Only Twp. Committee Meeting in March; Artists, Garden Club to be Recognized

The mayor's arts awards for both an individual and organization are due to come up at this Tuesday's Township Committee meeting — along with honoring the Basking Ridge Garden Club on the organization's 90th anniversary.

Township Artist Cinder LeDell is scheduled to receive the individual Mayor's Arts Award for 2013, Vicki Liu will be recognized as student artist, and the ARTsee tour organizers, held with tours of artists' studios in Basking Ridge and Bernardsville, are to receive the mayor's arts award for an organization.

The resolutions set to be approved on Tuesday will officially be presented along with a plaque award to the recipients at the opening reception for Parks and Recreation’s Second Annual Community Art Show on Sunday, March 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. The show will be held at the Environmental Education Center in Basking Ridge.

Basking Ridge Garden Club celebrates 90th anniversary

The Township Committee also will recognize the

encourages the spirit of gardening, promotes preservation of trees, birds and wildflowers, and contributes to the beautification of our community, said a resolution due to be presented on Tuesday night.

"The Basking Ridge Garden Club maintains seasonal plantings throughout Bernards Township...provides Christmas wreaths for community buildings [and] provides flower arrangements for our veterans at the Lyons VA Hospital, the resolution says.

Other projects undertaken by Basking Ridge Garden Club

For those who may be unaware of the club's many efforts, the resolution points out that the Basking Ridge Garden Club maintains the gardens at the Brick Academy, Library, Community Center and Blue Star Memorial; and also maintains and plants hundreds of spring bulbs and plantings in the Wandering Garden at the Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills, the terrace garden of the Melissa Riggio residence for developmentally disabled adults at the Somerset Hills YMCA and provides garden tours for the seniors at Ridge Oak.

The garden club also has dedicated trees in memory of the 9/11 victims and deceased members.

Other items on the agenda include award an award of $58,400 for the replastering of the training "lessons" pool at Pleasant Valley pool. The pool is self-supporting, and will pay for the project from funds saved up from memership fees, officials said last month.

This Tuesday's scheduled Township Committee meeting is the committee's only meeting scheduled for this month, since two weeks from this Tuesday would fall at the beginning of Passover.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the municipal building at 1 Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge.

Drop-off photography for 2013 'Essence of Bernards' photo contest

The 2013 Essence of Bernards photography competition continues this week, with photo and application dropoff dates scheduled for Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., through March 29. Drop-offs should be at the parks and recreation department office at the municipal building 1 Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge. Photos in past years have portrayed many different aspects of life and scenes in the township.

Other meetings scheduled for this week include:

The Bernards Township Green Team will meet at 10 a.m. on Monday on the first floor conference room of the municipal building at 1 Collyer Lane.

The Bernards Township Environmental Commission is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on Monday at the municipal building.

The Bernards Township Recreation, Parks and Pathways Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on Monday in the first floor conference room of the municipal building.

The Bernards Township Sewerage Authority is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, prior to the Township Committee meeting, in the large conference room at the municipal building.

The Shade Tree Commission is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the municipal building.

The Board of Adjustment is scheduled to hold a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the municipal building.

The Board of Health is scheduled to meet at 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Bernards Township Health Department building, 262 S. Finley Ave., in Basking Ridge.