UPPER FREEHOLD: New Reed Park plan: More options but higher cost

By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
UPPER FREEHOLD — New designs were unveiled last week for the Reed Park project, which now includes a larger bathroom, storage and concession building and a new veterans memorial that all could be built now, later or dropped entirely.
Project engineer Patrick Jeffrey, of T&M Associates, told the Township Committee that the revisions were made in order to secure environmental permits from the state that give the municipality flexibility in the future. The total projected cost of the Reed Park proposal, with the latest revisions incorporated, is now $1.3 million, up from the initial $1.1 million estimate given last May.
”Those things were added in essentially just so we could get our permits so that, in the future, if anyone wants to do those things, it’s already approved and ready to go,” Mr. Jeffrey said. “The building is something that can go in whenever.”
The township has received a $250,000 county matching grant to develop the 30-acre parcel, which now is used for lacrosse and softball, but often is wet and muddy. The property has no paved parking area, no indoor toilets and no handicapped access for disabled parents or grandparents who want to see games.
Township Engineer Glenn Gerken, of T&M Associates, said developing Reed Park could cost anywhere from $595,000 to $1.3 million, depending on the options included in the final bid specifications.
The lower $595,000 figure would cover constructing about 170 paved parking spaces, correcting stormwater management issues with water retention basins and relocating the existing softball field out of a wetlands area, Mr. Gerken said.
The higher $1.3 million estimate would cover more options, including the installation of a well, septic system, a veterans memorial and the construction of a larger building to house bathrooms, a concession stand and store equipment. Also included is a new overhang installed above a concrete pad that would provide shade or shelter for people in severe weather.
Doubling the size of the building, adding the shelter overhang and constructing the veterans memorial increases the project’s cost from the initial $1.1 million estimate, Mr. Jeffrey said. However, the building could be scaled back or not built at all, and the veterans memorial ($44,000) could be built with private donations, Mr. Jeffrey said.
These items were included on the final design because the state Department of Environmental Protection needs to know the maximum amount of impervious surface in a project as part of the permitting process.
Mr. Gerken said he and Mr. Jeffrey were laying out the options now so the Township Committee could think about how to proceed while waiting for DEP to act on the Reed Park project permit application he was about to submit.
”You’re not going to have to make a decision tonight,” Mr. Gerken told the Township Committee on Feb. 2. “But by the time we get the permits from DEP, at that point, you’ll have to make decisions on how much of the project you want to do and how much you want to hold off for another year.”
July 7, the Township Committee authorized issuing up to $1.17 million in bonds for the development of Reed Park. At the time, several committee members stressed adopting the bond ordinance, essentially establishing a line of credit, did not guarantee the project would move forward because the governing body still had to go out to bid, review the bids, then vote to spend the money.
Since that time, the township has received the $250,000 county grant, which requires a $250,000 municipal match, and is applying for another grant to help pay for the proposed trails that would allow the disabled to access the fields.
The only member of the public to speak after the engineers’ presentation was Mark Bramble, secretary of the township Recreation Commission, who urged the Township Committee not to dump the proposed handicapped accessible paths or the proposed building from the north side of Reed Park where lacrosse fields are.
”The building is a safety feature,” Mr. Bramble said. “We could have 150 kids on that field for a practice, practices parents don’t normally stay around for, (and if) a thunderstorm comes rolling through, the kids need some shelter to get to. It’s a safety issue; it’s not a frivolous type of building.”
Mr. Bramble said constructing the building also was key to the league being able to host lacrosse tournaments in the future.
”The potential is to have some tournaments, and tournaments would be a lot of people within that vicinity,” Mr. Bramble said. “Now you’re talking not just practice, but several teams waiting to play. You’re talking thousands of people waiting around while four games are being played. That location, that building, is going to become important for the future of lacrosse.”