Your Turn

Don Watson
Guest Column

The recent buzz among Lincroft residents regarding a proposed football field on an undeveloped tract across from Molzon's nursery has indeed reached a fever pitch as of late, and it was the Middletown Township Committee that started this game of "Telephone" at a neighborhood meeting in the Lincroft Elementary School back in March.

If I lived in the Lincroft section of Middletown and heard what the mayor outlined at that meeting, I too would be full of grief. The people I sat around at that meeting had veins bulging from their necks. They sat there in disbelief as they listened. This is truly unfortunate. At this meeting the people were told a football field would be constructed along with a concession stand. There would be lights erected to hold night games, and parking for about 100 cars would be available. WordNet - which is published by Princeton University - defines the word stadium as "a large structure for open-air sports or entertainment." Is it any wonder why the term sports stadium has caught on? Concern has risen with the anticipation of additional traffic on Middletown-Lincroft Road at a location that is very dangerous because of the bend in the road. It is no wonder the local residents would go to extremes such as retaining counsel to prevent such a facility.

It is also no wonder residents are upset because this plan for an athletic facility was considered by the committee before they actually consulted the residents in the area. Indeed, Dr. Gerry Scharfenberger's claim ("Falsehoods circulating about football field," letters, July 5) that the plans for the project are not yet finalized is suspect given that the bond ordinance to fund this construction was actually introduced at the committee meeting before the Lincroft explanation. Why would the committee appropriate the selling of bonds to fund something that has not yet been finalized? Such a use of taxpayer dollars deserves public input, not a blind vote by the committee. Thankfully, because of the outrage that has been expressed since then, the committee has changed its stance and is reconsidering the options available.

One of these other options should include a percentage of private financing. The Pop Warner teams the stadium would help support are not a part of our parks and recreation departments. This is not to say the township should not encourage youth sports; indeed, the committee has provided a permanent storage facility for the Middletown Eagles Pop Warner teams at Croydon Hall. Why shouldn't the taxpayers of Middletown support the River Plaza Pop Warner teams also? However, at the committee's own admission, these private teams - as well as other teams from outside the township - utilize our athletic fields every season. There must be a way for the township to collect at least a minimal sum from these teams to help maintain the taxpayer-funded facilities they use. If there is a problem in finding space to provide teams within the township, why does the town leadership allow teams from outside the community to use them?

The Lincroft sports facility is ultimately a manifestation of a much larger problem that exists in the township: that the committee frequently decides, behind closed doors, how monies will be borrowed and utilized before the public becomes aware. I believe the reaction from Lincroft residents over this project has finally opened the committee's eyes to how much harder it has become for them to conduct business as usual. Residents are aware of how the resources around them are being utilized, especially the resources that are coming from their wallets, and they are beginning to conduct their own "feasibility study" as to how much town leadership truly represents the wishes of its constituents.

The issue of the football field across from Molzon's nursery would never have been addressed at the neighborhood meeting in Lincroft if the people present did not ask about it. Good government demands open committee meetings and maximum public participation. The residents of Middletown need to be more aware of what is happening with their tax monies, both actual and borrowed dollars.

Don Watson is a resident of Middletown