Morris Canal Maintenance May Not Be Funded Through Grant

While they seemed to agree that work needs to be done to clean up a portion of the Morris Canal along MacCulloch Drive, Montville Township Committee members decided not to move ahead with a grant application for a study of the property as the first phase of a cleanup project.

The firm favored to do the study by the Montville Township Historical Society (the Morris Canal is a historic site) estimated the study itself to cost about $30,000. The land that would be included in the project has not been properly maintained for a number of years, according to residents and also admitted by township committee members.

"We didn't uphold our end of the bargain to clean it, maintain it via DPW," Committeeman Scott Gallopo said. 

But Gallopo was one of several committee members who felt the process by which the committee came to be faced with making a decision regarding the grant application, with less than 30 days to decide whether to move ahead, was not complete.

"This absolutely needs to be cleaned up. I'm just uncomfortable with this whole package," he said. "It's a shame that this has a deadline of April 1."

Gallopo said that the process of the application should have been done by the township administration and not the society or other agency.

"Is a $30,000 study necessary in order to get the potential grant and why isn't it being run through administration?" he asked.

Following Montville Township Historical Society Chairwoman Kathy Fisher's comments on the project, a few residents and supporters spoke in favor of the study and the cleanup itself.

"This is a very good, worthwhile project for the citizens of Montville," Jo Mazik said. "It's not just a cleanup thing, it's a preservation thing."

One resident later described the property as an "eyesore" and said something must be done to maintain it.

"I've lived there all these years and I've watched this nice piece of real estate really fall to disrepair," he said.

Committeewoman Deborah Nielson questioned why the township had not been maintaining the property previously and said she thinks it deserves a closer look.

"I too wonder what our responsibility is and what we could do to remedy it with or without a grant," she said.

Committee members discussed having DPW workers maintain the property to the best of their ability at least in the interim. But Mayor Tim Braden also noted that the expectation of the approval on part of the committee was somewhat unrealistic.

"We all agree this project needs to be done," he said. "The letter of intent for this application was signed on February 28 with 30 days to make a decision. If you've been around municipal government, or any government, you know things don't happen in 30 days."