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Final payment ready for Rocky Hill’s Van Horne Park

A big patch of green for a small town

By Katie Wagner
Special Writer
   ROCKY HILL — The borough is getting ready to pay its final portion of the costs necessary for completing development of Van Horne Park.
   Approximately $70,000 will go toward the remaining items needed to be added to the park. That amount represents 20 percent of the total cost, with Montgomery Township paying the remaining 80 percent.
   These final items include a bathroom and storage structure, a 30-by-60-foot pavilion, basketball courts, softball field backstops, fencing, bleachers, picnic tables, benches and some grass re-seeding.
   The Borough Council tabled an ordinance authorizing the issuance of $70,000 in bonds or notes to finance its portion of the costs for making these park improvements at its Monday meeting. The council believes it has already approved the appropriation of this money.
   The bulk of the more than 100 acres that make up the park is located in Rocky Hill, with the remaining few acres in Montgomery. The park is accessible from both Route 206 and Princeton Avenue. It was designed to be used for a combination of active and recreational activities for both Rocky Hill and Montgomery residents. Somerset County owns the property, but Rocky Hill and Montgomery are paying for all park development and maintenance costs.
   ”Both towns really saw the need for some park in that section of town,” said Karen Zimmerman, Montgomery’s recreation director. “The southern part of Montgomery was really under served in terms of recreational facilities. Really for the township and Rocky Hill there’s no recreation facilities down there.”
   A portion of the park officially opened during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 16 and within days of the ceremony two playground equipment structures had been installed.
   In addition to the playground equipment, the more than 60 acres of the park designated for passive recreation is open for use, including a path system for walking, running and bicycling; bocce courts; horseshoe courts and a gazebo. A paved path, nearly a mile in length, surrounds the perimeter of the park and connects to the path system. It is also open to the public and is frequently used, Ms. Zimmerman said.
   The 33 acres of the park dedicated to active recreation use, which will include two softball fields, two multi-purpose sports fields and two basketball courts is taking the longest amount of time to complete. The “no trespassing” signs posted at the park’s entrance off Route 206 are meant to discourage people from running around on the uncompleted sports fields, Ms. Zimmerman said.
   ”We’re cautiously optimistic to have the fields ready to play on in the spring of 2008,” Ms. Zimmerman said.
   The bathroom and storage structure should be installed between the next three and four weeks.
   ”The foundation has been laid, the sewer line, plumbing and electrical lines are all ready to go,” Ms. Zimmerman said.
   She added that specifications are being put together for building the pavilion and that they will hopefully be sent out for bids soon.
   The installation of bleachers and benches for the athletic field is the final item on the list of remaining work and should also be done in the spring.
   The construction of another walking path that would run through designated wetlands within the park is a potential addition to the project. William Tanner, the project and borough engineer said the borough has received approval from the county for building some pathways in the environmentally sensitive area, but the project is awaiting state approval.
   In other business at the Borough Council meeting:
   • The council discussed several changes to its shade tree ordinance that authorizes the borough to take action against residents who do not appropriately maintain tress and shrubbery that hang over walkways and roads. The amended ordinance’s first reading was pushed to the next council meeting.
   • The council adopted a resolution authorizing the borough to participate in Somerset County’s All Hazard Mitigation Plan, which would allow the borough to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency and Blue Acres grants.
   • Mayor Ed Zimmerman announced that a seven-day-a-week State Police presence had returned to the borough. The mayor said a police officer had assigned police that should have been covering Rocky Hill to other areas in error for a period of time.
   • A contract was awarded to the lowest bidder for doing resurfacing and repaving of Grove Street. The bid was $43,513,05.