The township’s Recreation Department has started using five acres of state land on North State Home Road for youth football practices.
By:Al Wicklund
MONROE — The township’s Recreation Department has started using five acres of state land on North State Home Road for youth football practices.
The land is being leased at a dollar a year as part of the township’s reward by the state for being the site of the New Jersey Training School for Boys, a correctional facility.
The department also is keeping an eye on another 92 acres of state property it would like to use, under the same leasing arrangement, for recreational purposes.
The State House Commission approved the leasing arrangement June 30.
At that time, Mary Lou Murphy, a spokeswoman for the treasury department, said the township received use of both parcels of land in exchange for being the host community.
The commission is a seven-member group that includes Gov. Christie Whitman and representatives of the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of the Treasury and the state Legislature. It controls both the sale and leasing of state property.
“Several state agencies are interested in keeping the area for open space. The county is interested in the tract for farmland,” Ms. Murphy said of the 92-acre lot still being sought after by the township.
Mayor Richard Pucci said last fall the township had been trying for more than two years to gain access to the two tracts.
Township officials also have asked to have the training school, a correctional facility, closed. If not, they argue, all open ground on the site should be designated as open space and remain free of buildings.
The Township Council last week approved a 25-year lease agreement for the five-acre piece of the New Jersey Training School for boys property.
The council agreed at its Sept. 6 business meeting to give the state a dollar a year for use of the land for recreation.
After 25 years, the agreement with the juvenile justice division of the state Department of Corrections may be renewed.
Township Engineer Ernie Feist said Wednesday the township’s recreation staff acted quickly to put the field into use.
“The five-acre tract had been a farm field. The Recreation Department converted it to a grass field suitable for football practices,” he said.
Mr. Feist said the township is still waiting for a decision by state officials on the 92 acres located on about a mile from the North State Home Road five-acre site.
The two lots represent two prime sites suitable for recreational use in the central portion of the township.
Meanwhile, Mr. Feist said the township is still seeking use of the larger tract, which is of interest to several state agencies as well as the township.
The state Department of the Treasury is involved in negotiations with the interested state agencies and the township.
“The 92 acres could be used by Monroe for a combination of park land and athletic fields, including playing surfaces for soccer and baseball.
“There’s space there for other activities, including open space, walking trails and parking areas,” Mr. Feist said.