenic views. Native and migratory birds frequent the forested area behind the former reservoir. The borough purchased the nature preserve, formerly known as the Haledon Reservoir, from the Borough of Haledon in August 2006 for $6.6 million. The cost was subsidized by a $2.9 million grant from the Green Acres Division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and a $2 million grant from the Bergen County Open Space Preservation Trust Fund in addition to the $1.6 million in borough bonds plus an additional $100,000 that was later authorized for various miscellaneous expenses. The site originally contained 149 acres, but a 5.3-acre portion of the site was removed from the purchase when it was realized that part of the property was owned by the High Mountain Golf Course and not by the Borough of Haledon, which previously owned the reservoir. In 2008, the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve Executive Committee recommended changing the name of the site from Haledon Reservoir to Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve. The Friends of the Franklin Lakes Public Library will sponsor two free holiday events this December. Seats will be available on a first-come basis. Usher in the holiday season with ancient instruments, sing-along music, Celtic/Victorian pieces and a spirited musical adventure on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. Sondra and John Bromkas will present “Welcome Yule: A Bells and Motley Olden Christmas.” The event will feature vintage Holiday entertainment planned at library music, dance, and storytelling. On Dec. 11 at 2 p.m., the library will host a one-man version of “A Christmas Carol.” This critically acclaimed play is based on the condensed version Dickens used on his reading tours of the United States. Greg Oliver Bodine will perform this classic. The library is located at 470 DeKorte Drive. For more information, call (201) 891-2224.