Plans for a public-private partnership to develop a multimillion-dollar baseball complex at Peter A. Mannino Park, Route 516, are on hold indefinitely after talks between Old Bridge and the proposed developer broke down.
Representatives of Jackson Yards LLC, of Jackson, presented plans for five Little League baseball fields, four major league replica baseball fields and a 20,000-squarefoot indoor training facility at the May 21 meeting of the Township Council.
The project, which would entail an investment in excess of $12 million from the developer, was similar to the township’s master plan for the park dating from 2003.
However, the proposal, backed by Recreation Director Tom Badcock and Republican Mayor Owen Henry, hit an unexpected snag when the council split 3-3 on a June 25 vote on a motion to put out a request for proposals.
Opposition to the plan, which came from both sides of the aisle, centered on giving up access to and use of public park land in order to develop privately run athletic facilities.
While Republican council President Brian Cahill said he would bring the request for proposals back to the council at a future meeting when all nine members of the governing body were present, it is now unclear if Jackson Yards will respond to a request for proposals.
“We have talked, and we are not talking at this point,” Henry said in reference to negotiations with the proposed developer Jackson Yards.
The door remains open on the project for Jackson Yards or another developer, Henry said, although he said he does not believe anyone else would take on the development efforts as Old Bridge has laid them out.
“I thought this was a unique opportunity,” Henry said. “Unfortunately, politics reared its ugly head again in Old Bridge.”
Democratic Councilman Kevin Calogera, who along with Democrat Robert Volkert and Republican Richard Greene voted no on the motion regarding the request for proposals, said the two-week time frame for proposals to be submitted was unrealistic if municipal officials wanted serious responses from other developers.
“There was never any intention in my mind that they were putting it out to competitive bidding,” Calogera said. “The only reason the two-week mark was put up was to block out anybody else from bidding on it.”
While he did not oppose the idea of a public-private partnership for projects in Old Bridge, Calogera said such a partnership would need to serve the needs of residents first and any commercial interests second, a sentiment that was echoed by Greene.
“I just thought it was a bad idea mainly because of the traffic concerns,” he said. “It really would affect the quality of life of all the residents in that area.”
Henry said he will continue to look for new opportunities to bring business and development to Old Bridge.
“I think all municipalities need to look to this private-public partnership and team up for what is in the best interest of all residents,” the mayor said.