Lake group tries fundraising for dam repairs

WANTAGE — After losing the support of the Wantage Township Committee last summer to impose a tax to pay for up to $1 million in dam repairs needed at Lake Neepaulin, the Friends of Lake Neepaulin have launched a fundraising effort. At the Oct. 29 Township Committee meeting, the group asked to post a thermometer-shaped fundraising sign in front of the Municipal Building on Route 23 to reflect the progress they’re making raising funds for dam repairs. But Township Administrator Jim Doherty informed the three-person committee that the town doesn’t permit private advertisements on town property. The committee unanimously shot down the request by FOLN. Joy Steinbacher, the group’s president, said the group has been actively fundraising for dam repairs for the past 10 years. This past summer, it held a pig roast at the lake beach to raise additional funds. The group recently created a bank account through Lakeland Bank for fundraising purposes, said Steinbacher. The account currently has just $100, but the intent is to separate the fundraising for dam repairs from legal fees the group has had to pay, she said. “We need to raise $1 million,” said Steinbacher. She said the Friends of Lake Neepaulin is currently looking into whether it can get state or federal grants to help pay for the repair project. “Any amount of money will help at this point,” she added. To donate to the cause, send a check to Friends of Lake Neepaulin, 161 North Shore Drive, Sussex, NJ 07461.