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BLOOMINGDALE - Boro wants to deed its part of Snake Den Rd.
(by Deborah Walsh - Staff Writer - May 11, 2008)
BLOOMINGDALE - The borough is exploring the possibility of allowing Snake Den Road in Bloomingdale to be annexed by Ringwood Borough.
Borough officials claim that it makes better geographic sense for Bloomingdale’s share of Snake Den Road to be part of Ringwood. The 4,395-acre Norvin Green Forest separates Bloomingdale’s section of Snake Den Road from the bulk of the developed portion of the borough. Snake Den Road, which straddles the borders of Bloomingdale, Ringwood, Wanaque and West Milford, sits in the Wyanokie Highlands.
Snake Den Road is the home of the Weis Ecology Center and the Highlands Pool. One end of Snake Den Road is located off of Westbrook Road in West Milford and the other end is off of West Brook Road in Ringwood.
Bloomingdale Borough Administrator Ted Ehrenburg said he has begun discussions with Ringwood’s municipal manager, but the discussions have been halted because the manager is out after undergoing back surgery.
"We will get the facts before we act," said Ehrenburg. "It makes sense to be served by a town that can better respond. Snake Den Road is a long way from here. The miles don’t make sense."
Ehrenburg said Ringwood Police and first-aid squad members are the first respondents to emergency calls from Bloomingdale’s Snake Den Road residents. Bloomingdale might provide backup if necessary. Depending on where a squad car is patrolling in Bloomingdale, it could be more than 10 miles and more than 20 minutes away from residents of Snake Den Road. Glenwild Avenue/Otterhole Road to Westbrook Road, West Milford; or Union Avenue to Ringwood Avenue to West Brook Road, Ringwood; or Macopin Road to Westbrook Road in West Milford are among the routes that could be taken.
Ehrenburg said the borough also already has interlocal agreements with Ringwood for the plowing and maintenance of Snake Den Road. Bloomingdale paid for a portion of the paving of Snake Den Road a couple of years ago, he said.
Ehrenburg said if the borders are to be changed, it would require approval from the state legislature. Ehrenburg said eight or nine Bloomingdale homes are located on Snake Den Road. He said the residents have not been contacted about the preliminary discussions.
At the May 5 school board meeting, Dr. Fredda Rosenberg, superintendent of schools, said the borough has asked the school district for its support for handing Snake Den Road over to Ringwood. Rosenberg said she went on a field trip with borough officials to Snake Den Road, which was named for its Copperheads.
"It is so far away," said Rosenberg. "We will have one child next year in our schools from Snake Den. The transportation is expensive. It doesn’t make logical or geographic sense."
Rosenberg questioned how school buses turned around on the narrow, hilly and winding road.
"There have been preliminary discussions. They (Ringwood) know we want to give them back Snake Den Road. It’s a cost savings and it’s logical," she said.
Editor’s Note: Westbrook Road is spelled differently in Ringwood and in West Milford, the two towns it runs through.
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