By Morristown Green Contributor -

By Bailey McGuinn

A placid park became a verbal battleground at Morristown town hall on Wednesday, as residents from Morristown and Morris Township squared off over Burnham Park.

Although the park is in Morristown, it’s used by many Township residents, especially for Little League baseball.

Passions ran hot as representatives of both municipalities addressed concerns about the park’s safety and maintenance– with an emphasis on dead or downed trees from recent storms.

The danger of falling branches was a main concern. Many said Burnham Park is now “unrecognizable,” full of aggressive geese, and inaccessible in many areas. Some voiced frustrations about high taxes, and contended the town has not done enough to maintain the property.

Morristown Administrator Jillian Barrick reminded the audience that when the park was donated to the town, the deed stipulated it “be maintained at its natural state for contemplative and passive recreation.”

“There was a subsequent deed in 1914 that allowed for the addition of a baseball field, and it’s very particular in what that field is to look like and how it is to be used– for youth, not for professional baseball.

“There were to be no other ancillary structures constructed or anything else added or expanded beyond what was permitted. That’s what governs how that park is maintained and decisions that are made about it,” Barrick said.

Bruce Sisler of the Morris Township Committee sent both towns a letter months ago, asking for downed trees to be addressed.

When the president of the Little League complained too, it was clear that a community meeting was necessary.

THE REVERSION CLAUSE

Barrick explained to residents that the Burnham Park Association is an advisory board whose members volunteer their time.

“It’s very much a ‘friends of the park’ association,” the administrator said.

“We do seek their advice when there’s a request for any type of modification to the park. They’re also in contact with the Burnham family, which is important because there is a reversion clause in the deed which says that if the park is not used as intended, the family can take the land back.”

Dr. Lynn Siebert, president of the association, said there is a “lack of appreciation that not all parks are intended to be neatly manicured places but are instead, intended and designed to be natural areas.

“Despite the strident assertions to the contrary, BPA has never blocked appropriate maintenance of the park or the green strip, and all of our efforts are coordinated with the appropriate agencies within the Town and Township,” she said.

Richard Wolowicz, Morristown’s arborist, said no trees in the park are “an imminent hazard.”

Morristown recently performed a town-wide tree inventory, which was expanded over the winter to include parks, Wolowicz said. People may notice paint marks.

“The circles are on the ash trees because we are removing all of them. We now know what’s dead and what’s alive,” the arborist said.

Still, Morristown and Township residents expressed concerns about dead trees and brush hanging over the road, batting cages, and dugouts where children play.

“If we can’t agree that there is imminent danger, then this meeting can’t go forward,” one resident said.

“You don’t need an arborist to look at it to tell that it’s a problem,” another chimed in.

Others said deadfall trees in many locations have falling limbs and pose an imminent hazard.

Wolowicz pledged to visit the park and surrounding neighborhoods over the next few days to assess these concerns.

MAYORAL STROLL

Questions also were raised about who is responsible for the park. In fact, it’s the town rather than the association.

A lawyer for Morris Township asserted the deed granted by the Burnham family does not tie the hands of town officials. Rather, it obligates them to maintain the park better than they are doing now.

In the lawyer’s opinion, the town is legally and morally obligated to maintain the park and address the public’s issues.

“We’re here about safety, nothing more than that,” insisted Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty.

“This is not a legal proceeding meeting! We all know we lost a lot of trees over the past 10 years with all these winter and summer storms. We’ve inventoried our public trees, we’re on the second stage of four,” the Mayor said.

“We’ve had meetings with JCP&L about how to address these trees on private properties as well. We are being very proactive on dealing with trees. I deal with it every day,” he said.

Residents said they don’t desire a perfectly manicured park; they seek a nice, safe place they can be proud of, and send their children to play in. They asked for an action plan, and to be informed of progress and/or setbacks.

Going forward, plans will require teamwork between both municipalities.

Dougherty said key tasks are identifying dangerous trees around the pond, trimming back the brush on the second pond, and addressing concerns about the pond buffer being too big and too deep.

The Morristown Shade Tree Commission will be involved in solving these problems. The Township, meanwhile, has committed to giving Morristown a tree crew.

Mayor Dougherty promised to walk around Burnham Park on Monday, May 28, 2018, at 1 pm, after the town’s Memorial Day celebrations. Anyone who wants to show him specific issues is invited to join him.

Morristown Green correspondent Bailey McGuinn is a senior at Morristown High School. She will attend the University of Virginia in the fall.