Madison applies for another $5 million for Drew Forest purchase
By: Brett Friedensohn, Managing Editor; Madison Eagle
MADISON – The Borough Council applied for another $5 million grant for open space funding from Morris County to purchase the Drew Forest during the Monday, May 13 meeting.
The borough applied for $10 million last year and got $5 million. Mayor Robert Conley said during the meeting that the borough is now going back in a second effort.
“And it should be known that while we didn’t receive $10 million fully last year, at $5 million, that was one of the largest grants that the county Open Space has made,” Conley said. “So we truly appreciate the partnership, and without it, Drew Forest, the MRC (Madison Recreation Complex) and other projects would not be possible.”
“Drew Forest is a singular piece of property that I think for Madison Borough really completes your open space program and the initiatives that you’ve done.
“So you should feel confident in your application to the county for funding to acquire Drew Forest. Drew Forest is a singular piece of property that I think for Madison Borough really completes your open space program and the initiatives that you’ve done.”
Friends of the Drew Forest Co-chair Judy Kroll, a Madison resident, said during the meeting that she wanted to give the full endorsement of the grant application on behalf of the Friends.
“It’s really very good to hear that there has been more communication between the university and the borough of late,” Kroll said. “And I know that (Drew University President) Dr. (Hilary) Link has been very gracious, and I know that she is interested in preserving the forest.”
Kroll also said that she wanted to invite the public to the state Superior Court hearing between Madison and Drew Monday, May 20 and Tuesday, May 21 at the Morris County Courthouse at 56 Washington St., Morristown.
The trial pertains to Drew’s challenge to Madison’s affordable housing plan that started in June 2022, and the Friends hope next week’s trial will be the final session, Kroll said.
Next week’s hearing will be overseen by Judge Stephen Hansbury who ruled in September 2022 that Madison should revise the calculations used in its 2020 affordable housing settlement to include however much land can be developed within a 63-acre area at the western end of the Drew campus.
Drew filed its lawsuit against Madison in June 2022, claiming the borough conducted years of bad-faith land acquisition talks with the university in an effort to look good to the court as it negotiated its third-round affordable housing settlement
The trial is set to take place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, and the Friends are looking for people to sit in the pews to show their support for the forest from about 9 to 11:30 a.m.
