The Mercer County Park Commission’s purchase of a small plot of land on Hughes Drive in Hamilton in 2017 opened up a global of opportunities for the fee and—with the aid of extension—county residents. The fee has begun planning and learning potential park improvements to a 370-acre parcel known as Dam Site 21. , As part of that making plans system, the fee is searching for county citizens to design a passive pastime park with a focal point on using a big lake for water sports activities. The park occupies the land where Hamilton, Robbinsville, and West Windsor borders meet, south of Mercer County Park.
According to a park fee release, the budget for this recuperation process is derived from the Open Space Preservation Trust Fund. Dam Site 21 turned into deliberate as part of the Assunpink Creek Watershed Water Works Plan in the early 1960s. The county’s approach was to reduce flood harm and develop water sources within the Assunpink Watershed. The land of Dam Site 21 was offered in the 1970s, and the dam was built in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service. Since then, the land has
I have been held and used for permanent pastimes and conservation of water assets. The lake in Dam Site 21 is around 55 acres, and the nearby location comprises undeveloped uplands, wetlands, woodlands, and open fields. A part of the Capital to Coast Trail runs alongside the northern facet of the lake from Line Road in Robbinsville to Old Trenton Road in West Windsor.
While the public uses the location for fishing and hiking sports, there may be constrained right of entry to and amenities — purchasing four. Five acres of land fronting Hughes Drive created, for the first time, the capability of direct right of entry to the website from a prime roadway. Around a year ago, the park commission started thinking about revising the web page to include new ideas.
The county requested qualifications from panorama architects and engineering firms as a first step. After reviewing applications and interviews from thirteen submissions, the county chose Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, a “particularly local firm with deep experience in park planning projects like this one,” the superintendent of parks, Anthony Cucchi, said. The county also employed Princeton Hydro, an environmental answers firm, on the way to reading the park using hurricane weather-readiness, water best, and elements associated with the lake so that you can become aware of possibilities for healing.
“The park commission and county are excited to partake in a method of making plans to revise the website and take into account other approaches that could be applied past flood control,” Cucchi stated. One situation in building this park has been residents’ belongings adjacent to Dam Site 21. Since close-by residents have informally used this land for many years, the formalization and protection procedure can also cause modifications for those who stay close by. Specifically, the county and shrunk corporations will conduct a boundary survey to decide wherein Dam Site 21 ends and private assets start to evolve. The firm may also be delineating wetlands to determine where trails are possible and undertaking a topographical survey to apprehend where particular services need to be positioned.
While Cucchi highlighted the advantages of constructing a park nearby, he recounted this concern. “The neighborhood needs to have a voice in the procedure,” he said. “We see this as a wonderful possibility, not only for Notercer County but also for greater Mercer County, specifically for residents nearby.” Toward this aim, the park commission is pursuing four avenues in searching for network entry. One is advisory committees and representatives from municipalities and institutional landowners like Mercer County Community College to weigh in on how park renovations should affect nearby communities.
The second is cognizance organization interviews, held on February 19 at Mercer Lake’s Boathouse. Residents and network companies are invited to provide their entry on the renovations. The commission additionally intends to preserve one-on-one interviews with professionals and specialists on topics relating to the website online, in addition to public conferences.
The first one is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on March 7 at the convention center at Mercer County Community College. Residents can also voice their opinions of the venture on an internet sur until Oct. 1vey. These various input ranges might be accumulated and compared with the research finished by the shriveled companies to determine what measures are feasible and how the park can provide distinctive services than the nearby Mercer.
County Park. This input system is part of the bigger master plan phase, which will be presented to the park commissioners in October for comments and approval. Actual creation at the park isn’t possible until after 2019; however, Cucchi emphasized the significance of having an extended but extra transparent system. “In the long run, we’ll provide you with a far better product if we are searching for that civic engagement and public input,” he stated. “As far as pleasure, we’re excited to hear people’s thoughts and minds.”
