in active sports left
out by council vote
Park plans move forward
after split-council vote
Area youth interested
in active sports left
out by council vote
By Sandi carpello
Staff Writer
HELMETTA — Despite an organized protest by borough youths and their parents, the governing body voted along party lines last week to approve the construction of a passive recreation park on Maple Avenue.
The council’s vote resulted in a 3-3 tie, which was then broken by Democratic Mayor Frank Hague. The vote awarded a construction contract in the amount of $173,475 to Brothers Paving & Excavating in Monroe
Voting in favor were Democratic council members Charlie Molino, Andrew Tancredi and Cay Dufau, while Republicans Ed Romano, Lou Adornati and Tom Reid opposed.
Clad in homemade T-shirts with slogans reading, "We Want a Place to Play" and "We Want Recreation Before College," approximately 20 youngsters under the guidance of resident Andrew Tidd sat quietly in the municipal courtroom with the hope of eradicating the council’s plans for a passive recreation park.
Several children have said recently they are frustrated the borough has no place for athletics and skateboarding.
Nick Holsten, 13, of Avenue B, said that he and his friends are continually asked to leave whatever area they choose to play in.
"We skate in the street and [authorities] tell us not to," he said. "We make a baseball field behind the snuff mill and we are kicked out."
The borough intends to use a state grant to create the passive recreation park with benches, pathways and two gazebos on a three-acre property adjacent to the Helmetta Pond.
According to Borough Business Administrator Jim Pickering, the work is being funded partially by a state Special Legislative Grant in the amount of $100,000. The remaining amount comes from Middlesex County, he said.
After the council’s vote, the group of protesters began yelling at Hague about the vote, with some walking out and Hague having to call for order in the meeting room. Dufau also left the room in order to retrieve a police officer to control the crowd.
Some of those present were the children of Hague’s political rivals.
"The mayor is not in touch with the needs of the kids," said Jamie Tidd, 12, the daughter of Andrew Tidd.
"Mayor Hague should have listened before he said no," said Katie Reid, daughter of Republican Councilman Tom Reid.
Hague said later that he believed the protest was organized for political reasons, and noted the timing — just weeks before the election.
"I know this is political," he said.
Hague said the conceptual plan for the passive recreation park had been in discussions for nearly two years.
"This didn’t happen overnight," he said.
If the borough does not spend the grant money by December, the borough could lose it, Dufau said.
The councilwoman said that residents were asked how they wanted to utilize the recreation funds, and that they expressed an interest in a garden area or a place to walk.
"No one said a skate park," she said.
However, Tidd, who says he plans to run for mayor in 2003, said that although a park had been discussed, residents were never made aware that all of the recreation money would be utilized for that particular project.
Romano acknowledged that parents and children waited until the last minute to request a park of a different nature.
He said the council may be able to implement a recreation area in the vicinity of the snuff mill, which is in discussions for a redevelopment project.

