Chester dam will be restored to 18th century luster

Can anyone tell me if the Kay Pond and the Black River basin adjacent to State Park Road in Chester Township will be dredged of invasive plants that now almost completely fill the drained Kay Pond basin since it was emptied almost two years ago when the dam reconstruction began and has now exceeded its projected date for completion? The river and pond were beautiful once and provided a stopping place for geese and other wildlife seasonally, including great blue herons who would come and fly gracefully up the river - back when it was a river. Since moving to the Township almost 18 years ago, I and many other people have walked the paths along the river behind Cooper Mill and come to the Kay Pond and admired its quiet gentle scenic beauty. I am very concerned it that will now suffer the same fate that the section of Black River north of Chester, adjacent to Rt. 206, encountered when it filled with invasive plants almost two decades ago and disappeared. Does anyone else care about the possibility of our losing Kay Pond to the same fate?

And while we're on the subject of losing, is anyone else bothered by the perennial Carnival Park atmosphere that once was Alstede Farm? Try driving from Parker Road to the Center of Chester on almost any weekend in the spring, summer or fall and getting stuck in huge hordes of traffic headed for the myriad of Alstede Parking Lots, scenic Port-a-Potty structures, and dozens of striped tents that have sprung up on that property over the past several years and see how you feel. I am curious about what other Township residents think about these new developments.

Susan Martin
Sep '10