S.B. council hears park comments from public
Members may ask for increase in open space tax
Conceptual drawings by CME Associates, Sayreville, of Friendship and Rowland parks, revised February 2002.
About 50 South Brunswick residents turned out Tuesday night to express their concerns regarding the design of two new township parks.
Township recreation officials and representatives from various youth leagues unveiled revised plans for Friendship and Rowland parks during a special public meeting Tuesday night.
"We support the park," Rowland Road resident Sean Cath said.
Cath said that the design of the 79-acre park for the township’s youth leagues is a good idea, but that care should be taken to make sure neighbors are not affected by the events there.
"I can close my shades to lights, but I cannot close my shades to a loudspeaker," Cath said.
That park, at the intersection of Rowland Road and Broadway, is planned to include four baseball fields, two football fields, and two soccer fields.
The park would also have a bike path around the front of the property.
Friendship Park, located at the intersection of Friendship and New roads, is 31 acres and will include several trails linking the facility to neighboring Sondek Park, two multipurpose fields, four basketball courts, and a roller skating court.
"Right now we just don’t have the facilities," South Brunswick Athletic Association member Gary Mariano said.
According to Mariano, the baseball program has grown some 23 percent in the last few years, reducing the number of games that the teams play each year.
Mariano said that enrollment for the program this year will be more than 1,300 kids, making up between 108-110 teams.
Mariano said that there were 1,100 in the program five years ago.
The increase in teams has led to a decrease in games during the season, according to Mariano, with most teams now only scheduled for 10-12 games a season, as opposed to 16-18 games in 1997.
The majority of residents attending the meeting said that the parks were a good idea, but that some revision was still needed.
Several residents living near the Friendship Road Park said that they were concerned about the drainage for the planned facility.
Dr. David Smart, a member of the open space committee and an environmental expert, said that the placement of restroom facilities would need to be changed because of the low water table in the area now designated.
"You are going to need a septic field," Smart said, warning that the proposed site of the restrooms would soon cause problems with the system.
"It would be closed quickly. You would be using portable restrooms," he said.
Mayor Debra Johnson told the crowd that the plans were still in the conceptual stage, and another meeting between residents, recreation officials and the various leagues would be scheduled before any final plan would be accepted.
Because the plans are not yet finished, officials could not estimate the cost to build the proposed parks.
Later in the meeting, council members talked about possibly increasing the town’s open space tax, which was first approved by voters in 1996.
Deputy Mayor Frank Gambatese asked to discuss the issue so that an extra 1 cent could be added to cover maintenance costs for the parks.
"We have heard during the budget hearings how much additional work is added to the public works department," Gambatese said.
Presently residents contribute 1 cent per $100 of assessed value to the town’s Open Space Trust Fund.
According to officials, the town brought in about $728,000 in funds from the tax last year, but spent $827,372 financing new purchases.
In the last several years, the township has purchased some 619 acres of open space with the help of Middlesex County.
Council members said that while they thought increasing the tax may be a good idea, it may not be wise to earmark the money just for maintenance.
"We don’t want to hamstring a future governing body," Councilman Ted Van Hessen said.
Mayor Debra Johnson said that the time may indeed be now to place the question on the November ballot because there are other properties to look at for open space.
Johnson said that the council will hold a special public meeting on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. to get comments from the public on increasing the rate.