Veterans want meeting space Former Nike missile site set to be transformed into new Holmdel park By maura dowgin Staff Writer The first phase of construction on Veterans Memorial Park has been approved by the Holmdel Township Committee. The future park will be on the former Nike missile site located on Telegraph Hill Road, adjacent to Phillips Park. The idea is to make the park an extension of Phillips Park. The committee authorized $300,000 for the project in the 2003 capital budget, which will pay for the first phase of construction, Mayor Larry Fink said. The money will not be available until later in the year because a bond ordinance must be introduced and approved in order for the town to use the money, Fink said. The first phase of construction will include a pavilion, which will be available for use by the public for picnics, special events, or any other type of recreational use, and a building with restrooms and storage space, said Bonnie Heard, senior staff engineer for T&M Associates, Middletown, the project’s engineering firm. If funds are available, work will begin on the parking lot, which will include about 20 spots, Heard said. The committee is "hoping to at least clear the area where the parking lot will be," Fink said. The construction will probably begin in the fall or winter, Heard said. "The pavilion could be constructed later this fall. The restroom and the storage area is a more complex construction and will continue into the spring," Fink said. The park will also include a veterans memorial. The memorial will not be completed in the first phase of construction, Fink said. The plan for the park is to keep the area open, with large lawn areas where people can play Frisbee or catch, Fink said. The design idea is to "keep it a simple design that’s open and passive in nature to complement the more active recreation at the adjacent Phillips Park," Fink said. The Sept. 11 Memorial Committee is considering the park, along with other areas of the township, for a site for a 9/11 memorial, Fink said. The local Veterans of Foreign Wars wants the township to construct a building where it can have meetings. The building has not been put into any conceptual plans, but the Township Committee is still discussing the idea, Fink said. The land for the park was deeded to the township by the federal government in June 2002 to fulfill public recreation purposes. The federal government "requires the park and any building facilities be open to the public," Fink said. "It’s not going to be a private building. All we’re looking for is a building to have our meetings [in]," said former Mayor Art Davey, commander of VFW Post 5918. If a building with a VFW meeting room were built, it would have restroom facilities that could be used by every­one, Davey said. The veterans want the building to be a library containing artifacts from all different wars. It would be a historical place where students or any member of the public could come and learn about American military history, Davey said. Because the property was given to the township with the stipulation that it be used for recreation, if the federal government does not think the use Holmdel chooses is recreational, it can transfer the deed back, said Duane Davison, township attorney. During the Cold War, Nike missile launch tubes were stored on the site and military personnel lived in 12 houses at the site. The houses were demolished by the township earlier this year. "They missed the boat when they tore them all down," Davey said. The VFW was under the impression that two of the houses would be saved and one would be the new VFW meet­ing place, Davey said. The "procrastination" of the commit­tee leads the veterans to think "either [the committee does not] know what they’re doing, or they’re not going to build the building," Davey said. Members of the VFW will be attend­ing the September and October commit­tee meetings to "make sure we get what we deserve," Davey told the committee members.