January 23, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 11
Franklin Lakes
Grant sought for improvements
by Frank J. McMahon A resolution authorizing an application for a $95,000 grant from the Bergen County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland & Historic Preservation Trust Fund has been approved by the Franklin Lakes Borough Council. The grant would fund improvements at the borough’s Franklin Lakes Recreation Department and Community Center at the end of Vichiconti Way. The improvements would include a new outdoor basketball court area on the site of the existing roller hockey rink, which is located north of the single story recreation building, and improvements to the recreation center’s parking lot. The council is considering several options for the project, but the plans would likely include a paved basketball court striped for six half-court areas and one fullsize court, which may have to be slightly smaller than a regulation size court. According to Borough Engineer Kevin Boswell, the proposed basketball court area would be designed to be located where the roller hockey rink and boards had been. He advised that the proposed plan would include a 10-foot high fence all around the courts and spectator bleachers at the end of the court area with an area for picnic tables. The application coincides with the borough’s withdrawal of a pending application for $54,625 for an accessible trail at the Franklin Lakes Nature Preserve. Boswell estimated that the total estimated cost of this project is about $200,000. If the county approves the grant application, Hart said $30,000 from the sale of the hockey boards and other existing grants and donations would be put toward the matching part of the cost. The council’s resolution approving the grant application indicates that, if the County Trust Fund grant is less than the grant amount requested, the borough intends to obtain the balance of the funding necessary to complete the project, or would modify the project as necessary. In previous discussions with the council, Hart explained that this project would be one of several planned enhancements to the borough’s recreational facilities, all of which are to be funded by grants and donations. The resolution was discussed and approved without any public comment.
Children’s Aid
(continued from page 10) The Most Efficient Bank in the United States, its success has been acknowledged nationally by such publications as “Forbes,” “The New York Times,” “Business Week,” and “American Banker.” Hudson City, the largest savings bank headquartered in New Jersey, also serves customers throughout the surrounding metropolitan area with branches located in Fairfield, Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland counties, and in Long Island, and the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia. The Woodlea/Path I Advisory Council is a group of dedicated community volunteers whose mission is to enhance the quality of life for the children in the Path I home for young boys and Woodlea home for young girls who have suffered abuse and neglect. Children’s Aid and Family Services is one of the leading nonprofit human services organizations serving northern New Jersey. The agency is fully accredited and has served the community for more than 110 years. Its mission is to preserve, protect and, when needed, provide families. Motivated by compassion for vulnerable children, young adults, frail elderly and their families, the organization provides high-quality and innovative services that meet their social, educational, and emotional needs. For more information on Children’s Aid and Family Services, call (201) 261-2800 or visit www. cafsnj.org.