Morristown To Cut Ribbon At Redeveloped Foote's Pond Park

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Town officials will hold a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Saturday for the redeveloped park around Foote's Pond. The 24-acre park now includes pathways, new plants, bridges, benches, bike racks and birdhouses.

Redevelopment and hydro-raking began in October 2019 — a month after Town Council approved the project. The redevelopment was crucial for the local wildlife, including turtles, frogs and native bird species, officials said. Native wildflowers such as daisies and purple cone flowers now line the trials and pathways.

"Foote's Pond is a staple of Morristown and integral to our history, dating back as far as 1868," said Mayor Tim Dougherty. "We're so excited to enjoy and celebrate this important part of Morristown once again."

Hydro-raking is an alternative to dredging that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has approved. The process is used to restore water surface area and water depth in a pond or lake. A mechanical hydro-rake — similar to a backhoe and mounted on a small barge or pontoon — is deployed into the pond.

It rakes out and removes only vegetative matter — both live and decomposed — down to the original lake bottom. The material is then deposited into a container on the shoreline to allow excess water to drain back into the pond, then loaded into sealed containers and trucked away.

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