"People always ask why can't we have concerts there, which would be great except the bridge is out and there's so much goose poop that you can't even get over there," Mayor Mary Jane Canose said at the July 13 Borough Council meeting, as the Bernardsville News reported. Then she gave the shortest explanation anyone has offered for the project: "When you don't have a pond, you don't get geese."
Most people know Michael J. Nervine Memorial Park, at 166 Mine Brook Road beside Borough Hall, as the pond you pass on Route 202. The plan now in motion removes the water. On paper that sounds like the park losing its main feature. The pond is actually what limits the park. It draws the geese, it sits between visitors and the far bank, and it leaves the old gazebo stranded. Draining it is how the park becomes usable again.
The Gazebo Nobody Reaches
The structure the mayor called the "boathouse" is, in the Bernardsville News's words, a seldom-used park gazebo. Officials weren't even sure whether the borough or the fire department owns it. The fire department has a firehouse near the water on Route 202. The footbridge that once led toward it was taken out several years ago.
So the park has a pavilion-style building, open lawn and a central spot in town, and getting across it is the problem. The project tackles both obstacles the mayor named. It replaces the bridge and takes out the standing water the geese gather on. At the July meeting, council members were already talking about concerts, weddings and other gatherings at the pavilion once the work is done. They also acknowledged that parking would have to be solved before any large event.
Why the Water Has to Go at All
The town didn't set out to redesign its park. In 2019, New Jersey dam safety officials told the borough that the Memorial Park Pond Dam no longer met current standards. The dam is rated High Hazard by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The borough's FAQ points to a deteriorating wall and a spillway that falls short of current DEP capacity requirements. The borough had to either carry out major upgrades or remove the dam.
Engineers studied both options. The council voted in June 2022, after several public meetings, to remove it. The Bernardsville News reported that repairs had been estimated at about the same cost as removal. With the price roughly equal, the choice came down to what kind of park the town wanted afterward.
Two ways to keep the pond were raised later, and the borough's FAQ explains why each was turned down:
- A piano key weir. According to the borough, the state's Bureau of Dam Safety said New Jersey has no permitted piano key weir spillways. Going that route would also have added more than five years to the project, plus dredging, a new low-level outlet and structural work.
- A labyrinth weir like the one at Lake Lenape. That design improves how water spills over a dam but doesn't hold water back, so the existing dam would still have needed upgrades, dredging and wall repairs.
Ferriero Engineering did the original feasibility and hydraulic studies. Rippled Waters Engineering is handling final design and permitting for the removal.
What 2.76 Acres of Pond Turns Into
The scope is larger than one dam. The borough's September 2026 public notice describes removing the main dam and two smaller dams downstream. The work restores about 2.76 acres of former pond and roughly 2,000 linear feet of Mine Brook, which feeds the North Branch of the Raritan River.
According to the environmental assessment filed for the borough's Green Acres grant, here is what will be in the park when it reopens:
- A looped walking trail through restored meadow and forest, built by expanding the existing walking path.
- Benches placed along the loop.
- Educational signs and trail markers explaining the dam removal and the stream's ecology.
- Several designated fishing access points on the restored brook.
- Native meadow and riparian forest plantings where the pond is now.
- Pools and riffles in the stream, held in place with boulders and engineered rock riffles.
- A replacement footbridge, which reconnects the two sides of the park.
The geese question has an answer in the same assessment: moving water draws fewer geese than a still pond. That point links the mayor's complaint to the project's design. A fishing spot on a working stream and a lawn you can cross without stepping around droppings both follow from the same change.
Where the Added Cost Went
The project estimate rose from $2.2 million in 2022 to $3.47 million in 2025. The FAQ breaks down that increase of about $1.27 million. State dam safety reviewers required more material removed and more rock stabilization, which added about $206,000. The borough's decision to add walking trails, benches, signage and streambank stabilization near the parking lot added about $605,000.
That means the park improvements make up nearly half of the increase, and they're a choice the borough made. Removing the dam was required. Building a park people would use afterward was the town's addition.
The town is also working to bring outside money to the project. In June 2026, Patch reported that the NJDEP and the Garden State Preservation Trust approved a $690,525 Green Acres matching grant. The state's letter, quoted by the Bernardsville News, said the funding is contingent on passage of a legislative appropriation. In September, the borough held a public hearing and a comment period from September 9 through 23 on a planned application to the state Department of Community Affairs' Resilient Communities Program, which is funded through federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery money. The notice says the borough intends to seek $2,700,000.
The Calendar Is Still a Forecast
At the July 13 meeting, Borough Administrator Nancy Malool laid out the expected timeline. Here's how it compares with the public record as of October 19:
| Step | July 13 forecast | Public record as of October 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bid package to council | August 10 meeting | The August meeting moved to August 17 and its agenda listed a grant application, not bid authorization |
| Bid opening | October 6 | No results posted on the borough's bid pages |
| Contract award | October 19 meeting | No award on the October 19 agenda, which also lists resolutions for October 26 |
| Construction | November through end of March | Not yet scheduled publicly |
| Park reopens | "Next summer" | Summer 2027 if the original timeline holds |
Permitting has had problems too. In July, the borough found out that an NJDEP permit for the trail and bridge had expired in 2023, and its environmental consultant was meeting with the state to get it renewed quickly. Even in July, Malool's answer about having the park back by next summer was "No promises, but I'm going to say that there's a pretty good chance," as the Bernardsville News reported.
What Construction Will Look Like
Whenever work starts, the whole park closes. The environmental assessment says the park will be closed to the public during construction and that no work will happen on weekends or after dark. The plan calls for winter construction, so the closure would cover the cold months. A contract award would come before the council and appear on the borough's meeting agendas. The Memorial Park dam removal FAQ has the full background.
The October 19 agenda set resolutions for adoption at an October 26 meeting, and none of them involve the park. The borough has also called a special Zoom meeting for November 12 at 10:30 a.m., which is listed for a different contract: resurfacing Laurelwood Drive. Once the Memorial Park award goes on an agenda, the opening date for the trail, the bridge and the gazebo will be much easier to predict.
Margy and Denise will be following the Memorial Park project from bid to reopening. If you live near Mine Brook Road and want to talk about what a restored park beside Borough Hall could mean for your street, DeFazio Flanagan Team would be glad to sit down with you for a personalized valuation and neighborhood consultation.
