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Landscape architect presents restoration plan for Bicentennial Hall; council questions maintenance and drainage
Summary
Landscape architect Steven R. Croft presented a donated design for Bicentennial Hall that calls for selective removal of dead and hazardous trees, a paved terrace and native-plant buffers; council members asked about drainage and long-term maintenance and the historic association said it will fund plantings and Croft is donating design services.
The Borough of Fair Haven on April 27 heard a detailed, donated landscape plan for Bicentennial Hall that would remove hazardous trees, add native plantings and build a low circular seat wall and paved terrace to reclaim usable lawn space.
"About 75% of the trees on the site are either dead, dying or a hazard," said landscape architect Steven R. Croft, who delivered the design after being introduced by a representative of the historic association. Croft recommended selective tree removals, relocating service elements such as trash cans to the rear and using low-maintenance native plantings with a labeled planting list for education.
The plan includes a modest paved terrace and a low seat wall to retain grade changes of two to three feet in the southeastern corner, Croft said, and a reworked walkway so functional elements such as a planned generator and trash storage would be screened behind the building.
Council members pressed Croft on maintenance and drainage. "I didn't hear anything about drainage — is that incorporated?" a council member asked. Croft replied that the building has gutters and leaders that discharge to the ground and that any patio or terrace work would need a simple drainage solution to avoid directing water onto neighboring properties.
Council members also asked who would maintain plantings. The historic-association representative said the association has committed funds for plantings and that Croft has donated his design services; the representative added the association will prepare a maintenance approach and the project would include a one-year performance warranty for newly planted material.
"We're not creating an arboretum — the goal is complementary, durable planting that is not a maintenance burden," Croft said. He described a labeled planting plan so school groups or garden-club volunteers could help with modest upkeep.
No formal council vote on the design occurred at the meeting. Council members and the association said work would be coordinated with the borough’s bid schedule for building repairs, with an ideal window to plant in the fall so improvements can be in place for the borough’s Centennial activities.
The council asked staff to provide more detail on drainage plans and a longer-term maintenance or succession plan before final approvals.
