With their eyes set on developing a park on Red Valley Road, Millstone Township officials are vying to be selected for a Monmouth County Municipal Open Space Grant for maximum funding of $250,000.
Millstone Mayor Bob Kinsey said representatives of the township were expected to make a presentation to the Monmouth County Park System on Sept. 17.
Grant recipients will be notified in December, he said. Millstone has received two previous grants from the same pool of money in the past.
The proposed Millstone Park would be developed on land known as the Lee property that the township preserved through the state Green Acres program years ago, Kinsey said.
Since 2005, officials have been committed to building a park at that location, according to Kinsey. Earlier this month the Township Committee passed a resolution to endorse the application for the county grant.
Kinsey said he believes Millstone Park will be a hit with residents. He paraphrased a quote from the baseball movie “Field of Dreams,” saying, “Build it and they will come. I have heard countless times from people about the need for recreation. Everybody has expressed a strong interest in facilities that are accessible for recreation.”
Kinsey said officials are looking at phase one of the project.
“We need to digest it and make some calculated changes,” he said.
The proposed Millstone Park would be developed on a 180-acre parcel at Red Valley Road and Route 526, according to Kinsey. The township purchased the land for an amount between $7 million and $8 million, he said. Initial plans call for the construction of a boat ramp, a fishing pier, a building with restrooms, a concession stand and multipurpose fields. The park could accommodate active and passive recreational pursuits, Kinsey said.
Pat Butch, who chairs Millstone’s Open Space and Farmland Preservation Committee, said the panel met on Sept. 11 and gave its unanimous approval for plans to apply for the county grant, but offered some suggestions.
First, the committee would like to have two members sit on a panel that will be formed to deal with the development of Millstone Park, Butch said.
In addition, the committee members would like to consider adjusting the size of the fields.
Butch said other plans for the park include a tot lot, parking lots and picnic tables.
“I am all for the development of the park,” Butch said.
The property is currently used for some sports events and has portable rest rooms on site, she said.
Township Committeeman Michael Kuczinski, who is the liaison to the Open Space and Farmland Preservation Committee, shared some of the history regarding the Lee property.
He said it was purchased as an open space acquisition many years ago for the primary intent of creating a facility that would accommodate a general park atmosphere, including passive and organized recreational activities.
Although the initiative falls under Millstone’s open space program, it is also a recreation program.
“There is more emphasis placed on it at the Township Committee level and the Recreation Commission,” Kuczinski said. “It is more of a recreational undertaking.”
Kuczinski said a county grant would be used for improvements to the park as part of phase one. The grant would be applied toward the installation of multipurpose recreation fields, passive recreation activities and restroom facilities, he said.