Two park projects set for review by Borough Council

Governing body to get updates on Princeton Battle Monument and Harrison Street Park

By: Marjorie Censer
   The Princeton Borough Council will hear updates on two Princeton park projects at its meeting tonight but is not expected to make significant decisions regarding them.
   Princeton Parks Alliance representative Kevin Wilkes will provide an overview of the schedule for the restoration of the Princeton Battle Monument, which is slated to be cleaned by the state this year. The alliance has raised roughly $100,000 of the $125,000 needed to improve and illuminate the monument and its surrounding plaza.
   Princeton resident Charles Stone, a principal of the New York-based architectural lighting design firm Fisher Marantz Stone, will design the lighting scheme. The permanent illumination is slated to be complete by Jan. 3, 2007 — the 230th anniversary of the Battle of Princeton.
   The council will also be asked to OK the next step in improvements to the Harrison Street Park. Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi said the administration wants to take an additional step in the process and, instead of immediately finding a design professional to work on the park, hire a naturalist to collect information and provide guidance on park design.
   The council will be asked to allow the borough to solicit proposals. In a memo to the council, Mr. Bruschi said the administration would likely ask for financial support from the council closer to June.
   When the park renovation came before the council in September, members agreed to request design proposals for the park, but expressed concern about the cost.
   At the time, Councilman David Goldfarb said he thought it was too early to proceed with a costly design without reviewing in detail the park’s schematic design, completed two years ago.
   In other business tonight, the council is expected to approve an ordinance that would increase the maximum fine for municipal ordinance violations.
   The violation ordinance would adjust the maximum fine from $1,000 to $2,000, the level set by state law at the end of 2005. The ordinance would include a special provision for housing violations that gives offenders 30 days to fix the problem and a judicial hearing before a fine is imposed, also in accordance with new state law.