Hazlet skate park gets boost from county $$
$238K open space grant will fund several projects
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer
An open space grant of $238,000 from the county will bring skaters in Hazlet Township a step closer to having a skate park.

Hazlet, along with 10 other Monmouth County municipalities, has been awarded a grant for open space projects by the Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Freeholders approved grants totaling $2,301,000 from the 2007 Monmouth County Open Space Trust Fund to local municipalities to acquire, create or improve park facilities.

Five municipalities received the maximum grant of $250,000, including Holmdel, Tinton Falls and Upper Freehold.

Six municipalities received grants of smaller amounts, with Hazlet receiving $238,000 and Aberdeen receiving $169,000.

"This money is going to help us fund projects for the parks," said Hazlet Mayor James DiNardo. "Though we haven't allotted yet what will go where and how much, in January we will come up with a plan."

In the grant application, the municipality listed boardwalk, gazebo and tennis court improvements as well as the planned skate park arena at Veteran's Memorial Park.

The Hazlet Township Committee has been looking for a source of funding for the $175,000-$185,000 projected cost of the skateboard arena.

The facility will be designed by Spohn Ranch Inc., which according to its Web site, "offers turnkey solutions in planning, designing, manufacturing and installing component systems into full action sports parks based on the needs and desires of the customer and community."

DiNardo said that the committee would fund the facility without taxing the community.

"We will be paying for this one hundred percent," DiNardo said. "We will appropriate some money from this for the project and will be finding other ways as well."

The township has planned fundraisers including a silent auction and ad journal to help raise funds as well.

The skate park, currently being referred to as a "skateboard arena," will be located adjacent to the roller skating rink near the Hazlet Swim & Tennis Club in Veterans Memorial Park, Union Avenue.

The skate park features will include a mini-ramp with a kicker wedge, a fun box, two freestanding grind rails, a quarter pipe and a jump box.

The facility will be fenced in along with a refurbished roller rink beside it so that bicycles will not be allowed in.

There are other guidelines that will be enforced: the skate park will follow the park's operating hours between sunrise and sunset and the park will be closed during school hours.

The township police will monitor the area frequently to make sure it is used properly.

"We can now move forward more with the project," DiNardo said. "We still haven't sat down together and looked at all of our projects."

All of the county's 53 municipalities were eligible to apply for the funding awards.

Twenty towns made requests seeking a total of $3.9 million of which the Freeholders approved $2.3 million.

Land acquisition and development for park recreation and open-space purposes are made possible by the Monmouth County Municipal Open Space Grant Program, a competitive matching-funds program for municipalities sponsored by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders and administered by the by the Monmouth County Park System.

In Aberdeen, the $169,000 will go toward creating new and improved access to the waterfront at Seawall Park.

Holmdel will be receiving the maximum $250,000 grant. It will go toward the acquisition of a 12-acre parcel adjacent to Mahoras Brook and an existing municipal park.

The grants were approved by the Freeholders at their Dec. 6 meeting.

"This program helps municipalities preserve open space and acquire and improve parkland by sharing the costs with the county," Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, liaison to the county's park system said in a release. "Both land acquisitions and park, recreation and open space improvement efforts were eligible and considered. This is a valuable tool to help municipalities maintain and improve the quality of life in their communities."