Eatontown seeks funds to expand public parks

Plans call for borough to connect Wolcott and Wampum parks

BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer

EATONTOWN – The Borough Council agreed last week to seek funding to purchase a tract of property in order to join two municipal parks.

The council adopted a resolution at the Nov. 7 municipal meeting calling for the borough to submit an application to the county for funds to purchase a 15,000- square-foot parcel of land at Wolcott Park.

Plans call for the borough to create a “greenway” to connect Wolcott and Wampum Memorial parks as part of its downtown redevelopment plan, according to the resolution.

“The council was originally seeking to purchase the land as part of its downtown redevelopment plan,” said Mayor Gerald Tarantolo.

“The concept of connecting green space was the thrust of the revision plan,” he said, adding, “If you draw a straight line from Wampum Park to Walcott Park, [the] property is directly in line.”

Tarantolo said that the borough is seeking to purchase the tract of property from the current landowner, J.P. Colins. Currently the property contains a house and is located between the two municipal parks.

Colins offered to sell the land to the borough in the past, but it was never purchased, according to Tarantolo.

“The owner did want to sell to the borough a couple of years ago,” Tarantolo said. “But that was at the peak of the market, and the council decided not to go ahead with it.”

Tarantolo explained that the housing market has changed and the borough is once again seeking to purchase the land.

If the municipality is successful in acquiring the land, Tarantolo said the house “will probably be removed” and the land will be made into a greenway.

The greenway, as described by Tarantolo, will be a pathway connecting Wolcott Park to Wampum Park. Instead of creating a sidewalk, the parks will be connected through a grassy, tree-lined pathway, he said.

The parcel of land is valued at $280,000, according to Borough Engineer Bob Stetz. He explained that the last assessment was completed when the housing market was at its height and the property will be reassessed to reflect its current market value.

The grant will pay up to half the cost of the purchase of the site and the borough will pay the remaining costs, according to Tarantolo, who said the borough will know if they will be awarded the grant in the next few months.

The borough has had encroachment issues with the Walcott Park property in the past, according to Tarantolo.

The property’s previous owner, Donald Coughman, installed a fence on the site, which overstepped the property’s boundaries by about 10 feet onto a section of Walcott Park.

“It became apparent back when we were looking at doing some renovations to the park, that the owner had encroached on our property,” Tarantolo said.

If the borough is unsuccessful in purchasing the property, Tarantolo said the encroachment issue will have to be resolved at the expense of the current property owner.

The borough’s downtown redevelopment plan was originally discussed and developed as a result of public meetings held prior to the announcement of plans to close Fort Monmouth, Tarantolo explained.

The redevelopment plans have been stalled, according to Tarantolo, who explained that the initial stages of the plan may be unaffected by the fort’s closure.

Included in the initial stages is the proposed greenway at Wampum and Wolcott parks, according to Taranatolo.