Mahwah October 26, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 9 Contractor finds place for soil from Winters Pond by Frank J. McMahon Mahwah Township Engineer Michael Kelly recently reported to the township council that the contractor dredging Winters Pond on West Ramapo Avenue has found a location behind the pond for the dredged soil. That decision, Kelly said, will save the potential cost of having the soil taken away from the site by truck. He also advised that the project is moving along well and is expected to be completed in four to six weeks. “The contractor is doing a good job,” Kelly told the governing body, explaining that the project involves two phases. The first phase, he said, is the dredging of the pond to make it deeper, and the second phase is the disposal of the material dredged from the pond. Kelly said the soil being removed from the pond is easy to stack and is drying quickly. He said the area behind the pond is a good place to put the dredged soil. He advised that he has also met with the contractor who will take away the some of the remaining soil from the site at no cost to the township. Kelly described that as a “significant cost savings” because he said the cost to dispose of the soil had been estimated at between $4,000 and $5,000. Councilman John Spiech asked about the dredging work being done under the Rockland Electric high tension electric wires. Kelly explained that, while the contractor cannot use the long reach dredging equipment under the wires in the middle of the pond, that equipment can be used on the east and west sides of the pond. Spiech also asked if Kelly had obtained the appropriate soil moving permits. Kelly advised that this is a municipal project, so a soil moving permit is not required from the township, but added that the township has obtained a soil conservation permit from Bergen County and has all the necessary permits to do the job. In July, the council awarded a $234,026 contract to the Manahawkin firm of KG Marine Contracting to dredge the pond and remove about 18,000 cubic yards of silt. The township has been looking to dredge the pond since 2007, when a plan for the project was developed and permit applications were filed. When those permits were obtained from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Bergen County Mosquito Commission was ready to start the dredging in 2009 at no cost to the township. The Orange and Rockland Electric Company realized at that time, however, that the heavy equipment that was to be used to dredge the pond might interfere with their electric transmission lines, which were about 40 feet above the water level of the pond. The mosquito commission became concerned about the liability involved if their large equipment contacted those high tension electric wires, and the project was postponed. The mosquito commission amended its plans to eliminate the use of the long reach equipment, and the work was expected to resume in September 2009, but that plan was abandoned when the commission realized it could not make the time commitment the project would require because it could be called to work on other county projects. The township then decided to use a private contractor to handle the dredging, which would give the township more control over the project and allow the work to be completed more quickly. Patty Langdale, branch manager of the Boiling Springs Savings Bank’s Mahwah office, presents a $5,000 check to Prema Moorthy, president of the Mahwah Schools Foundation. The check represents Boiling Springs’ first year investment in a two-year sponsorship in the MSF Champions Circle. This partnership with the MSF helps to fortify the circle of an enriched educational experience and to show the bank’s commitment to being a leader in the Mahwah community. Pictured are Janet Puzo, MSF vice president; Prema Moorthy; Patty Langdale; and Andy Jones, senior vice president of Boiling Springs. Foundation gains support