L.S. park will add veterans memorial
Plans call for $75K in improvements to Memorial Park
BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer

LITTLE SILVER - Come Veterans Day next year, borough residents may have another location to celebrate loved ones who have served their country at home and abroad.

While still in the planning stages, borough officials hope to get improvements under way at Memorial Park in the spring.

"Our engineer is working on it now and we want more input and we are hoping to start on it next year," said Mayor Suzanne Castleman. She added that the project was very high on the agenda of the Borough Council.

In April, the council appropriated $75,000 for the park improvements as part of the borough's capital project budget.

According to Borough Administrator Michael Biehl, the Memorial Park concept, to honor those that have passed away or have contributed to the borough in some way, came about from a suggestion by representatives from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), a nonprofit service organization.

The approximately 2-acre Prospect Avenue property was the site of controversy a few years back when the borough stepped in and acquired the tract through the process of condemnation, which is defined as seizure of a property for public use.

"There was a zoning application that the [zoning] board rejected for a bank for a number of reasons and at that point some of the neighbors that came out and objected suggested that the borough purchase the property because it wasn't really suitable for business development," said Biehl.

The borough has owned the property since around 2003 when it acquired the property for about $690,000, using Green Acres monies for about half of that amount.

"The borough decided to acquire the property because we needed more area for park space, open space … it's adding another piece to the pie of open space. You don't want something built on every corner, that's for sure," said Castleman.

Concept plans for the park, which is located across the street from the Little Silver Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, include an area for passive recreation with park benches, a gazebo, a flagpole, new landscaping and lighting and World War I and II monuments.

According to Biehl, officials are considering moving the 911 monuments that were donated to the borough to the park. Planting trees in memory of loved ones is also under consideration.

"What the requirement will be in order to participate [in the tree planting] would have to be established," said Biehl.