Quarry Recommendation, Summer Sign Ups Coming Up This Week

Two months after eligible members of the Planning Board voted to recommend that the Bernards Township Committee approve part of the Millington Quarry's plans to rehabilitate the facility after closure, that decision is due to come up for a final resolution on Tuesday night.

The recommendation, approved at the Planning Board's March 5 meeting, was to be put in final form by the board's attorney. That resolution is on the agenda for the Planning Board meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Planning Board hearings began in November 2011 for the quarry's closure plan for the active mining area within about 179 acres off Stonehouse Road.

Almost a year and a half of expert testimony, questions and many exhibits led to the board's 5-0 vote to recommend approval of a part of the Millington Quarry's plan for "reclamation," including expanding the mining pit into a 50-acre lake.

The boards also attached conditions to some of the parts of the plan that it will recommend that the governing body approve, such as specifying a schedule of water quality testing for the proposed lake, and other conditions for soil specifications on land which some day is envisioned as a future residential development.

Board Member Kevin Orr outlined multiple reasons why the board should not now recommend approval for the so-called "meadow" area, which would someday be expected to be developed as two-acre residential sites.

Orr said that the quarry has never specified when all quarrying will cease, and the plan should show how to use fill already on the site might be used to reduce truck traffic coming into the site with additional topsoil.

"We do not want trucks barrelling down our roadways in our community ever again," Orr said, referring to the era when the quarry was operating full-force and trucks loaded with stone were heading to and from the facility.

Bernards Mayor Carolyn Gaziano, who also will consider the quarry application as part of the Township Committee, was among those members who added conditions to the application.

Gaziano said she wanted to make sure that all soil or other materials brought into the site to make it acceptable for future residential development come only from category one sites without known contaminants. Part of the application also included a procedure for testing any fill brought in to the property.

The Township Committee is responsible for a final vote on whether to approve the quarry's post-closure plan.

This week also provides continuing opportunities to sign up for local summer activities, with memberships still available for the Coakley-Russo Memorial Golf Course.

Memberships for the Pleasant Valley municipal pool now are available for both residents and non-residents.

It's also time to sign up for the Bernards Township school system's summer program for kindergarten through grade 5.

Other scheduled meetings this week include:

The Recreation, Parks, and Pathways Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet from 7 to 9 p.m. on Monday at the muncipal building, 1 Collyer Lane, Basking Ridge.

The Municipal Alliance Against Substance Abuse is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the municipal building.

The Bernards Township Board of Adjustment is scheduled to meet at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the municipal building.

The Deer Management Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the municipal building.