Borough Gets Big Check For Fields

With the looming sale of Green Village Road School and its property, Madison's pursuit of securing the scarce open space that is available in the borough got a boost at Monday's Borough Council meeting.

Mayor Mary-Anna Holden and Councilwoman Astri Baillie accepted a check for $1,750,000 from the Morris County Preservation Trust. Baillie has been heavily involved in creating Madison's Open Space Trust Fund, which has helped secure multiple grants for open space, such as for the 49 acres.

The presentation was given by Morris County Freeholder Director Gene F. Feyl and Freeholders Jack Schrier and Jim Murray. The money is actually from a 2009 Open Space Recommendation by the county preservation trust, listed for 10 acres. It was one of only six recommendations made by the county for grants over $1 million, and one of just 17 overall.

A 15-member Morris County Open Space Committee annually reviews and makes recommendations to the Board of Chosen Freeholders on applications submitted by the 39 municipalities in the county. According to the preservation trust fund's Web site, approximately 67 percent of the applications have been approved for funding since 1994.

The council had previously passed a resolution to accept the grant and appropriate the total balance of the $2.71 million price-tag to purchase the fields from the Diocese of Paterson. The county's grant approval was originally announced at the Nov. 9, 2009, council meeting. Borough Administrator Ray Codey has said the money from the borough's Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund will go toward the property's purchase, not from tax payers.

A video package of the check presentation accompanies this article.