WEST AMWELL: For now, no turf field at SHRHS

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
The West Amwell Township Committee voted Aug. 14 to table a resolution under which the township could have applied to the state’s Green Acres program for $2.1 million grant and/loan monies that would have been used for a synthetic turf athletic field at South Hunterdon Regional High School.
"The committee voted to table the resolution because they were concerned about the amount of debt that could be involved," Lora Olsen, township clerk, said Friday.
The shelved-for-now project was discussed by South Hunterdon Regional Board of Education member Derek Roseman at a meeting of that board in March.
"We’re looking into the possibility of upgrading the high school football field and providing a track," Mr. Roseman said at that meeting. "The high school has a track team. But it doesn’t have a track."
Mr. Roseman said that, if Green Acres funding were used for the project, the turf field and running track "would have to be available for public use" as well as use by the school system.
Mr. Roseman chairs the board’s Buildings and Grounds Committee for the South Hunterdon Regional Board of Education.
Nearby Hopewell Valley Central High School got a turf field about a year ago, at a cost of about $1 million. Most of that money was raised by the Recreation Foundation of Hopewell Valley, a local nonprofit and advocate for facilities that provide active and healthy recreational options for area youth.