LAKEHURST – Vehicle travel around Horicon Lake may be restricted if a plan under consideration gets approved.
During a recent Borough Council meeting the governing body hashed out the pros and cons of a proposal that Councilman Jeffery Emmons brought up: a walking path “so people can get out and enjoy the walking trail. It would run from the back of the gate and be a recreational area. The gates would be 100 feet (across the road).”
“So, you couldn’t drive around the lake anymore?” Councilwoman Bernadette Dugan asked. “How far around.”
“All the way around,” Emmons responded.
“How would you get back?” Councilwoman Patricia Hodges asked.
“Walk,” Mayor Harry Robbins answered.
“There would be handicapped access. The boat ramp would be 20 minutes next to Public Works. We’d have to put a sign up letting the residents know that the lake would be closed, and give a 30 day notice,” Emmons said.
“I know people like to drive around there and have picnics. There is kayaking in the back and there are picnic tables in the area. I think there will be pushback for that,” Councilwoman Dugan said.
Emmons said a lot of younger residents brought it up.
“We remember a few years (ago) at the back of the lake is a hookup spot and other nefarious activities that could occur. I don’t know if there is anything that would prohibit the police from patrolling it or responding quickly to any kind of emergency that might occur. That would be my concern of how we would work that out,” Council President Steven Oglesby said.
Locks on the gates could be added, Emmons suggested.
The gate will be located 100 feet south of the spillway, long enough to block vehicles and leave 4 feet on each side for people to walk to the back. The reason to block the back is to install a walking path with fitness equipment along the path.
“Let’s give it some thought and we’ll discuss it,” Mayor Robbins said.
Resident Bruce Margeson spoke during the public comment period stating, “this is a horrible idea. You have no idea how many people drive their cars back there. They sit and then they walk those paths. Numerous amounts of people go back there all the time all day long and walk their dogs. We have that nice boat ramp there. If you want to kayak you pull your boat up to the ramp like everybody else. People pull up and they park.”
He added, “I know there has been some activity back there but hey. You are not bothering the swimmer and you have that area to look out over the lake and see the ducks and the kayakers with their boats. There are a lot of people like me who couldn’t walk all the way back there and who are in wheelchairs. In my opinion it is a horrible idea.”
Officials are also looking at researching an ordinance concerning adding food trucks to Horicon Lake at certain days and times of the week.
“We’ve been talking about having a food vendor out at the lake,” Oglesby said. “There are some details we need to work out before we amend the ordinance to that. I’ve been in contact with the (Borough) Attorney (Ian M. Goldman) about it and he gave me some very good direction.”
Oglesby added, “some of the things we need to determine is how many vendors would be doing this? The hours? Do we want to do this per day or per week. I was thinking maybe do it as a Friday pass, a Saturday pass and a Sunday pass. I don’t think any of them will be too excited about the week. Maybe give them a discount if they want to do it for the whole weekend.”
“We also need to think about what the fee would be and if you wanted to do discounted rates. Obviously, the weekends would be a lot more desirable than a week day,” the council president added. “These are all things we need to come up before we rewrite the ordinance for that.”
Mayor Robbins agreed that this would need to be done to outline the service proposals that would be sought.
“We could put it up for bidding,” the council president suggested.
“If you have a set fee, why don’t you ask for a proposal?” Councilwoman Patricia Hodges asked.
“Because what if you have 20 people. It’s actually a screening mechanism. It’s not a money proposal,” the mayor said explaining it was a proposal for services.
“Anybody with ideas regarding the vendors e-mail the mayor or myself. Once we come up with a draft we will then forward it to Ian and include everyone else because we want to get this in place before the summer starts,” Oglesby said.
As for the rest of the borough meeting, the consent agenda included approving the temporary capital budget and appointing Michael Martin as housing inspector and as zoning inspector. Also appointed was Michael Madera as SLEO II police officer. An alternate public defender was also appointed while a resolution authorizing a refund of a community center fee was pulled from the consent agenda by the mayor.
Councilwoman Hodges said the Department of Public Works is doing renovations to their office, lunchroom, and locker room at no cost to the borough and are using materials that are on hand.
The DPW lost a vehicle and is replacing it with a vehicle that was impounded and was ready to be auctioned. A new sanitation truck has been ordered with the delivery expected in November. The bid on the truck came in less than the original bid.
The 2025 New Jersey Department of Transportation project for curb and sidewalks is covering the west side of Myrtle Street.
Councilman Robert McCarthy also noted that last summer the Borough Fire Department bought a firetruck from another town, to replace their 6223 94 Marion firetruck. The Marion truck is now decommissioned.
Councilman Brian DiMeo said a Youth and Recreation meeting was held and that this year’s Easter Egg Hunt will be held on 11 a.m. on April 12 at the lake. A Family Game Night was recently held at the Community Center.
Councilwoman Dugan added the finance committee will be meeting “in preparation of the budget with Clerk Mary Ann Capasso and Police Chief (Matthew) Kline.
Councilman Emmons also reported he had a meeting with officials of the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. “It was a good meeting and I look forward to working with them in the future.
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