gives town 30 acres
at Camp Kilmer
Federal government
gives town 30 acres
at Camp Kilmer
BY MAURA DOWGIN
Staff Writer
Finding a place to play soccer in Edison should get a little bit easier soon. The Army Base Realignment and Closing Commission and the U.S. Department of the Interior is giving Edison 30 acres of land on Camp Kilmer, on Kilmer Road, near the township’s border with Piscataway, to be used for recreational purposes.
The land, which was used as a military training facility during World War II, will be the new home of the Edison United Soccer Association (EUSA). The soccer complex will include three soccer fields, stands, a two-story club house and refreshment area.
There are also softball fields for the Edison Angels near the land, John Covello, a spokesman for Mayor George Spadoro, said last week.
"There’s a growing need for soccer facilities in Edison," Covello said. Many times soccer games conflict with other activities, such as football or softball, which makes scheduling fields difficult.
The sport of soccer continues to grow, he said. The EUSA has about 2,000 players between the ages of 5 and 19.
The township needs to make a facility large enough for all of the players of the year-round sport.
The complex is still in the very early design phase, Covello said.
"We are going to attempt to have [the fields] done sometime in 2004," he said. The complex will be finished in early 2005 at the latest.
One soccer field was constructed at the site in 1998, Covello said. Environmental tests done by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection showed small amounts of arsenic in the soils, forcing the field to be closed. All traces of arsenic have since been remediated, officials said.
The township holds a contract with PMK, Kenilworth, to start the design work, he said.
The plan is in such an early phase that no other contracts have been awarded and there are no cost figures at this time, he said.
The Edison Township Council must approve an ordinance at its Nov. 12 meeting to accept the donation from the government.
"Finalizing the process of getting the federal government to transfer this Camp Kilmer property to Edison for recreational purposes is a significant accomplishment toward achieving Edison’s aggressive open space goal," Spadoro said in a prepared statement.
"Getting title to this property is a huge step," Covello said.
The township may be receiving additional tracts of land in Camp Kilmer in the future from the federal government, Covello said.