FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – A project to install new playground equipment at a Freehold Township park has been completed.
On July 21, Township Committee members declared final payment and acceptance of a $27,000 contract that was awarded to Whirl Construction in April to install playground equipment at Opatut Park, 458 East Freehold Road.
According to a resolution, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Susan McGough recommended that final payment be made as the work has been completed. No change orders were made and Whirl Construction will receive the amount originally awarded, $27,000.
Opatut Park consists of 130 acres, of which 46 acres have been developed. The complex contains several multi-purpose fields, a softball field, basketball courts, a playground, restrooms, parking lots and an open pavilion, according to the municipal website.
The remaining 84 acres will remain undeveloped and serve as wooded and open areas preserved for open space and passive recreation, according to the website.
In other business, committee members passed a resolution approving the submission of a grant application and the execution of a grant contract with the New Jersey Department of Transportation for the second phase of preservation projects on Iron Bridge Road and on Stonehurt Boulevard.
And, committee members authorized an application for a grant from the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse through Monmouth County for a five-year year grant cycle from July 2020 to June 2025. Freehold Township is seeking a $16,820 grant ($12,615 in-kind, $4,205 cash) from the state council, according to a resolution.
Finally, committee members passed a resolution to amend the 2020 municipal budget and requesting approval from the director of the Division of Local Government Services to insert $41,711 into the budget as an item of revenue. The funds were made available as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the resolution, Freehold Township entered into a grant for the Freehold
Township Board of Health COVID-19 response expenses with the New Jersey
Association of County and City Health Officials, which led to the $41,711 being awarded to the municipality.