City moves to accept land

PSE&G donation would join open space plan

By: Cara Latham
   BORDENTOWN CITY — The Bordentown City Commission on Monday introduced an ordinance that would officially accept a small parcel of property along Blacks Creek from PSE&G.
   The property, off Lime Kiln Alley along Blacks Creek, was given to the city by PSE&G and will be used as a passive recreation area. It is part of the city’s Master Plan to acquire parcels of land for open space and recreation. The property also is part of the stream buffer in the area, said Mayor John Collom.
   "The elevation (of the property) is down low," Mayor Collom said. "It’s land that’s prone to flooding and is not to be used for anything else."
   He added that "we intend to let it grow natural foliage," and that the parcel will only be used for passive recreation and will probably have a walking path.
   The Bordentown City Environmental Commission has said that preliminary plans could include trails, benches, signage and a canoe/kayak launch along Blacks Creek.
   But Mayor Collom said that while benches could be a possibility, "we’re quite early on it yet. There’s no definite plans made yet to do anything with the property at this stage."
   The property joins a contiguous parcel that was donated by the D&R Greenway Land Trust. The two properties combined are half an acre in size, said the mayor.
   All together, the city is looking to acquire half a dozen properties for open space, and with the PSE&G and D&R Greenway properties, they will have acquired four, Mayor Collom said.
   There are some buildings located on some of these properties, but the remains of the building on the recently acquired D&R Greenway property will be removed upon completion of the transfer, he said.
   "We should have a nice little park with nice big trees and a shady place (located within) a five minute walk from the center of town," he said.
   A public hearing and vote on the ordinance is scheduled for the commission’s Sept. 25 meeting.