Red Bank officials will prepare a request for proposals (RFP) for the crumbling clay tennis courts located in Marine Park.
The four clay courts, which are owned by the borough and overseen by the Red Bank Clay Courts Tennis Association, have been closed since incurring damage during superstorm Sandy in October 2012. The association supports a proposal for a comprehensive improvement project for the tennis courts.
However, Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer said two groups have already floated ideas that would eliminate the tennis courts in favor of other uses. She declined to disclose details regarding those proposals.
“They’re very different projects, and both of them are very exciting,” Schwabenbauer said. “So I think we’re going to have some really good discussions around this.”
Red Bank resident Stephen Hecht said during the Feb. 25 Borough Council meeting that he would like to see the courts rebuilt and remain under borough ownership.
“I’d like to make sure that at least equal time is given to the consideration to having tennis courts that don’t necessarily have to become part of a nonprofit entity outside of the borough,” Hecht said. “There are lots of towns around us [with courts] that are run by the town, maintained by the town, and don’t have the showers and the aura of a private club.”
A parks and recreation committee meeting scheduled for March 4 would address what the priorities of the borough are in choosing a project to move forward with, be it revenue generation or usefulness to residents in the borough, Schwabenbauer said. The RFP would not be finalized for several weeks, she added. Once posted, a 30-day period to receive public bids would begin.
Councilwoman Cindy Burnham has been a vocal proponent of placing a dog park, even on a temporary basis, at the site.
But Schwabenbauer said the parks and recreation committee, which she chairs, is looking into alternative sites for a dog park because space is limited at the Marine Park tennis courts.
“Nobody is opposed to a dog park, really. It’s just where to put it,” he said.
According to Schwabenbauer, one of the primary sites being considered is Mohawk Pond, near Count Basie Park.
The council was in agreement that something needs to be done to improve the aesthetics of the park. As Mayor Pasquale Menna put it at the meeting, “all options are on the table” for the Marine Park tennis courts.
However, Business Administrator Stanley Sickels said future infrastructure projects, including the repair and potential relocation of the park’s pump station, might serve to complicate an overhaul to the courts.
“The utilities that run underground might run under parts of the tennis courts,” he said. “We are about to put the bids out for the repairs of that infrastructure in the park, and some of that work may affect the availability of those courts for final use.”
Until the specific nature of the utility work is determined, Sickles said plans involving the tennis courts might be premature.