BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer
RED BANK – More than 60 borough residents attended a meeting at the Red Bank Primary School on Saturday morning to discuss the future of the borough’s largest natural resource: the Navesink River.
The meeting was organized by the borough’s Director of Special Projects, Gail O’Reilly, for the purpose of informing people of the possibilities for the future of the river and getting input from the community.
“We in Red Bank,” said Borough Councilwoman Sharon Lee, council liaison to the Parks and Recreation Department, “live in one of the most desirable places in Monmouth County and I think we all know that. We have this unbelievable resource of the river, and how we utilize it and how we develop it, or don’t develop, is up to us.”
Also in attendance at the meeting were Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr., Councilmen Pasquale Menna and John Curley and Councilwoman Kaye Ernst.
One of the ideas that O’Reilly previously presented to the borough was a river walk that would connect the various points of borough- owned property along the river.
She said that security might be an issue, since there are some places that the river walk would run where there would be no access to or from the walk.
O’Reilly said that there are many other alternatives to promote public access to the river.
Mami Hara, a landscape architect with the firm of Wallace, Roberts and Todd, Philadelphia, gave a slide presentation showing views from points along the Navesink River and possibilities for development, conservation and recreation and how they have been effective in other communities.
She said that the two largest, borough-owned properties along the river are the primary school at the western end of River Street, and the borough’s former landfill at the end of West Westside Avenue, which is no longer in use.
Lee said that although the landfill property is no longer being used to collect garbage, the site is being used by the borough’s Department of Public Works (DPW) as a place to store such refuse as leaves and branches collected from residences, until the waste gets moved outside the borough in intervals.
“We need to tighten our DPW program,” she said, “so that land can be put to better use for the borough. It’s not going to happen over night.”
Hara explained that the slopes that exist along the river are extreme in many places, and that is something that should be considered when discussing the future of public access to the river front.
“Most of the slopes are over 40 percent along the west side near the primary school and Sunset streets,” said Hara, referring to several streets that run east to west, parallel to Newman Springs Road.
She showed a slide that indicated the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) puts both the primary school and the landfill area within the 100-year flood zone, and that hurricane vulnerability should also be considered when discussing public access to the river.
Hara explained that most of the riverfront development has taken place along the northeast side of the borough, and that toward the southwest side there is room for more development along the river and more public access.
Mario Gandelsonas, a professional planner who assisted in the development of the borough’s 1996 Master Plan, said that access to the river is more than just how the public can physically get to the river.
“It’s also visual access,” he said.
Lee said that she is concerned about the future of public access to the river.
“It will only take a couple of developments,” she said, “to shut the river off completely. I am guilty of doing this too, but we all assume the river will always be there for us.”
Louis DiMento, a member of the borough’s Planning Board and Environmental Commission, said that he would most like to see a nature area that allows access to the river, rather than a more developed waterfront.
“The west side is begging for a nature area,” he said. “It’s something people can really enjoy. The river front on the west side can be fixed up and become an attraction to the whole county.”
Tom Williams, a member of the borough’s Zoning Board, said that although he is in favor of a boardwalk along the river, which is one of the ideas being considered for public access, he is worried about the security issues that could arise from such a project.
“There needs to be a discussion about the security vs. environmental issue,” he said, “and what can be done to bring it back in balance.”
One of the points that was discussed on that issue was ensuring that the river walk is well-lit and well-policed.
Michael Moore, a lifelong resident of the borough, said that he has another idea for providing visual access to the river, as well as cutting down on the traffic congestion and parking problems currently impacting the borough.
He suggested a tram-system.
“It would provide great access for views of the river,” he said, “and the borough can get grants for funding.”
Moore suggested that the Red Bank Train Station be used as a central point for the system, that could, in theory, extend across the Navesink River into Middletown, allowing for less vehicular traffic in town.
“It’s environmentally friendly,” he said, “and would promote Red Bank tourism.”
Another public meeting, according to O’Reilly, will be scheduled for next month, but a date has yet to be set.
The information gathered from the community at the public meetings, according to Gandelsonas, will be used to “paint a portrait” of the Red Bank river front.
“We all think we know this place,” he said, “but do we really know it? We will use the portrait we paint to project our image for the river into the future.”