TOWNSHIP WANTS MEMORIAL PARK CONSERVANCY

Township officials are looking to create a Memorial Park Conservancy, which would work to keep the activities and changes in the Township's biggest park under a unified, positive review.

Virginia Kurshan, chair of the Maplewood Historic Preservation Commission, raised the issue at Tuesday night's Planning Board meeting, stating the conservancy would be a public-private partnership that would seek to maintain the park's most positive elements and offer a review for new projects or upgrades.

See her comments below:




The idea was first raised to the Township Committee in 2014 by the Commission. The TC requested a Planning Board review first.
Both Planning Board Chair Tom Carlson and Mayor Vic Deluca welcomed the proposal. "I like the idea," Carlson said.

Deluca said that Township Committee member Marlon Brownlee had indicated concern that it not neglect the other parks in town. But Deluca said he believed the conservancy should oversee just Memorial Park: "Memorial Park has a specialness to it."

But the mayor also raised caution about the pitfalls of creating such separate groups, noting they can create conflicts if mishandled.

See that discussion below: