The Newburgh City Council unanimously approved the contract in the amount of $120,000 with Control Point Associates for professional land surveying services to be conducted at Crystal Lake and the surrounding area during the regular council meeting at City Hall on Monday, Feb. 27.

City residents appeared before the city council on Monday night to voice their support of the survey and to potentially see a new park in this greenspace. Crystal Lake and the surrounding areas have seen recent work and utilization from community members and outreach programs in recent years.

City Engineer Jason Morris introduced the item at the city work session last Thursday for the city council.

“Over the past few years, the city has gotten a lot of interest from groups and the city council to develop this area, to further develop this area as a park. The general Crystal Lake area consists of 11 different parcels,” said Morris. “There is no survey currently that the city has which shows all of these 11 parcels.”

According to Morris, the previous budget prepared had allocated funds that would allow the survey to be conducted. This is the first step in potential development for the city, if they so chose. The survey, available in physical and digital form, would allow the city to gather more information on the parcels and the boundaries of the parcels. Dams, water bodies, trails, water depths of Crystal Lake and Millers Pond and other landscape features would be included in this survey.