After mix-up, boro seeks new home for bird nest Police called after Scouts place structure on private property BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer "I mean, we're Keyport. We're on the water. It's all over the place. We should be able to find someplace to put an 18-foot structure for a tree house." - Joseph Sheridan Councilman KEYPORT - Police were called April 21 after Boy Scouts working toward a merit badge erected an 18-foot-high bird nest on private property. Asked to perform the job by the Borough Council, Boy Scout Troop 92, Hazlet, placed the large osprey nest on a pile of dredge spoils behind West Front Street, near the Keyport Fishery. Police arrived shortly before noon, about three hours into the job, after the property owner complained the Scouts had not asked permission, according to Police Capt. Thomas Mitchell. On Friday, Mitchell noted the owner was not angry or rude with the Scouts, but simply concerned that the nest might interfere with plans to develop the site. Councilman Joseph Sheridan immediately took blame for the mix-up, explaining that he mistakenly assumed lease-holder Wade Pederson was the owner of the spoils pit. "I thought the nest was going to go along the dredge spoils, so I talked to the dredge spoils guy, who is Wade," Sheridan said. He added that he did not realize his error until the Scouts had already arrived on the scene for the job. "At that point, it was too late," Sheridan said. The next day, Sheridan explained the unfortunate incident in an e-mail to his fellow council members. "The Scouts worked all morning installing the nest," Sheridan wrote April 23. "I helped them until I had to leave for the waterfront meeting at 10:15 a.m. I returned to the site after the meeting around noon. ... While returning to the osprey nest site, I received a call from Mr. Tom Tofte, the Scout liaison that I have been dealing with since the beginning of this project. He said the owner of the property had politely asked them who they were and what they were doing. When he found out they were building an osprey nest, he said that he had no notice of this project, did not want it on his property and called the police." Sheridan was upset by the outcome but sympathetic to the owner. "I don't want to mess with this guy's ability to go before the Planning Board," Sheridan said. "And I did see his point, but on the other side, it's Earth Day. There's 14 Scouts here and it's on a berm." The nest has been Sheridan's pet project for several months, recently acquiring a $500 grant from Verizon to pay for the nest and its upkeep. In return for a merit badge, the Hazlet Boy Scout troop agreed to build and install the nest along with a webcam, to be used for broadcast on the municipal Web site. At the April 24 council meeting, Sheridan reported that the Scouts remain interested in the project, but finding a new location has proven to be difficult. The spoils pit site was perfect, he said, because of its proximity to borough hall's Web site operation, its view of the Raritan Bay, and its distance from the main road, which would ensure the birds are not bothered. "I mean, we're Keyport. We're on the water," Sheridan said. "It's all over the place. We should be able to find someplace to put an 18-foot structure for a tree house." Environmental Commission Chairman Rowland Seckinger worked with the Scouts on the project. He said Sheridan was not to blame. "Joe, you don't have anything to apologize for as far as the osprey nest," Seckinger said. "You did an outstanding job. It's because we have a citizen in this community that's more interested in his bucks than he is about an osprey nest for an endangered species." In the end, Sheridan agreed the mishap may be cause for another type of merit badge, in patience and bureaucratic procedures. "You've got to be able to cross your i's and dot your t's, and I really thought I did that," he said jokingly. The councilman is now searching for a new spot for the nest and is tentatively considering Cedar Street Park. Because of the warm weather, time is of the essence. "Ospreys are out looking for housing right now," he said.