Mermaid - moving forward

On November 10, the Township held a special meeting to present the recommendations for the next phase of the Mermaid property.

Consultants presented the “final” plan for the Mermaid property. I put “final” in quotes because that term is deceptive. This is the final plan from the consultant. It is NOT a fixed-in-concrete, project plan for the future of the property. Many things are still TBD.

The presentation can be viewed here.

The effort to-date has included, hiring the consult, a site survey, meetings with a steering committee, a public survey, and multiple public meetings.

There has been a lot of misunderstanding around this process. Prior to this “final” presentation, everything has just been possibilities. It is with this plan that things actually move forward. Having said that, it is important to understand that steps remain before these ideas are planned and paid for.

A brief summary...

Initial improvements:

1. Fix up the stream and dammed area to address flooding issues

2. Implement a nature center area

3. Add playground features

4. Create pickleball courts

5. Keep the separate lot across Arch Street Road as a simple meadow (future ideas included chip-and-putt or an indoor facility)

Secondary improvements:

1. Trail Network

2. Camp improvements

3. Site improvements

Future ideas that could be self-funded

1. Fix the existing structures on the site to make them usable for events

2. Refurbishing the Barn area to improve its use as a rental site for events (similar to its past), relying on a third-party vendor to manage it

3. Add a new pool

Based on the presentation, cost estimates are approx. $6M for the immediate updates, $10M for the second tier updates, and $14M for those future options (which could be self-funded with with proper planning)