13 Towns To Get County Open Space Fund Matching Grants

The Monmouth County Freeholders have announced which projects will receive $2.3 million in matching funds from the county Municipal Open Space Grant Program. 

Thirteen municipalities were named, but Howell was not among them this time. The funds are administered by the Monmouth County Park System. The maximum matching amount awarded to a particular project is $250,000.

Lillian G. Burry, the liaison to the County’s Park System that administers the grants, noted that there were seven towns that applied for funding to help with Sandy-related recovery projects. 

“With this round of municipal open space grants we have now funded nearly $25 million of park and open space projects in our communities,” Burry said. “Sharing the cost of municipal projects supports and improves the quality of life in all of our communities.” 

Here is a list of the recipients. 

·         Asbury Park, $250,000 for the third development phase of Springwood Avenue Park to include benches, a shade structure, lighting and other site improvements. 

·         Atlantic Highlands, $113,000 for Superstorm Sandy repairs to Harbor Park’s three popular tennis courts and basketball court.

·         Brielle, $50,000 for Superstorm Sandy rehabilitation work at Brielle Park related to parking area and fencing.

• Eatontown, $180,000 in matching funds for Superstorm Sandy-damaged amenities at Wolcott Park, which will include the replacement of the restroom and storage buildings and a walking path.

·         Fair Haven, $30,000 for improvements to Fair Haven Fields to replace Superstorm Sandy damaged treed buffer between active area of the park and neighboring residential area.

·         Keyport, $101,000 to improve undeveloped waterfront park for passive recreation use by adding a gazebo, picnic tables, benches, landscaping and parking.

·         Manalapan, $250,000 for improvements to the township’s most active park that includes a new building for a meeting room, a concession and restrooms.

·         Marlboro, $250,000 for the creation of a “convertible” baseball field at Marlboro Country Park suitable for little league, transitional leagues, regulation baseball and softball. 

·         Matawan, $250,000 for the first phase of improvements to Gravelly Park that include upgrades multipurpose baseball and soccer facilities, irrigation and utility improvements and the demolition of the existing pavilion. 

·         Neptune Township, $250,000 for development of a skateboard facility and play structure at Stratford Skate Park.

·         Oceanport, $168,000 for rehabilitation of boat launch facility at Blackberry Bay Park that was damaged during Superstorm Sandy. 

·         Red Bank, $188,000 for Superstorm Sandy damage to Marine Park that will relocate the restroom building out of the flood zone and replace lighting and marina power pedestals.

·         Union Beach, $50,000 for Scholer Park benches, picnic tables, irrigations and security improvements along with the replacement of landscaping damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

“Since the inception of the County’s Municipal Open Space Grant program in 2003, 47 towns have successfully applied and received funding for 144 individual projects,” Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone said in a statement. “This is another example of working cooperatively with our towns to provide a more beautiful and more active county.” 

With the inclusion of the 2013 matching grants, a total of $24,664,000 has been awarded to date, according to the county.