West Milford receives $750,000 from Passaic County for Nosenzo Park community center
WEST MILFORD. While the funding has been approved, the plans are yet to be made public.
| 27 Jul 2022 | 12:31
Nosenzo Park
This structure at Nosenzo Pond is all that remains of the popular Nosenzo’s Villa Piemonte Restaurant located there in the 1930s and 40s. It will be replaced by a community center with $750,000 Passaic County Open Space, Farmland and Historic Trust money. After the Nosenzo family retired and sold the restaurant and the many acres of property around it the new owner renamed it “Harness Horse Inn.” The building was destroyed by fire.
West Milford received a generous cash influx for a new community center. According to the town, it has accepted funds from the Passaic County Open Space, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust for the community center at Nosenzo Pond Park “in increments of $150,000 for five years in an amount not to exceed $750,000.” This was announced in a resolution adopted by the of West Milford Township Council at the July 13 council meeting.
The resolution mentions that the Passaic County Board of County Commissioners is vested with managing the property, finances and affairs of the county and governing the Open Space, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund.
According to the document adopted by the council, the commissioners have agreed to provide funding in the form of a reimbursable grant from the trust fund starting in 2023 at $150,000 per year for five years. The township shall not be eligible to make applications for or receive grant awards for the grant cycles beginning Jan. 1, 2023, and expiring Dec. 31, 2027.
The council, in passing the resolution, formally accepted the $750,000 funding for construction of the Community center at Nosenzo Park. No discussion or information about the plans for the community center were announced when the acceptance resolution was passed. The document said details of the agreement with the township and the Passaic County Board Commissioners is available at the township clerk’s office.
Another resolution passed at the meeting authorized a professional services contract without competitive bidding to Jessica Caldwell, of J. Caldwell and Associates LLC to conduct a Greenway Trail Feasibility Study.
Township administrator William Senande on May 2 submitted the Scope of Work (SOW) prepared by Caldwell to the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council (Highlands Council), who approved the SOW for completion of a Highlands Master Plan Conformance Greenway Trail Feasibility Study. The cost is not to exceed $40,000.
According to the resolution, the township wishes to have Caldwell conduct the Greenway Trail Feasibility Study to identify the trail’s location, cost, scope, connectivity, community impact, engineering, and relation to the Highlands Regional Master Plan and Municipal Economic Development Master Plan. Both are said to be consistent and promote the goals of the Highlands Regional Master Plan.
