Reservoir Park update, June 2002

You may have noticed some increased activity in the Borough's Reservoir Park, commonly known as Monkey Island, this past year.

Several months ago our own Mary Lou Jennings, Chair of the Tree Advisory Board, brought three Drexel University students to town. They were all in their senior year and in need of a design class Senior Project. They were asked to look at Monkey Island and design a vandal resistant, environmentally sound, pocket park on the site that would provide a scenic retreat for the community without being intrusive to the neighborhood.

After months of clean up and study, our three intrepid students, Chris Golla, Gaurav Menon and Tae Kim, have done just that. They submitted their final plans to the Tree Advisory Board and the Recreation and Park Board.

The plans are beautiful and IF the money and co-operation from the Borough can be found the new park would be a super addition to the community. The plans show new fences, handicapped access, walkways, benches, improved lighting and an enhanced wetland.

The students have taken into consideration: long term maintenance, maintenance costs and security. Their plans show that they paid attention to the voices of the Tree Advisory Board and the neighbors that spoke at these meetings.

At this point, nothing will be happening with this space anytime soon. With a $150,000.00 budget not much can happen without grants or other revenue sources. If any residents have information concerning available grants or contacts the Tree Advisory Board would be interested in hearing about them.

In the meantime, we have seen the potential of what was once an over grown eyesore. This project has given us a chance to look at the park with new eyes and from a vastly different prospective. Hopefully we can move ahead with this project. Even if adjustments have to be made there is now a vision for the space that was never had before.

Mayor Jayne Young

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