could set aside plot
along Route 522
Rec center land may be
site for new first aid HQ
Manalapan officials
could set aside plot
along Route 522
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
A long-awaited decision to approve a new home for the Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad may be at hand.
Manalapan Township Committee members are expected to pass a resolution on April 30 which will provide for a portion of the Dreyer tract at the Manalapan Recreation Center, Route 522, to be used as the site for the new first aid squad building.
"I’m glad to see that the township is helping out the squad, realizing that we need a better location," said squad Capt. Mike Alongi. "Our current building [on Sanford Street, off Pension Road] has been there since 1969."
Squad administrators have been searching for a new headquarters location for several years. Among the potential sites that were examined were parcels at the township Village Green on Route 522 just east of Tennent Road; land at Taylors Mills and Tennent roads; and a location on Route 33.
For a variety of reasons, none of those sites was selected.
Alongi said the proposed location at the recreation center will put the squad in a central location: able to serve the north side of the township, where most of Manal-apan’s residents live, and the south side, which will be an area of growth in the coming years.
He said the township is helping the first aid squad by allocating a portion of land.
"I’ve always been a great supporter of our emergency services," said Mayor Drew Shapiro. "It’s heartwarming that we are able to preliminarily give a piece of land to the first aid squad with which they are happy."
Shapiro said he was looking forward to working with the first aid squad to obtain the funds needed to make the new squad home a reality.
"It is quite obvious that this is beneficial to every resident in town," said the mayor. "Every resident in town will reap the benefits of a stronger, more centrally located first aid squad."
Looking ahead, Alongi said the squad will have to come up with an architect for the project and start a fund drive.
He praised the township officials for their help and said he hoped it would soon be time to take the next steps.
Although the exact location of the parcel involved has not been determined, the township has expressed its commitment to include in its planning for the Dreyer tract an area for use by the first aid squad.
At the April 9 Township Com-mittee workshop meeting, the proposed resolution under discussion indicated that upon the adoption of the plan for the recreation center, the committee will authorize the preparation and introduction of an ordinance permitting the conveyance to proceed. It was also noted in the resolution that the parcel will front on Route 522.
"If the township does pass the resolution for the property, we plan to put a sign out on Route 522 where the future home of the squad will be," said Alongi. "We plan to target local businesses for assistance in funding the new squad headquarters."