April 23, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 13 Nature preserve to have barrier-free trail by Frank J. McMahon The Franklin Lakes Borough Council has awarded a contract for the construction of an accessible trail at the borough’s nature preserve. A contract totaling $101,474 was awarded recently to Forcellati Brothers, Inc. of Rivervale, which was one of seven contractors who bid for the project. The contract amount includes $75,750 for 280 linear feet of a handicapped accessible trail including a floating boardwalk and $25,724 for an additional 290 linear feet of a handicapped accessible trail. Fifty percent of the cost of this trail will be covered by Bergen County Municipal Park Improvement grants, according to Franklin Lakes Borough Administrator Gregory Hart. The balance of the cost will be paid from the borough’s Beautification Trust Fund and appropriated funds. The trail will extend along the north shore of the upper basin with barrier-free access from the parking lot and will continue along the shoreline starting in the area by the picnic grove. The path will have a smooth surface of crushed rock with boardwalks over wet areas and it will be fully wheelchair accessible. The borough recently installed two floating bridges on the Island Bridges Trail at the preserve. Plans call for the work on the handicapped accessible trail to be completed by the end of May. There are currently three rails at the nature preserve that are maintained by the NY/NJ Trail Conference. The trail conference will also maintain the barrier-free trail. One of those trails is a 1.5-mile path that circles the Library hosts programs for adults Franklin Lakes Public Library, located at 470 DeKorte Drive, hosts free programs for adults. Seating will be avail- able on a first-come basis. For more information, call the library at (201) 891-2224. Members of the New Jersey Choral Society will per- form “Broadway and Beyond” on Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m. This one-hour concert will feature popular music from the past. On Tuesday, April 29, Cheryl Russo will present “Spring into Summer: Eat Well -- Live Well” at 7 p.m. Russo, a cer- tified health coach and personal fitness trainer, will pres- ent tips about losing weight and increasing energy. Board of education meeting slated The Franklin Lakes Board of Education will meet at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29. The public is invited to this meeting, which will take place in the music room at the Franklin Lakes Middle School at 755 Franklin Avenue. entire upper basin of the preserve. Another is a half-mile trail that starts at the preserve’s shoreline loop trail and crosses the northern end of the lake. A third trail leads from the shoreline loop trail out of the preserve and con- tinues to the High Mountain Park Preserve. Three projects planned by the trail conference will be completed this spring or summer by the Boy Scouts of America. One effort involves the construction of a bridge to span the Molly Ann Brook at the northern end of the preserve. A second project calls for the replacement of a temporary bridge near the northern end of the preserve with a permanent bridge. The third project calls for the installation of rustic benches at scenic locations along with a footbridge over a small feeder stream.