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The artist concept drawing of a planned mural for the Moran Street side wall of 15 Spring St. in Newton has been made public by the town.

The mural will be converted from the concept drawing into the finished painted product during a weeklong community painting event in August and then installed on the wall, again with the help of citizens, at an as-yet undetermined date in October.

The concept painting is from Caren Olmsted of the Olmsted Mural Group as part of a larger Neighborhood Preservation Program, which includes alleyway improvements with signage and lighting as well as signage and façade improvements on some storefronts on Spring Street.

The town has just finished installation, with the help of Planet Networks, of an outside PA system on Spring Street which can play music for shoppers and is used for narration of events such as parades and the annual Taste of Newton. Last summer, the long-term project brought flower planters to the downtown shopping district.

The August event is tentatively planned for the basement area of the J. Caldwell and Associates building on Spring Stret where the participants will be creating the panels which will make up the finished mural. That process is expected to take place over the course of a week.

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The October event will also involve the public in taking the full-size mural − 14-by-60 feet − and installing it on the wall which faces Moran Street, but is easily visible from Spring Street. A public unveiling will also take place in October at a date to be determined.

Town Manager Thomas Russo said the cost of the mural project is just under $44,000.

Olmsted, a native of Morristown, has her studio in Basking Ridge, and founded the company after spending several years as a set and lighting designer and four years as an art educator. She holds a degree in theater design from Bates College, and has an art education degree from Appalachian State University.

During the August event, the public will help with the actual painting of the panels which make up the mural. Those panels will then be transferred to the wall in October.

NEWTON - A homeowner whose restoration project collapsed was given permission from a town commission to rebuild a High Street house in the town's historic district.

The project by Angel Pacheco stirred up some controversy since the owner removed the two-story house despite having only permission to begin renovations.

Monday's agenda for the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission noted that Pacheco's appearance was to: "Rebuild structure demolished without prior approval."

While the two-story residence has no historic significance by itself, it is part of the historic district in the center of Newton. He had earlier appeared before the commission and got approval to restore the house.

However, as he explained to the commission, he and a crew were inside the home tearing out old plaster and lath when "the house began creaking and cracking." He said the second floor collapsed, nearly trapping workers inside.

At that point, the house was a total loss because of rotten and insect-riddled wood which he carted off to a landfill, leaving just the foundation.

Before the meeting, commission member Harry Kaplan, who is a school crossing guard at a nearby intersection, confirmed that the wooden structure was rotten. He said his post allowed him to watch the process and speak with Pacheco during the demolition.

For nearly 90 minutes, Pacheco explained how he planned to rebuild the house so that the exterior matched the original and offered up examples of what was saved from the structure, such as decorative wooden adornments, and examples of what the siding, windows and porch railings would be.

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In addition to board members, Pacheco also got in a discussion with Wayne McCabe, a High Street neighbor, who is a professional in historic restorations and past Sussex County historian.

As McCabe went down the list of exterior items, the homeowner/contractor agreed to what would go into the reconstruction − wood, plastic or metal. The discussion even came down to an agreement for a "replica chimney" which would be built on the roof to replace the original full brick chimney.

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As explained by McCabe, even a plain house is made distinctive by its "windows, doors and chimneys."

While Pacheco wanted to put on a metal roof, replacing what was on the house before it collapsed, McCabe suggested going with modern shingles which appear more like the original slate roof would have been when the house was built in 1806.

"Oh, that will be cheaper," exclaimed Pacheco. "Thank you."

The owner said the foundation is solid for replacing the 928-square-foot house, and he would also recreate the nearly 200 square feet of porches.

While none are yet open, Newton is just months away from having three retail cannabis retail stores, a delivery service and a manufacturing plant.

On Monday, the Town Council approved Curiosity Cannabis to open a retail operation at 70-72 Mill St., which would be next door to another retail store 78 Mill St., and across the street from where a manufacturing business also has plans before town and state approving agencies.

Town Manager Tom Russo said those three are in addition to the former carpet store at 117 Water St., which was approved by the council and planning board early last fall. That company, Newton CB, LLC, is owned by the Romano family which owns Shoprite stores.

Part of the state's licensing process requires applicants to have municipal approvals before a license is granted. Those licenses fall in different classes: growing, manufacturing, storing, delivery and retail sales.

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According to Russo, the Water Street store apparently has all the necessary permits and licenses and just needs to renovate the building.

This latest applicant is applying for two state licenses − retail and delivery, according to Russo. The business is owned by Nicole Hughes, of Chicago, who has a 60% ownership. Perry Maio of Sparta, who owns the property at 70-72 Mill St., is listed as a 35% owner. The remaining 5% owner is listed as Rabbi Shmaya Krinsky of Hillsboro.

The application from New Re-Leaf, which seeks to put a retail store at 78 Mill St., goes before the Newton Planning Board at an April 19 meeting.

Russo said the proposal for the manufacturing facility will go before the Planning Board's Technical Review Committee which meets next week. That committee serves as a first-step in the process to look for and discuss potential issues prior to going before the full board.

As allowed by state law, Newton has established a tax on the various types of cannabis operations based on how much business they do. The tax was established in 2021, before any applications were made and has not yet produced any revenue for the town.

The town's 2023 budget, approved at Monday's meeting, does not include a line item for cannabis tax revenue.

The council has approved local ordinances which restrict cannabis retail shops to parts of Mill and Water streets. Other cannabis operations are allowed in other parts of town, provided the operation meets zoning requirements.

The council action was to formalize that the proposed business complies with town zoning and other ordinances and that the council supports issuing the state license.

2-minute read

NEWTON − With three applications for retail cannabis shops in hand, the Town Council is proposing to add one more possibility within the general area of Mill and Water streets, which are already cleared to hold two each.

On Monday, the council introduced an additional retail opportunity within the SD-3 zone, but retained the limit of two shops each on Mill and Water streets.

The council also approved a change in name for the 117 Water St. retail cannabis business from Newton CB to Skyland Herbal.

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The council also expressed support for a resolution − likely to be introduced at the June 26 meeting − which urges Sussex County to move forward with the project to upgrade the county-owned Dennis Library. Once operated by the Newton Library Association, the town also owned the library before ownership was transferred to the county.

The county was able to obtain $3.5 million in state grants which it said it would match to make upgrades. The upgrades were estimated to cost about $7 million. However, bids to do the necessary work came in at a minimum of $10 million and the project was put on hold.

The county's Board of Commissioners has asked the county engineer and administrator to go over the plans looking to bring the costs down to what has been committed.

The library issue was brought to the council by a town resident during the public comment session who noted the need to upgrade the building to make it more accessible to town residents. Councilwoman Helen LeFrois was absent from the meeting, but during various later comments by other councilmembers, it appeared all were in favor of such a resolution.

Historic house news

The council also appeared to be upset by news from Wayne McCabe about how a house in the town's historic district was taken apart beam by beam and hauled away. McCabe said the owner, however, did not have that approval and instead had told the town's Planning Board he wanted to upgrade and restore the building.

According to McCabe, instead of upgrading, the applicant dismantled the house at 75 High St., leaving a cellar hole. When questioned, the owner, according to McCabe, said there was no way to "save" the building because of issues uncovered.

Town Attorney Eric Bernstein said on the face of what McCabe, a former county and town historian and president of the Newton Historic Association, said it appears the owner violated Historic Preservation Commission permissions and town permits for renovations, not demolition. He said he would look into the issue and report back to the council.

The agenda from the May 15 meeting show that Angel Pacheco appeared before the commission for permission to do "exterior renovations and repairs: siding, roofing, windows, front porch, side door, and front door" work.

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Other items

The council also accepted the low bid of $1,089,472 from D.S. Meyer Enterprises of Waldwick to be the prime contractor for a sidewalk/road project on Mill Street and Swartswood Road. Since the road is part of the Sussex County highway system (County Route 519), the county is partner in the project.

The council approved - with Councilwoman Sandra Diglio abstaining - a resolution to name June as LBGQTIA+ Pride month in the town.

Bruce A. Scruton

NEWTON − Although one time slot is filled with volunteers, there are still plenty of spaces available for the public to participate in creating the mural which will be placed on the wall of 15 Spring St. this fall.

Using funds from the Neighborhood Preservation Program, the town hired mural artist Caren Olmsted to create the 14-by-60 foot mural which will adorn the Moran Street side of the building.

Part of the project involves members of the public gathering in the basement of a Spring Street business where the pieces of the mural will be painted and assembled into panels which will be attached to the wall, creating the full rendering.

Signups can be done through the website: signupgenius.com/go/10C084DA4A72FA0FCCE9-mural.

The first timeblock on July 30 has been filled, but there are 17 more hourlong blocks available through Aug. 3. Each session has space for 20 people which will allow groups of friends to work together. There is a limit of two signups per person.

Installation of the mural will be in early October with a formal "unveiling" ceremony to follow on a date to be scheduled later.

The mural is part of the overall Neighborhood Preservation Program grant aimed at Spring Street. That work has included installation, with the help of Planet Networks, of an outside PA system on Spring Street which can play music for shoppers and is used for narration of events such as parades and the annual Taste of Newton.

Last summer, the long-term project brought flower planters to the downtown shopping district. Other parts of the grant will help property owners restore facades and install signage and lighting. There will also be work to improve the alleyways which lead from Spring Street to off-street public parking.

Olmsted, a native of Morristown, has a studio in Basking Ridge where she creates her murals under the name Olmstead Mural Group. She will help supervise the public painting sessions.

Olmsted founded the company after several years working as a set and lighting designer and four years as an art educator. She holds a degree in theater design from Bates College and has an art education degree from Appalachian State University.