The historic clay tennis courts at Marine Park in Red Bank have remained closed to the public since being damaged during superstorm Sandy. A group of residents and tennis players have proposed a plan to restore and reopen the parks. Red Bank officials say they are weighing multiple options for the future of the borough’s historic clay tennis courts, which have stood in Marine Park since the 1930s.
The four courts, which are owned by the borough and run by the Red Bank Clay Courts Tennis Association, have been closed since superstorm Sandy ravaged the park in October 2012.
During the May 28 Borough Council meeting, a group of residents and association members questioned why the courts are still overgrown with vegetation and strewn with debris nearly 19 months after the storm.
“The way it looks now — the tennis courts and that area — it looks like Sandy just left,” said Rich Nicoletti, a longtime association member and manager of the courts.
PHOTOS BY GREG KENNELTY/STAFF Council members said some minor improvements, including debris and weed removal, are planned for the courts in the near future.
But more substantial repairs have taken a backseat to Marine Park’s big-ticket infrastructure and flood mitigation needs, which were exposed during Sandy, according to Borough Administrator Stanley Sickels. “There’s a lot more involved with this park than just the tennis courts,” he said. “And now we are finding out what the costs are.”
Last month, the council authorized a $332,000 bond for improvements to Marine Park, which would relocate the park’s restrooms to higher ground and upgrade a number of electrical and lighting systems.
That work is offset by a matching open space grant from Monmouth County.
The flood-prone sewer pump station in the park also must be elevated. Sickels said the project will be a substantial one, impacting a significant number of local residents.
“The committee has also been looking at other recreational options for that site; however, we have been focusing on the infrastructure,” he said.
While the membership fees and daily court rentals charged by the association offset the costs of routine court maintenance each year, members said they don’t have the resources to address the post-Sandy repairs on their own.
An alternative plan, submitted to the borough’s Parks and Recreation Committee by Little Silver resident Paul Moschella and backed by association members, would officially lease the courts to a nonprofit foundation.
The proposal also outlines a comprehensive improvement project for the facility, including the demolition of the existing courts and the installation of new, more easily maintained artificial red clay courts.
The proposed work also calls for 4-foot retaining walls, new fencing and lighting.
Mayor Pasquale Menna said the governing body cannot consider the proposal; however, because state laws require the borough to seek multiple public bids for such projects.
To consider one individual proposal without advertising for bids would be illegal, he said.
“It gives them an unfair advantage,” he said.
Councilwoman Juanita Lewis, liaison to the volunteer Parks and Recreation Committee, said the committee has received the proposal and would consider it along with a number of other options for the facility.
“In the proper time, we will look at something that will benefit the entire community,” she said.
Sickels agreed, saying the courts are currently vulnerable to regular flooding and may need more substantial mitigation work, including an elevation project.
“We have been looking at options,” he said. “There are other suggestions.”
Menna said the recreation committee will now review the various options for improvements at Marine Park and make a recommendation to the governing body “very soon.”
“It’s not going to be long,” he said.
Councilwoman Cindy Burnham joined some of the residents in questioning why the council has allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs and upgrades to other parks in recent years while the tennis courts remain closed.
“There has been no movement,” she said. “It needs to be addressed.”
Menna said other facilities such as Riverside Gardens Park were also damaged in previous storms and have deteriorated over the years due to the large number of residents who use them.
In contrast, Sickels said the costs of maintaining and upgrading the tennis courts need to be balanced against the number of residents who play there.
Resident Steve Popper rejected the notion that the courts have been underutilized, saying the rare clay courts attract players from across the state.
“They bring business in to Red Bank,” he said, adding that the players typically eat lunch and spend money in the area when they visit the courts.
As opposed to modern concrete courts, association members say clay courts absorb more heat in the summer and have less of an impact on players’ backs and lower bodies.
While clay requires more annual maintenance, local player Tom Curtis said the proposed synthetic clay would help cut down on recurring costs.
Red Bank’s clay courts are one of two such facilities remaining in the state, Councilman Ed Zipprich said.