Council Meets Tuesday, Edgemont Park Work Continues and More This Week

Improvement work to Edgemont Park will continue this week as contractors are expected to complete the survey of the pond on Monday.

The water-lowering permit for the construction is in place and the township is now awaiting permits to remove and relocate the fish to Verona Pond. Once the permits have been received, the pond will be lowered and construction work can begin dredging the pond and building a new retaining wall around it. 

Work at the park began on March 4. Montclair Patch will be documenting the construction in a photo gallery every week. You can see photos from the first week of construction by clicking here. 

The township council approved the project in January, which came with an approximate $800,000 price tag.

For those looking for a good variety of restaurants in the surrounding area, stop by the annual Taste of Essex in West Orange on Monday at Mayfair Farms, located at 481 Eagle Rock Ave. 

This culinary event will display more than two dozen tasting tables of the best restaurants, eateries and catering companies in Montclair and throughout Essex County. There will also be a 50/50 and gift basket raffle.

Tickets are available in advance for $50 or at the door for $60. For early registration, call (973) 226-5500. No one under 21 is permitted, and business casual attire is required — no jeans or sneakers.

The Montclair Planning Board will meet on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers in the municipal building, at 205 Claremont Ave. Issues on the agenda include drafting a community gardens ordinance and amendments to the zoning ordinance. 

At the previous Planning Board meeting in February, the board considered regulating how residents can lawfully use their property for community gardens because ordinances are not clear about urban farming practices, such as raising chickens and maintaining beehives.

At the February meeting, the Montclair Historical Society Executive Director Jane Eliasos and Montclair Community Farms Coalition member Emmanuela Mujica spoke to the board about crafting an appropriate ordinance to govern community gardens. 

The Montclair Council will convene Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. for a regular council meeting in the municipal building, at 205 Claremont Ave. 

The council will swear in Juliet Lee as the new deputy township clerk and reappoint Lauretta Freeman to the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee. The council will approve contracts to landscape and maintain Montclair parks in 2013. 

Nishuane and Essex Pool will be getting repairs soon, too. The council will approve a contract for $236,525 to Ray Palmer Associates, of Dover, for improvements to the pool's tennis courts, surrounding streets, playgrounds and other areas.  

The full agenda can be seen in the photo gallery of this article. The council meeting can be seen live online or on Channel 34.