Borough urging county to continue recreation grants

By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
   Despite being a small town, the borough is using a large voice to encourage the county not to eliminate a grant that provides recreational opportunities to residents.
   According to Robert Zaborowski, director of the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the county is looking at all its grant programs, including the Youth Athletic and Recreational Facility Grant program, to measure which are most effective and should be continued.
   ”We have decided to take a close look at all the grant programs to see if they are wise ways of spending money,” he said. “We are reviewing them all in conjunction with the budget, but decisions haven’t been made yet.”
   In an effort to continue offering aid to the borough’s youth for recreational purposes, the Borough Council unanimously approved a resolution Nov. 12 to urge the county to continue offering its annual Youth Athletic and Recreational Facility Grant program.
   ”The program provides the borough with the opportunity to make improvements in the town where we normally wouldn’t have the money,” said Rich Armstrong, Manville recreation director. “I think it would be a shame for the smaller municipalities if the county got rid of it.”
   The grant, according to Mr. Zaborowski, provides $15,000 to municipalities that apply for it in an effort to improve recreation opportunities. Since its creation in 2000, Mr. Zaborowski said the county has awarded about $2.5 million to the municipalities.
   In the past, Manville has received grant money through the program to provide improvements to the park and recreational facilities throughout the borough, including adding new bleachers at fields, reconstructing ball fields and replacing benches.
   Mr. Armstrong said they have been able to put new backstops at three different baseball fields, two in Lost Valley and one at the Weston Elementary School on Newark Avenue. This year, he said, if the grant is still available, the borough would like to build shade systems for borough pools, creating 8-by-18 foot shaded areas.
   Mr. Zaborowski said that the grant is offered to all municipalities that prove they would be using the money to improve recreational activities for residents.
   ”If a town comes in with a worthwhile request, it gets the money,” he said. “The municipalities seem to love the grant because it is a little extra money for field improvements that they did not otherwise budget for.”
   Mr. Zaborowski said the county budget will be completed by March. In the coming months, he said, they will determine which, if any, county grants will be discontinued.