Sea Bright plans skateboard park

The borough of Sea Bright is pursuing plans to construct a skateboard park on Ocean Avenue.

The Borough Council adopted a resolution at its meeting Tuesday authorizing a grant application for a skateboard park that would be built at 1051 Ocean Ave., at the north end of the Peninsula House lot next to the Chapel Hill Beach Club.

The borough is applying for a Monmouth County Municipal Open Space Grant, according to Borough Clerk Maryann M. Smeltzer.

The borough is seeking a $153,000 grant to fund the project, for which the total cost would be $367,000.

She said the borough would hold a public hearing, which is a requirement of the grant application, and on the skate park plan Sept. 13.

"This meeting is meant to give the public a chance to comment on the grant application and proposed skateboard park," said Smeltzer.

According to Felecia Stratton, chairwoman of the Recreation Committee, the deadline for the grant application is Sept. 19.

She said but the plan is to not burden taxpayers.

"I believe that we'll be notified in January whether we get the grant or not. If we're lucky enough to get it, then we hope to obtain the rest of the money through private funding," she said.

Stratton noted that the idea of the skate park has been discussed for the last two years.

"There's very little in Sea Bright for the kids over 5 years old. There is a large population of kids in town who are skateboarders and in part because of the skating ordinance that prohibits them from skating on the sidewalks, they have nowhere to skate," she said.

The recreation committee's goal was to have a safe place for them to skate.

"It's a safety concern for the kids to be skating up and down Ocean Avenue. We wanted a place for them to go where there is no danger of them getting hit by a car," said Recreation Director Kathy Morris.

"People come from all over to visit our beach, and there are other kids who will benefit from this," added Stratton.

Morris noted that there is a skate park in Long Branch operated by the Monmouth County Park System, but that it is very different from the one the borough wants to build.

"Ours is going to be an all-concrete skateboard park, which Long Branch isn't. Having an all-concrete park is a more natural way for the kids to skateboard and being that we take the brunt of weather here, it's so much better because it won't wear as quickly," said Morris.

Stratton also said that the park will be supervised and the helmet law will be enforced.

"The borough wouldn't even pursue it unless that was in place, and it will be," she said.

The skate park is the first phase of a five-year plan that the recreation committee has in mind.

"Due to the fact that it costs so much money to do all of this, we're hoping to do one thing at a time. We want to get new basketball courts and a tennis wall," said Stratton.

Recreation Committee member the Rev. Robert Long sent a letter to the mayor and council expressing his full support for the skateboard park project.

"Through my work with the Recreation Committee and the youth ministry of our community church, I have seen firsthand the need for constructive places for play for our town's youth," he said.

"Though our children do not vote, you are still their representatives. They rely on you all to advance their interests as part of the governing body's good work to represent the interests of the entire community."

The public hearing will be held at the Cecile F. Norton Community Center, 1167 Ocean Ave., at 6:30 p.m.