Dealaman Trail and Pond, explained

Proposed improvements

The scope comes from the February 19, 2026 Green Acres public hearing. A Remington & Vernick Engineers representative presented the survey, map, and environmental assessment as recorded in the minutes. The work described includes:

Rehabilitation of deteriorated trail walkways. Regrading the swale from the parking lot to the trails and installing a vegetative swale using native species. Pond maintenance and light dredging. Two new aerator pumps with solar panels, to reduce algae blooms. A prefabricated pedestrian bridge over the stream feeding the pond. Replacement or upgrades of the kiosks at both driveways, for mapping and environmental and educational purposes.

The representative said existing wetlands would be avoided. No new trails would be created. No work would occur in undisturbed areas. No trees would be removed. The representative said the application was categorized as a stewardship improvement because of the Green Acres funding criteria. They distributed handouts with eligible and ineligible improvements, current photographs, and a cost estimate.

The project address is not always stated the same way. Ordinance 26-22 and Resolution 2026-074 list 197 Mount Horeb Road. The hearing on February 19 described the site as 173 and 197 Mount Horeb Road. The Township’s separate deer-hunt resolution lists both Block 78 Lot 28.03 and Block 78 Lot 37 at these addresses. The Township’s 2026 trail map calls Dealaman Nature Trail and Warren Nature Preserve sites 6B and 6C. These sites are about 47 acres together. Access is at 173 and 189 Mount Horeb Road. Trail and pond restoration is planned for 2027–2028. The trail map describes the two sites together, not a specific project parcel area.

The Open Space Advisory Committee’s page describes the award as a grant “for drainage and property improvements at the Dealaman Nature Trail & Pond.”

Grant and local match

The money is two equal halves. Ordinance 26-22 appropriates $1,140,160, described in the ordinance as the total project cost approved by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Of that, $570,080 is a matching grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Garden State Preservation Trust under Green Acres Project No. 1820-26-009, and $570,080 comes from the Warren Township Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund, account 6-03-286-56-2401.

The ordinance states that the grant-funded portion “shall only be effective after the approval of the applicable legislative appropriation.” Committeeman Croson made the same point on June 18, 2026, reporting the award as “contingent upon legislative appropriation.” No document LocalWhy reviewed confirms that the Legislature has acted.

The numbers changed between the application and the award. On February 19, 2026, the Committee adopted Resolution 2026-074 by a vote of 5–0. Committeeman McCarey, Committeeman Blick, Committeeman Croson, Deputy Mayor Kian, and Mayor Fine voted yes. This resolution authorized an application for $573,580.00 toward a total project cost of $1,147,160.00, with a matching share of $573,580.00. The June 2, 2026 approval letter, which is cited in Ordinance 26-22, approved $570,080 toward $1,140,160. The difference is $7,000 on each amount. The award and the match still add up exactly to the total cost.

The open space trust fund itself is a levy of “$.02 per $100 valuation,” according to the draft open space plan summary, which lists New Jersey Green Acres stewardship grants at 50% and gives Dealaman as an example of that category. The plan’s general percentages do not change the project’s own award and appropriation figures.

The ordinance states that Resolution 2026-074 authorized the application. It also states the project is “in accordance with the approved grant application.”

Hearings, survey and vote

February 19, 2026. The Committee held a public hearing on the Green Acres application. Four residents spoke: three expressed support; Mal Plager asked about maintenance of a separate Township-owned property unrelated to the application. The minutes record them in this order:

• David Gabel, Skyline Drive, who asked whether DPW staff or volunteers could help with the work; the RVE representative said volunteer work may be included in the budget and would confirm funding implications.
• Joe Faro, Sage Drive, who supported maintaining Dealaman Park trails and asked about the former Stransky Tract sign.
• Kevin Anderson, Mountain Avenue, who asked about adding bike trails; the RVE representative advised that trails must be pervious and ADA compliant.
• Mal Plager, Ferguson Road, who asked about maintenance of a separate Township-owned property.

The minutes record that public outreach included the in-person hearing and an online survey posted on the Township website “for more than 15 days,” which drew 93 responses, “the majority of which were favorable.”

July 16, 2026. Ordinance 26-22 was introduced on first reading by a vote of 4–0. Committeeman McCarey, Committeeman Blick, Deputy Mayor Kian, and Mayor Fine voted yes. Committeeman Croson was absent and excused. Administrator Mark Krane explained the $570,080 stewardship grant. He stated that the match would come from the Open Space Trust Fund. The public hearing was scheduled for August 20.

August 20, 2026. The public hearing drew two speakers. Bill Gilbert, Flintlock Drive, “emphasized his support of this Ordinance and the work to be performed at Dealaman Nature Trail.” Bill Boyce, Springdale Lane, “asked for better surfaces on the trails.” Administrator Krane then explained the 50% matching grant. The Committee adopted Ordinance 26-22 5–0: Committeeman McCarey, Committeeman Blick, Committeeman Croson, Deputy Mayor Kian and Mayor Fine all yes.

The same evening the Committee adopted Resolution 2026-226, awarding Remington & Vernick a professional services contract for a preliminary assessment report, not to exceed $8,450.00, funded through Ordinance 26-22. No speaker in the record reviewed objected to the project or the appropriation.

Schedule and conditions

No construction contract or construction schedule appears in the records LocalWhy reviewed up to November 2, 2026. The September 24 Township Committee minutes require a browser. LocalWhy has not reviewed that meeting. The spending documented in the records reviewed is the $8,450 preliminary assessment contract and the appropriation.

Statements about timing differ. The Open Space Advisory Committee page says “Work on this project is expected to kick off in 2027!” The draft open space plan summary says the Committee approved an ordinance “to proceed in 2027–2028,” while the same document’s implementation roadmap labels Dealaman improvements as a 2026–2027 near-term item. The Committee’s September 10, 2026 minutes and October 19 draft agenda both list Dealaman Green Acres work in 2027. These are planning statements, not an adopted capital schedule.

Two conditions stand out. The first is the legislative appropriation described above. The grant-funded half is not effective without it. The second is scope. The February presentation was a concept with a cost-estimate handout. The preliminary assessment report had not been reviewed.

The record does not say whether the pumps and dredging need separate state permits. It also does not say what the final scope and cost will be.

The property is also in the 2026–2027 deer management hunt, Resolution 2026-230. Bow hunting is permitted on both lots.

The next public steps in the record are the November 9, 2026 open space input meeting, where Dealaman is listed first among trail priorities, and a future Committee meeting at which a construction contract would be awarded.