A spring look at town's homes and gardens ; . , Section 2 ..................... ,r - OF MILLBURN AND SHOR T HILLS Thursday, /tpril T7,198( Founded 1888, Vol. 9 2 , No. 15 Member of Audit Bureau of (im itations 25 Cents per Copy, $12 per Year by Mail to Your Door Planners offer business area proposal A proposal which, if implemented, would possihje. retail facilities at street level.” be extensive, they are required to clean up Avenue and one behind .the stores which are see this municipality sell its Essex Street A s/a final step in th e Essex Street the appearance of the downtown area and to located on the southerly side of the avenue properties for commercial development, development the report recommends the provide for the ease of access. The and west of Short Hills Avenfue purchase other property on Essex Street municipality acquire the Old Dave’s M arket recommendations are m ade to support the The Millburn . Avenue parcel recom ­ an d Millburn Avenue and properties in the property on the south side o f the street “ for existing downtown and to increase its mended for purchase is' a single story Glenwood area to provide off-street parking the construction of additional parking and a competitive position" building which houses the Grosman and facilities was put before Planning Board last pedestrian bridge access to the Millburn In order to provide off-street parking in Grosman law office. Sherman J Decorators night. Avenue pedestrian walkway.” the Glenwood business a re a — an area which and the .Merrill Lynch office. - The proposal was made by a sub­ In a sum m ary to its Millburn center is without any municipal off-street parking The-aequisitionbt this propern located at committee formed by the Planning Board proposal, the sub-com mittee stated: lots—the report calls for the purchase by the ., 4 Milltarii Avenue, would provide access' last year. The sub-committee had as its “ Although these proposals may appear to township of two tracts, one on MH1bur>-. f 001":ire 'tr Page A chairman John 0. Lasser. Joan Brody, John H. Holler and Edward Lifson were sub: committee members. The sub-committee report describes the “most critical problem” in the Millburn Tax board to hear town’s center aFea as the lack of pedestrian access from Essex Street to Millburn Avenue. To. solve that problem it is recommended that the municipality, “as the most logical solution" acquire the 1-story building now ^occupied by the Record M illet 327 Millburn $5.4 million rebate plea Avenue and demolish that structure in order to construct a walkway. The Essex County Tax Board yesterday parklands are now owned by the'county stitulional purposes and i£. entitled to the As a second step the plans call for the received an .application from Millburn itself. rebate it has been receiving since the 1923 acquisition of all vacant land behind Variety Township for a rebate of approximately $5.4 in addition to Millburn. the Tax Board statute went into effect. The City of .Newark F air for use as a pedestrian plaza which million a year in county ta x es for 1979 and yesterdafy received rebate applications had contended that less than the required would be tied to the walkway to Millburn 1M' '-'V'V - from Belleville, Livingston, Maplewood: acreage in Cedar Grove was actually used Avenue. Also constructed on the land behind This township was o n e of nine Newark, Roseland, Verona, West Orange for county institutional' purposes. Variety F air would be a 16-car parking lot. municipalities with county-owned parklands and West Caldwell. An objection to the In opposing the municipalities:' ap­ “The acquisition o f these two properties or recreation property within their borders rebates was filed, by the tow n of Fairfield. , plications. county legal authorities maintain (Record Mill building and land behind which sought rebates under a 1923 s t a t e ' which would have to pay a higher share of that it was the intent of the Legislature to Variety 'Fair) will set the stage for the statute affecting municipalities in first class county taxes if rebates were granted the exempt county parklands in the 1923 statute development of town-owned .land on the counties such as Essex and Bergen. other towns. Newark is seeking a rebate 6f and that county park commissions were north side of Essex Street," the sub­ The 1923 statute provides fo r county tax Close to $20 million a year. • specified only because title to the lands committee report continues. rebates to municipalities containing tax- The tax board set next Thursday for the rested with the commissions, at the tim e The Essex Street development, according exempt county property, but excludes filing of briefs by municipalities setting .In the ease of this township, which houses to the sub-committee members, would in­ property owned and operated by park forth their legal arguments for the rebates. 984 acres of County land, the rebate if clude: commissions. It is the contention of the Hearings will open before the Tax Board at granted would amount to$5.4miUion for the The sale .of municipal parking lot No. 2 municipalities that the exemption from the its East Orange offices April 28 a t 10 a.m. current year, Under the 1923 statute, (the “old library parking lot”) for the rebate in the case of p a rk commission The Tax Board must verify municipal municipalities with more than 400 acres of construction of a “ unified shoping plaza property .no longer applies because the assessments by May 3 without on site parking” and the sale of county-owned land' within their borders. PATIENCE 14 ITS OWN REW ARD—The opening day of the trout season Essex County Park Commission has been The board yesterday upheld the-« ;itmd owned by park com- mOnicipal parking lot No. 1 (“Dave’s parking abolished, Under the county governmental (entionof Cedar Grove that it has more tfiar Saturday foujjjb Mitchell Harris (foreground) of 50 Parkview Drive, Joey lot” ) and the municipally-owned property at setup, which was revised in 1979, the 200 acres of county property used for >r- Harris of 240 Glen Avenue (center) and Roy Harvey of 45 Woodcrest the corner of Essex and Main Streets which Avenue among those lining the banks of Diamond Mill Pond. By 11 a.m., is now leased for use as a gasoline station. when photo w as taken, Mitchell and Joey had spent five hours looking, The sale of the parking lot and gas station without success, for their first catch of the season; Roy had just arrived would provde land "devoted to the con­ struction of a 2-story parking deck with at the pond. Gift covers JH S vandalism Within 24 hours of the discovery of w hat ment in science rooms in both the annex and th e method of entry has not yet been was described as the most damaging in­ the old building presently being renovated, Pinned down, although police found an open cident of vandalism a t Millburn Junior High and in the damaging of musical instruments w indow in the front of'the school which faces School in the school's history, a township owned Both by the school and by students - <pn Ola Short Hills Road. Locks were found resident has notified school authorities th a t “ I have never seen'anything like this in broken on other windows. he, " a s an expression of support for th e I my 25’ years as principal h e re " said H According to police, the vandals broka school community," will personally un­ Richard Conover, who.is retiring as head pf into about eight rooms and offices by derwrite all costs for the repairs and the school in June. smashing wire mesh windows from the replacement of destroyed articles. Mr. Conover estimated the damage wifi ■' outside and then unlocking doors from the The only condition attached by the run between $^00 and $1,500 when ist is' inside A sliding glass door in a third-floor resident to his gift was that h is anonymity assessed He said the damage to School science room was smashed, as Well as wall be "absolutely protected" equipment and paraphernalia as observed display cases m science room ' Containing The gift was reported by school principal to d ate is approximateiy DOOO ' H. Richard Conover Tuesday morning. Mr. The vandals went through the desk of Mr.. beekers and test tubes Conover said he had been instructed by the Conover as well as those of other school Two lire ext'nguisher' donor jto tell students and faculty members ‘ officials. Papers were “disturbed.” ac ­ •hird floor science room in IP' renovated that they should look upon th e donation as cording to the pnncipal, but none of im , “positive proof that .this community has portance are missing. faith in its students and faculty, that -the community is aware th a t the overwhelming number of young people are on the road, to becoming responsible adults and that th e faculty has the respect ahd admiration of QilbertPlace leaf dump the parents of the township.” Mr. Conover said the donor had made a gift to the school system in the past and that gift was also accompanied by request for draws residents'1 ire complete anonymity removing and storing leaves in the area, and MORE FISHERM EN THAN FISH—The opening of Diamond M ill Pond. All of the fishermen enjoyed the The" rampage by the vandals, which oc­ Hie fate of the town leaf dump on Gilbert - Place—long viewed as an eyesore and that it is more- economic than taking the' the trout season Saturday broughf a full complement spring day; some even reported catching trout, cat- .