Grant to fund work on new and existing athletic fields

By jennifer dome
Staff Writer

Grant to fund work on new
and existing athletic fields
By jennifer dome
Staff Writer

SOUTH RIVER — The Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders is expected to approve almost $1 million in funding to improve the borough’s parks and athletic fields at its meeting tonight.

According to Mayor Robert Szegeti, the anticipated $995,000 would come from the county’s Open Space Fund. The money would be used to develop athletic fields in Grekoski Park, located off Whitehead Avenue, and to improve the new soccer field at the end of Veterans Drive, he said.

The mayor, who said he presented the proposal for the grant to Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel last week, also made a presentation to the entire Freeholders board Monday with the borough’s engineering firm, CME Associates.

Crabiel said Wednesday that the money would be the first of three contributions that the county is making to municipal parks through its open space fund.

"CME put in ‘x, y, z’ for us, so we’re able to move on this now," Crabiel said. "This is good for South River."

There is presently about $25 million in the county open space fund, thanks to a recent referendum that increased the county’s open space tax from 1 cent to 3 cents.

The borough would like to spend $655,000 of the county funds to construct multipurpose athletic fields and install lighting and irrigation systems at Grekoski Park, Szegeti said.

They will also build a lighted parking lot with 65 spaces and permanent bathroom facilities at the site, he said.

The fields will be used for both football and baseball, he added

At the Veterans Drive athletic field, the borough will spend $340,000 to install an irrigation system, lighting and bleachers, the mayor said.

Plans also include the regrading and shifting of the field, he said. In the future, officials hope to expand the parking there and construct another field, he said.

"I’m overjoyed. It’s allowing us to do things quicker than we anticipated," Councilman Arthur Londensky said Tuesday. "The county freeholders are a big help."

The construction of the Daley’s Pond soccer field will soon be completed, adding to the recreation fields that will be available at Grekoski Park and Veterans Drive. Londensky said he is happy to see the lighting installed at all three sites so that recreation programs can run later than in the past.

"That’s really what the county open space tax is for," Londensky said, referring to the money for the athletic fields.

According to Szegeti, the borough could advertise for bids on the Veterans Drive- and Grekoski Park-projects this month. He said he hopes construction will begin this winter, as long as the weather is mild.