Tour de Lakes Walk-Bike-Run

On Saturday, September 22nd, the Borough of Medford Lakes is sponsoring a "Tour de Lakes" in dedication and celebration of the recent completion of the Upper and Lower Aetna Dams damaged in the 2004 flood and the restoration of the lakes. The event will consist of a 10 K or 5K walk-run-bike. Participants are encouraged to walk a 10 kilometer tour of Medford Lakes that passes all of the major assets of the Borough (Lakes, Schools, Dams, Recreational and Municipal facilities.) This is not a race, merely a tour in the tradition of the German "Volksmarch". A commemorative pin will be awarded to participants who complete the tour. The 10K tour takes 2 to 2.5 hours to walk. If that's too much, participants can bike or take an abbreviated 5K tour. Maps will be provided and the routes will be marked. The "Tour de Lakes" will start from Beach 1, Saturday, September 22 at 9:00 AM. The walk will be proceeded by a brief dedication ceremony of the new dams at 8:30AM.

The Lakes Are Back!

As anyone can see, the waters have returned to Upper and Lower Aetna Lakes.

Last week The Medford Lakes Colony completed its beach restoration project and Beach One was back in use last weekend and is ready for a great Labor Day weekend.

Beach Drive should be open for two way traffic within days pending the energizing of the electric lighting on the bridge by PSE&G. In late September, the Borough Police will be conducting traffic studies in the area and then making recommendations regarding any potential changes to traffic patterns on the bridge.

Work is progressing on the redesign of the Trading Post Way intersection with Stokes Road. This change will greatly improve traffic flows and safety for vehicles and pedestrians in the area. The work will be completed by September 6th.

Lower Aetna Dam will be officially opened for pedestrian traffic Thursday, September 6th with a brief ribbon cutting ceremony at 8:00 AM to welcome our students on the first day of school.

Northeast Remsco, the construction contractor, will be demobilizing their trailers in the Beach One parking lot by late September which will complete all the construction activities related to the dam restoration.

The Borough continues to work with FEMA, The State of New Jersey and our professionals to maximize our reimbursement for the construction costs. More information on reimbursement and final costs will be provided in the weeks ahead.

Community Update

The vast majority of comments that have been received in the Borough Offices and to many of us, in person outside of the office have been extremely positive. The Engineers and our Contractor have performed admirably and despite the delays that were encountered during the project, the dams have been designed, approved, permitted and constructed in less than two years. As a point of reference, the Borough rebuilt the Mishemokwa Dam and Ballinger Dam several years ago and both dams took almost three years to complete. The NJ Department of Environmental Protection gave us their final approval on Friday, August 3, 2007. As part of the approval, the DEP Engineers expressed their dismay at the pace in which we allowed water to be impounded in Lower Aetna Lake and specifically requir ed us to fill the Upper Lake at a slower pace. The actual construction of the dams requires that work be done in a sequential manner and it is being done properly even if not as quickly as we all would want. The contractor has submitted documentation to our Engineers requesting an extension of the completion date. This information is under review and decision is expected shortly. This will drive any decision about liquidated damages and a recommendation will be submitted to Borough Council by our Engineer. The Upper Lake is being filled now and this will enable us to reconstitute both the Aetnas and the Mirror Lakes within the next co uple of weeks.

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Richard J. Knight
Borough Manager / Clerk
Medford Lakes, NJ 08055