MIDDLETOWN – Municipal officials have adopted a pair of ordinances that will provide funding for improvements to two parks in Middletown.
During a meeting on Feb. 7, Mayor Tony Perry, Deputy Mayor Rick Hibell, Committeeman Kevin Settembrino, Committeeman Ryan Clarke and Committeewoman Kimberly Kratz voted “yes” on a motion to adopt an ordinance which appropriates $340,000 for Phase II upgrades to Tindall Park on Tindall Road.
The appropriation includes the issuance of $255,000 in bonds and the expected receipt of an $85,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Green Acres. No down payment is required by the Local Bond Law, according to the ordinance.
Municipal officials said the ordinance which outlined the work to be performed at Tindall Park was initially introduced in July 2021, but had to be redone due to a publication error. The ordinance’s final adoption came on Feb. 7.
Middletown officials will renovate 16 tennis courts and two basketball courts, and install a dog park at Tindall Park, according to information provided to the Independent.
A separate ordinance in the amount of $300,000 was adopted by Township Committee members on Oct. 4 and will provide for capital improvements to the playground at McMahon Park, 380 Atlantic Ave.
Perry previously told the Independent the funds “will be used to give the playground a complete overhaul, so it offers something different for all members of our community.”
The playground at McMahon Park “will be the township’s second fully inclusive playground, the other is at Croydon Hall, and will include rubber surfacing, as opposed to the more common wood chip surface, creating even greater accessibility,” the mayor said.