FREEHOLD – Residents and property owners in Freehold Borough have selected four projects to receive municipal funding through the town’s the third annual participatory budgeting initiative.
Of seven potential projects that could have been funded with $200,000 from the 2019 municipal budget, the projects selected by voters were the following: placing lights at Lake Topanemus; installing solar-powered speed readers; creating welcome signs at entrances to Freehold Borough; and refurbishing the basketball courts at Liberty Park.
The winning projects were announced by Ron DeMarco, the chairman of the Participatory Budgeting Committee, during a Borough Council meeting on Nov. 18.
Residents age 14 and older and business owners were permitted to select up to two projects they wanted to fund. The $200,000 appropriation from the budget was prioritized toward the projects that received the most votes.
According to DeMarco, 168 individuals participated in this year’s program; 126 votes were submitted electronically and 42 votes were submitted by paper.
• The project to add lights at Lake Topanemus received 97 votes. Lake Topanemus is in Freehold Township, but owned by Freehold Borough. The estimated cost of the project is $24,000.
• The project to install solar-powered speed readers received 79 votes. According to borough officials, locations for the speed readers have not yet been determined. The estimated cost of the project is $7,800.
• The project to create “Welcome to Freehold” signs received 74 votes. DeMarco said the committee members are looking to have the signs created by students. The signs will be placed at the entrances to Freehold Borough. The estimated cost of the project is $62,500.
• The project to refurbish the basketball courts at Liberty Park received 70 votes. The estimated cost of the project is $100,000.
In total, the four projects are estimated to cost $194,300.