Grant funds facility at Liberty Park
$208K in open space funds will pay for multipurpose bldg.

TINTON FALLS - The borough is one of several towns that will receive a substantial county Open Space Grant.

The $208,000 grant will fund construction of a multipurpose recreation building on the 29-acre Liberty Park II on West Park Avenue.

The Board of Chosen Freeholders approved the grant at its Dec. 14 meeting along with 13 other projects totaling nearly $2 million.

Bryan Dempsey, the borough's business administrator, said the county grant will be used for a concession stand/bathrooms for the popular park.

He explained that the grant has to be used for a facility, and restrooms are needed at the park where the Pop Warner teams play.

"It's not the $250,000 that we hoped for, but with the matching grant we'll have $416,000 to construct the building," he said. "We'll send it out for bid and scale it down if we have to. We'll make it work."

He said that since Pop Warner will be the main user, the borough is hopeful that something can be worked out whereby they help with the labor needed to construct the facility.

Dempsey said the park is used all of the time because it is not just ballfields. Besides the two football fields, there's a dog track, basketball court, walking track, a small tot lot playground, a gazebo and a baseball/softball field in the back.

He said he is hopeful that the restroom facility will be ready by spring or summer.

"They [Pop Warner] want to utilize the facilities by the time their season starts," he said.

The grants for 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 county board and administered by the Monmouth County Park System.

All 53 of the county's municipalities were eligible to apply for funding awards. Twenty-four towns made requests seeking a total of $2.7 million.

Among the other towns receiving the grants are Ocean Township, for the acquisition of the remaining 21.26 acres of Colonial Terrace Golf Course; and Oceanport, for the Phase II expansion of Old Wharf Park, adding a dock and boat launch.

Ocean Township was one of five municipalities to be awarded the highest amount, $250,000. Oceanport is eligible to receive $75,000.

The other four towns are Spring Lake Heights, Neptune Township, Upper Freehold and Millstone.