We have a full agenda tonight, but I want to start our public meeting by sharing some information that Borough Council just discussed in executive session related to the School District’s turf field project. We know there is a lot of community interest in this project, and there are also some questions about why the Borough has any involvement with it. This is a good opportunity to clarify what is going on.

Let me start by saying how exciting it is that the Mountain Lakes School District applied for and received a $1.2M grant for a turf field project. This is incredible news! All of us on Council are excited and we congratulate the School District on a big win for our community.

I want to clarify that this is 100% a School District project. The School District acquired the grant, they selected the location for the turf field, and they have done all the planning and decision-making around this project.

So how is the Borough involved? Well, according to documents from the School District, the Borough owns roughly half of the existing grass field that is located behind Briarcliff School, affectionately known as the Pit. The School District has asked the Borough if they can acquire this property for their project. The parcel of Borough-owned land in question is pretty big. (See attached documents). It encompasses roughly half of the field, and it encompasses the woodlands that buffer the existing grass field and some homeowners who live on Wilcox Drive and the woodlands that buffer the field and some homeowners who live on Bellvale Road.

Two weeks ago, the School District and the Borough had a joint shared services committee meeting to discuss the Board of Education’s request to acquire this parcel of land from the Borough. At that meeting, the Board of Education and School Administration attendees stated that they must complete this project by the end of 2025, or they will lose their grant funding. The attendees from the Borough, including myself, committed to moving forward on the Board of Education’s request as expeditiously as possible.

That is exactly what we have done. The morning after our February 11th shared services meeting, we spoke with our attorney and professionals and drafted a list of information that the Borough needs from the Board of Education in order to move forward with next steps. And at tonight’s meeting, the full Borough Council was briefed on this issue.

So what is the required legal process to transfer a parcel of Borough-owned land to the School District?  In short, any agreement to sell or transfer Borough land must be open and transparent. We need to have a public discussion, draft an ordinance, introduce it publicly, and hold a public hearing. Prior to this public hearing, Borough Council legally cannot make any commitment to sell or transfer the property.

Right now, Borough Council is waiting to receive information from the Board of Education so we can move forward with the first step of this process. The School District has said that it is gathering the information that was requested, and we are hopeful we will receive it soon. The requested information includes: the grant application and agreement, detailed project plans, and a write-up of how the new field will be utilized. The Board of Education verbalized some details of this usage plan to us in our meeting, for example: no lights or sound amplification will be installed; no seating will be installed on the Wilcox Drive side of the field; the field will be used both for practices and competitive play, etc.

The requested information will help the School District understand what level of Planning Board review or NJ State permits may be required for their project; it will let neighboring homeowners know what to expect and will give them an opportunity to provide public input; it will allow Borough Council to have a public discussion and craft the required ordinance; and it will ensure that there is a shared understanding of the need to preserve and protect the Borough’s woodlands.

In addition, we are waiting to see the results of the Title Search that the School District’s attorney has ordered, which will confirm whether the Borough actually owns the portion of the property in question and whether there are any restrictions or encumbrances that would affect our ability to convey the property to the School District.

As soon as we receive the requested information, Borough Council can move full speed ahead on the required next steps, including scheduling a public discussion, ideally at our next Council meeting, and drafting the appropriate ordinance.

We believe that the best outcomes for our community come through open discussion and public engagement. We encourage residents to share their opinions with the Board of Education and School Administration. The School District owns this project and will be overseeing it. We also encourage residents to share their opinions with Borough Council as it relates to a transfer of Borough-owned land to the School District.

Once again, congratulations to the School District on securing this grant for our community. We look forward to partnering with the Board of Education and engaging with the community on next steps.

Thank You!

Mayor Lauren Barnett