closer to opening
Mannino Park
Old Bridge moves
closer to opening
Mannino Park
BY SUE M. MORGAN
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — Access to the long-awaited Peter A. Mannino Park is a step closer, thanks to the Township Council’s unanimous approval of a $1.15 million bond ordinance to fund an entry point to the 165-acre tract.
Old Bridge also has the deed to a 1.3-acre triangle of land, formerly owned by Perth Amboy, that will eventually form the park’s main entrance at Route 516 and Owens Road, Mayor Jim Phillips announced Monday night.
Though no actual timetable has yet been established for construction and ultimately an opening to the township park, plans are in place to develop the tract, Phillips told the council before the roll call on the bond ordinance.
"This is the end of the beginning," Phillips said. "We will now be able to move forward with the development of Mannino Park."
Middlesex County officials have begun soliciting proposals for a construction manager to design the entrance and a four-way intersection at Route 516, a county road, and Owens Road, Phillips said.
The county’s plans call for turnoff lanes, separate from the through lanes of traffic as well as a deceleration lane off westbound Route 516, and a four-way traffic signal where Owens Road and the park entrance will meet Route 516, he added.
The township recently purchased the small triangular piece of land from Perth Amboy for $18,000.
With the money from the bond ordinance, the township will be able to build an access road from the park’s entry point to a YMCA recreational facility planned for inside the park, Phillips said.
The Red Bank-based Community YMCA is the township’s chosen partner in developing the planned 51,000-square-foot recreational center under a separate redevelopment agreement with the township, Phillips said. Negotiations between the YMCA and the township are ongoing.
The new access road would then continue back to the football fields, which will be used by the Sayrewood South Rebels youth football league.
At the recommendation of county officials and for safety reasons, those fields are being relocated from their present location abutting Route 516, Phillips said.
Middlesex County, which now owns more than 800 acres of the neighboring 1,100-acre Runyon Watershed, will fund that relocation, he added.
"Those fields are considered too close to Route 516 for safety," Phillips said.
State officials, who reviewed the re-cent sale of the watershed acreage from Perth Amboy to the county, sanctioned moving the football fields, he noted.
Playing fields used by the Old Bridge Little League and a township-sponsored senior softball league, also located near the highway, will remain in place, Phillips said.
"In the future, there will be a seamless transition from Mannino Park to the football fields," Phillips said.
The council recently designated the land comprising the YMCA and Mannino Park as a redevelopment zone. Future redevelopment plans will be presented to the council for its review and approval, Phillips said.
W. Thomas Badcock, the township’s director of parks, recreation, and social services, will oversee the development of Mannino Park.
"This bond ordinance will actually allow us to take care of our part of the deal," Badcock said.
"Our part of the deal is the township-owned land that we’ve offered for the project, but there’s been a great blend of different agencies that are working together to give us the tremendous benefit of a great park and quality community YMCA," he added.
By declaring the areas as redevelopment zones, the township will now have more flexibility in obtaining funding for the two projects using private or public funds without going to local taxpayers, officials have said. The township’s Planning Board also sanctioned that move with a resolution approved earlier this month.