Two-thirds of responding residents give plan
the green light
By charles w. kim
Staff Writer
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Almost 73 percent of residents surveyed would like the township to build a pool.
The survey was sent out to more than 18,000 residents of the township at the end of December. Out of the 2,331 who responded, close to two-thirds said they would like the township to build something.
"The data is what the data is," said Mark Robins of Atlantic Recreation on March 25.
Last year the township contracted Atlantic Recreation, Valley Forge, Pa., to perform a study to see if residents wanted a pool or water park built in the town. The company was paid $42,000 to conduct the study.
The initial study did not include a survey of township residents. When Robins presented the study to the council in December, council members were upset that a survey was not included.
Newly appointed Township Manager Barbara Sacks and the council members developed the survey that was sent to every household in the township. Robins’ firm then interpreted the results from the surveys returned, which were about 16 percent of the total sent out.
"That number surprised me," Robins said, explaining that 16 percent was a high number of responses to a mailed survey, and was even more remarkable given the time of year it was mailed.
According to Robins, the survey was sent to residents just after Christmas.
Among the questions asked, residents had to say if they owned their own home, had a private pool, and what part of town they lived in, and what type of facility they would like to see built.
Robins said the majority of responses came from the Monmouth Junction and Kendall Park sections of the township. He said that was also surprising because there are currently pools near those locations.
The Willows is near Kendall Park on Route 27 and the South Brunswick Family YMCA is located in Monmouth Junction.
"They were areas closest to existing pools," Robins said.
According to the survey, 46 percent of respondents said they would like both an indoor and outdoor pool, 16 percent opted for just an outdoor pool, 13 percent for an indoor pool, and 25 percent said the township should not build either facility.
The survey results also showed that 17 percent of respondents owned their own pool, and half of those said they would use a township facility.
Of those who wanted some water facility built, 62 percent asked for slides, picnic areas and a "lazy river," similar to the Crystal Springs facility in neighboring East Brunswick.
In the comments section of the survey, many residents said that while they supported building some kind of pool, they did not want to use tax money for the construction.
"People have strong opinions on both sides of this," Robins said.
Mayor Frank Gambatese said that the next step would be to appoint a citizens committee to review the issue again.
Former Mayor Debra Johnson had appointed a task force to consider the issue early last year. That group reported back to the council in August, concluding that a water park might work in the township.
"In order to make this decision, we needed this survey done," Gambatese said, adding that the results of the survey can now be used to discuss the issue with a new committee.
A copy of the survey will soon be available in the South Brunswick Public Library on Kingston Lane for residents to review, Gambatese said.