By Jane Meggitt, Special Writer
UPPER FREEHOLD — 2013 is shaping up to be the Year of Recreation for Upper Freehold.
At its Dec. 20 meeting, the Township Committee approved the bid package specifications for the development of Reed Park, a 30-acre parcel on the Route 526 bypass used mainly by youth lacrosse teams. Township Engineer Patrick Jeffery, of T&M Associates, said he expects the project to go out to bid sometime in January.
The Township Committee also voted to accept a low-bid of $78,030 for repairing the tennis courts at Byron Johnson Park. The 10-year-old courts have been closed since September because of safety concerns over their deteriorated condition.
The development of Reed Park, which has drainage problems and lacks paved parking and indoor bathrooms, has been in the planning stages for several years. Mr. Jeffery told the committee the township has received the wetlands and flood hazard permits required by the state Department of Environmental Protection, and the Monmouth County Planning Board has also granted its conditional approval.
The township authorized a $1.1 million bond issue in 2011 to finance the project and also has $250,000 in matching county grant money for the park’s development. Mr. Jeffery has estimated the project will cost about $1.3 million, but the exact cost will not be known until prospective contractors submit their bids.
Mr. Jeffery proposed that base bids cover the construction of a recreation building with a concession stand, storage area and bathrooms identical to the structure at the Mark Harbourt Soccer Complex; a well and septic system; a north parking lot; the stormwater infrastructure; a walking trail to the south parking area; and a pedestrian crossing over a drainage ditch.
Separate alternate bids would be sought from contractors for optional items that would be constructed only if money allows. These items include an extension of the building’s storage area along with a covered patio area; northern parking area lighting; the southern parking area and lighting; and a site-wide walking trail.
After much discussion, the Township Committee decided to move the northern parking area lighting into the base bid and split the proposed walking trail in two, with part of it in the base bid and part in the alternate. Mr. Jeffery said the northern parking lot would have 160 parking spaces, while 100 are planned for the southern parking lot.
As far as the tennis courts at Byron Johnson Park are concerned, Mr. Jeffery noted that the project’s low bidder, American Tennis Courts, Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland, is also the company that manufactures the product that will be used to refurbish the courts. Mr. Jeffery estimated the work would take about a week, starting in early March.
Deputy Mayor Steve Alexander, an attorney, said he wanted to see the warranty for the tennis courts before the Township Committee formally approves the contract.
”It could have a lot of exclusions,” Mr. Alexander said.

