I love Walker’s Pond. I don’t love the way Walker’s Pond has been handled.

Josh Raymond, Candidate for Mayor of North Caldwell, August 2022

Like many of you, when Art, Steve, and I drive past Walker’s Pond, we shake our heads and lament the loss of an opportunity. This beautiful property, with so much potential for community enjoyment, remains unused six years after its purchase. Borough taxpayers paid $2.85M to acquire the property and have incurred significant additional cleanup and professional fees. Further, residents continue to pay between $250,000 and $300,000 in open space taxes each year, in addition to interest on the bond to purchase this unused space. When the Borough acquired the 17-acre parcel in 2016, the stated vision for the property was the re-creation of a once-beloved ice-skating pond. I was the only Council Member to vote against the purchase of the property, not because I didn’t support acquiring an asset for the Borough or the prevention of Development at the site, but because I disagreed that the nostalgia related to a former ice-skating pond should drive the single largest Borough expenditure in recent memory. Six years later, the property has incurred substantial costs but has not undergone substantive improvements that would allow for its enjoyment. In fact, the Council continued to discuss a skating pond long after it became clear that the property was not well-suited for such use. Since the Borough acquired the property, the pond has not been utilized by the public to its highest potential. Perhaps the most glaring example of underutilization of Walker’s Pond is the complete lack of activity at the site during the pandemic when families needed outdoor space the most. While other towns hosted outdoor movie nights or socially distanced open-air activities, our treasure sat dormant and unused. The Mayor and Council seem to avoid thoughtful dialogue and creative thinking about the best uses for the property because of a nostalgic adherence to the past.

Conveniently, public dialogue and action at the Walker’s Pond site seem to only occur just before contested elections. We understand that the Walker’s Pond Conservancy is taking more initiative of late but at increased cost and administrative challenges due to the lack of planning at the outset. Moreover, timelines to move the project forward still continue to lag without a clear vision to utilize this wonderful property for the benefit of our community.

The Raymond Team believes North Caldwell residents deserve a higher return on their investment. Our community can do better in the future by electing The Raymond Team – a team that will prioritize planning, implementation, and careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

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