Greenway being considered for West Milford

A “greenway” to circle around the outer parts of the Township of West Milford, something long envisioned by local environmentalists, got a step closer to being created when the West Milford Town Council adopted a resolution to approve a professional service contract at a recent meeting.

The resolution, with a nod from all the local governing board members, approved a contract for Jessica Caldwell, of J. Caldwell and Associates LLC of Newton, to conduct a Greenway Trail Feasibility Study. The company will be paid an amount not to exceed $40,000 for completion of the Greenway study.

A Greenway is defined as an undeveloped strip of land near a developed area that is set aside for recreation use and/or environmental protection. It is a corridor of open space incorporating or linking diverse natural, cultural, and scenic resources. It can be a land or a water-based conduit for scenic byways.

In May Township Administrator William Senande submitted the Scope of Work (SOW) prepared by Caldwell to the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council.

The Highlands Council approved Caldwell’s SOW for the completion of a Highlands Master Plan Conformance Greenway Trail Feasibility Study.

Township officials said they want to conduct the Greenway Feasibility Study to identify the trails’ locations, cost, scope, connectivity, community impact, engineering, and relations to both the Highlands Regional Master Plan and the Municipal Economic Development Master Plan.

The town retained the professional services to conduct the Greenway trail study from those recommended in the township’s recently completed Sustainable Economic Development and Open Space/Recreation plans. Both are consistent with and promote the goals of the Highlands Regional Master Plan.

Passage of the resolution authorized Mayor Michele Dale and Senande to execute the agreement with Caldwell.