Closing West Mill Road

[Teegate]

I made a slight edit to my original post.

I doubt the state gave a permit. I would think they are not happy and most likely are working to try and fix the problem.

 

[bobpbx]

If somebody on this forum has deep pockets, please sue the town of Hammonton over this dastardly deed on behalf of the people of the state. Forum members can help you prepare the lawsuit.

 

[manumuskin]

I just noticed that the openspace file says that even the lower road through paradise property has a right of way through it.Of course the upper road avoids the property completely and the gates shuts off both.

 

[Teegate]

That open space file is correct. He owns that portion of the road the goes through his property. That is why the upper road was made sometime between 1970 and 1995.

 

[manumuskin]

Actually wouldn't the openspace file be incorrect? it shows the lower road as being owned by the state as an easement passing through his property? perhaps thats how it was intended to be but perhaps he whined about it till the state gave him the road (lower) and made the upper road to bypass his land.Then he started whining about that too?

 

[Teegate]

Yes you are correct.

He had nothing to do with the road being plowed off his property. That was sometime between 1970 and 1995.

 

[Teegate]

If you know an email address to the DEP, I would suggest that if you are interested in the state continuing the fight to get West Mill Road open that you write the DEP now. Now the goal is to find a good email address.

 

[manumuskin]

http://www.nj.gov/cgi-bin/dep/contactdep.pl
would it be the county and local officials email bottom left?

609) 633-7700 or kerry.pflugh@dep.nj.gov.

 

[Teegate]

I suspect that is not the one for us to write to.

 

[manumuskin]

another try
http://www.nj.gov/cgi-bin/dep/contactdep_general.pl

 

[Teegate]

I was looking at that one. Someone there would have to pass it along to the proper location. So if you use that contact form it may be a good idea to mention you want it to go to the Division of Law.

 

[RednekF350]

Here are a few email addresses for people if you would like to start a little hammering:

The new Commissioner of NJDEP Catherine McCabe
catherine.mccabe@dep.nj.gov

Assistant NJDEP Commissioner Richard Boornazian:
richard.boornazian@dep.nj.gov

The Director of Parks and Forestry Mark Texel
Mark.Texel@dep.nj.gov

Fish and Wildlife Director Larry Herrighty:
larry.herrighty@dep.nj.gov

There is soon going to be a bit of a movement regarding this fiasco.

 

[Cherokee261]

Kerry Pflugh is the new municipal liaison, it's worth including her in the communications. I give her some credit, since she took over the role, she has started sending weekly updates on "what's happening" at the DEP. She also went out to every municipality and met with the local officials to ask about our concerns.

 

[Teegate]

Glad you are involved Cherokee.

 

[ecampbell]

How do I get these updates?

 

[Teegate]

I believe Ed they are Municipal updates and not really for the average person. Cherokee is involved with a municipality so he would get them. I could be wrong.

 

[openwoods]

This past weekend I walked West Mill Road from Route 206 to visit one of my old hunting sites. Unfortunately I can no longer hunt there because there is a gate that prevents vehicle access. There were many trees across West Mill Road from the snow storm we had this past Spring. When I entered the area just east of Paradise Lakes (approximately 1.5 miles from the gate) I noticed bulldozer tracks on West Mill Road. The bulldozer accessed the area from the Paradise Lakes property. A significant amount of road grading had been done to West Mill Road. The road was widened at one location. This was done just prior to the snow storm because there were many trees across the road in some areas. I walked another mile and turned around because my time was limited. The road work may have continued into Mullica Township. I know where the boundary is between Hammonton and Mullica Township. I didn't make it that far. I suspect the trees that fell across West Mill Road (in the area where the road grading was done) during the snowstorm will be removed in the very near future.

Wonder if the owner of Paradise Lakes plans to use that portion of West Mill Road for horseback riding, haunted hayrides, hiking or whatever? West Mill Road is easy accessible from Paradise Lakes from the last dam (not the newly constructed bridge closer to Route 206).

Also the area of West Mill Road just north of Paradise Lakes wasn't deliberately flooded this past Fall (like it was during of the Fall of 2015 and 2016). That wasn't necessary because the gate prevents people (like myself) from driving their vehicle down West Mill Road.

I have a marked up image that shows where the road grading took place. I can't figure out how to upload it however. I can send it to someone so it can be uploaded. Send me an email. Thanks!

 

[Boyd]

I have a marked up image that shows where the road grading took place. I can't figure out how to upload it however.

Click the "Upload a File" button at the bottom right of the box where you enter your text. Browse to find the image you want and click the Choose button. Now click the "Full Image" button and your picture will be inserted in your post at the current cursor position.

 

[bobpbx]

I contacted open woods for the image, along with the legend.

yellow line (new bridge)
green line (existing dam)
red line (road grading)

 

[RednekF350]

Wonder if the owner of Paradise Lakes plans to use that portion of West Mill Road for horseback riding, haunted hayrides, hiking or whatever? West Mill Road is easy accessible from Paradise Lakes from the last dam (not the newly constructed bridge closer to Route 206).

Well, considering that Monster Truck events, rodeos, hay rides, horseback riding and music festivals are all in his repertoire, I would not be surprised.
http://www.millerfarmsllc.com/