By Jacqueline Durett
Correspondent
SAYREVILLE — A discussion at the Oct. 12 Borough Council that started about a splash park at Bailey Park evolved into one much bigger about the borough itself.
In the end, however, there were still questions about whether that splash park is something the borough wants to pursue.
According to council members, the initial proposal is to spend $50,000 in engineering fees for the splash park. That work would give the council a better sense of future costs. However, initial projections put that final cost at about $500,000 to complete the work.
Additionally, according to Borough Engineer Jay Cornell, to build new bathrooms and a locker room area could be an additional $400,000, although there are bathrooms already on site.
The Democrats on the council seek to leverage an improvement like a splash park at Bailey Park with the idea that the county would pick up half the costs of the improvement. Middlesex County would not contribute just for doing refurbishment to the park, a park both Democrats and Republicans agree is in a state of disrepair.
However, Morgan resident Judy McCrone said that while a splash park is a nice idea, there are a lot of things the borough has to take care of before considering it. Issues plaguing the Morgan section of town, she said, are just starting to get some attention.
“We’ve got a little way to go with some other priorities, and my neighborhood is one of them, so I can’t get behind the splash park,” she said.
Fellow Morgan resident Denise Morgan said the borough should be working on its existing parks, some of which are in significant disrepair, before attempting a significant endeavor like a splash park.
Meanwhile, other residents who were against the project said that the money could be better spent on needs ranging from a fire truck to roads repairs, and they also said they feared a tax impact with the project.
“I guess my biggest concern is, we all know how projects like this tend to go,” resident Fred Block said, explaining that among his concerns are how the budget for this effort could balloon once the project is underway. “We budget a certain amount for them, and things get in the way and then those budgets end up having to stray, which means allocating more money.”
However, Sayreville Recreation board member Michele Maher said she was frustrated that the board’s unanimous vote to pursue a splash park seemingly held no weight at the council level.
“We want to breathe new life into this town,” she said, adding that in light of the discussion, she felt her time on the board has been wasted. “What is the point of the rec board if a unanimous vote means nothing?”
Republican Mayor Kennedy O’Brien said he continues to be against the project because of the expense, adding he would like to see a full financial proposal to get a better understanding of the plans. He said he’d rather see money spent on the soccer fields, pointing out that 460 children already use those fields, versus the unknown amount of hypothetical children who might use the splash park.
Democratic Council President Daniel Buchanan said Bailey Park is one of the parks that is most in need of repairs, and this is an opportunity to help make Sayreville a more desirable place to live and for others to come visit and spend money in.
Democratic Councilman Steven Grillo agreed, and added that by continuing to neglect infrastructure like the parks, the borough just delays problems that only get worse over time.
“When we don’t fix our roads, they get more expensive to repair. When we don’t fix our parks, they get more expensive to repair,” he said.
Democratic Councilwoman Victoria Kilpatrick pointed out that it was not the specific elements of the spray park that cost the full $500,000; rather, it was elements such as the access road. She asked Cornell how much Bailey Park would need in order to be restored without the spray park, and he said he estimates it would take a couple hundred thousand dollars alone. Kilpatrick said she would rather do the spray park and have the county pick up half the cost.
“Our other alternative would be to start closing parks down,” Councilwoman Mary Novak said.
Kilpatrick said that even though people weren’t agreeing on how to move forward, she was thrilled to see so many residents who wanted to talk about the future of Sayreville and their investment preferences for borough dollars.
In the end, the council agreed unanimously to table spending the $50,000 until Cornell could develop a more comprehensive plan.