By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN — A project to construct a pavilion at a local park will be supported with a grant from Monmouth County.
The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders announced it has approved a $13,000 grant for the construction of a pavilion at Holiday Lake Park.
Holiday Lake Park lies between Pease and Blenheim roads in the Holiday Park housing development.
“The Township Committee is thankful to the county for this grant for a much needed pavilion at Holiday Lake Park. This amenity will provide shade and a picnic area at a very popular location in Manalapan. We are certain our residents will enjoy this new pavilion,” Township Administrator Tara Lovrich said.
Lovrich said Manalapan will match the $13,000 grant from the county in order to pay for the work that is planned at the park.
According to a press release from the county, grants totaling $2 million from the 2015 Monmouth County Open Space Trust Fund were awarded to improve and develop park facilities in 12 municipalities.
“The municipal open space grant program furthers the county’s ongoing commitment to land preservation for parks, recreation, open space and farmland,” said Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, liaison to the Monmouth County Park System, which administers the grants.
This is the 13th year of the program. All of the county’s 53 municipalities were eligible to apply for the land acquisition and park facility awards, according to the press release.
“With this round of municipal open space grants, the county has now funded more than $29 million worth of park and open space projects in our communities,” Burry said. “Sharing the cost of municipal projects supports and improves the quality of life in all of our communities. This is the ultimate shared service.”
“Since the inception of the county’s municipal open space grant program in 2003, 48 towns have successfully applied and received funding for more than 150 individual projects,” Freeholder Director Gary J. Rich Sr. said. “This is another example of working cooperatively with our towns to provide a more beautiful and more active county.”