EATONTOWN — The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders has awarded the borough a grant that will make one of its parks accessible to children with special needs.
Awarded late last month by the freeholders, the $175,000 Open Space Trust Fund grant will fund the installation of playground equipment accessible to children with disabilities as well as other improvements to the park.
“We are redoing completely the tot lot, the playground expansion, and that’s going to include a component for special needs adaptation so the tot lot will accommodate children with special needs,” explained Mayor Gerald Tarantolo.
According to Tarantolo, the borough is receiving the exact amount requested for the improvements to the park, which is located near Lewis and Broad streets.
“They are going to remove existing playground equipment and prepare and upgrade various elements in the playground, one of which includes a poured rubber safety surface, which allows for children using wheelchairs,” Monmouth County Public Information Officer Laura Kirkpatrick explained.
“These improvements will help to bring the park into compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements,” Kirkpatrick added.
One of the reasons the borough’s application for the grant was successful, Fitzpatrick explained, is the fact that a significant number of special-needs children are enrolled in the summer day care program, which is often held at the park.
“One of the things they pointed out in their application is about 10 percent of their summer day care participants are participants with autism or Down syndrome,” Kirkpatrick said.
While the major focus of the park improvement project is helping children with special needs enjoy borough facilities, Tarantolo explained that the grant will also fund other amenities and upgrades at the site.
“We are replacing a retaining wall and safety fencing along that part of the park that borders … the Lewis Street, Broad Street connection,” Tarantolo said, adding that a retaining wall with safety fencing will be erected to prevent balls from going onto Broad Street.
Tarantolo said the county grant will also be used to expand a basketball court.
“We are going to make it a full-sized basketball court. The current basketball court … is far undersized,” Tarantolo said. “It’s about half the size of a normal basketball court.”
In addition, a colored epoxy surface will be installed over the entire court and new backboards will be installed.
“I believe the basketball backboards are going to be … adjustable so you could actually play biddy basketball [for young children] or wheelchair basketball,” Fitzpatrick explained.
Additional proposed improvements to the park include an enclosed batting cage for the borough’s Little League and upgrades and safety improvements to the handball court.
Tarantolo said the proposed improvements are expected to cost $350,000. With the county’s $175,000, the mayor said it will be up to the council to determine whether all of the upgrades should be implemented and if not, prioritize them.
“We are estimating that the improvements will run on the order of $350,000. So what we are getting in the way of funds covers maybe 60 percent of it,” Tarantolo said. “The issue here is, do we go beyond and do everything that’s been estimated … through bonding,” he said. “That’s a decision the council will have to deal with.”
Tarantolo said the fact that any upgrades are being paid for by the county is a tremendous help to the town.
“If you can improve a park using state or county funds, obviously that doesn’t put a tax burden on our taxpayers,” he said.
According to Fitzpatrick, a total of 21 municipalities applied for some $3.8 million in open space grants, and the freeholders awarded $2,357,000 in grants to 13 municipalities.
“This program is a valuable tool to help municipalities maintain and improve the quality of life in their communities,” Freeholder Lillian G. Burry said in a press release issued by the county.
“The Open Space Trust Fund helps municipalities preserve open space and improve parkland by sharing the costs with the county,” she said. “The program also complements the county’s overall commitment to land preservation for parks, recreation, open space and farmland.”
Since the inception of the county’s Municipal Open Space Grant program in 1993, 43 towns have received funding for 90 projects. A total of $12,658,000 has been awarded to date.