Board may open tracks to public on trial basis BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN - After a long sabbatical, talk of opening both high school tracks for public use was back on the agenda at last week's township Board of Education meeting. Both tracks were closed a few years ago due to vandalism at High School North, an issue that one resident said shouldn't even be discussed at this point. "I don't see vandalism at any of these other places, and so I don't see what the problem would be if both high school tracks were to be open to the public," Christine Gaeta said. She and many others came out in support of this idea at last week's Board of Education meeting, one that has been brought up in the past. Shore Athletic Club President Walter McGowan also spoke about the hardships that some of his athletes face due to the closure of the tracks. "Opening the tracks would be a huge help because it'd make it easier for those who can't travel around as easily," McGowan said. "I think it'd be a good thing to have the tracks open to the public. Everybody could then enjoy it." Schools Superintendent Karen Bilbao said that the board will consider the move and that if the tracks at both high schools are opened, it would be treated as a pilot program. "We would want to make certain that the tracks are being used properly," Bilbao said. "Perhaps after spring break we can open them and see how things work out." Questions were also raised as to who would be responsible for the maintenance of the tracks. "Groups have written to us about using the tracks and so we really need to see how feasible all of this is," board member Sherry Gevarter said. While many in attendance asked for the tracks to be opened to the public during nonschool hours, others remained skeptical that all who used them could be trusted to treat the properties with respect. "Our facilities have been wrecked in the past and we don't need that again," Jhodi Rose said. "I'd like to think that people will follow the rules, but they may not." "There's been vandalism over there in the past and so I don't think it should be open," Tina Wexelberg said. Jill Evarts, a Middletown resident and avid runner, said she spends a lot of time on the track and would like to pass that tradition down to her young children. "I'd love to have my kids be able to use the track if they feel like it," Evarts said. "It's not the runners that will mess it up. People are going to damage the place if they feel like it. I don't think it has much to do with having the runners out there."