$250K grant will fund Somers tract purchase Open space plans call for series of linking trails BY JENNA O'DONNELL Staff Writer TINTON FALLS - It's official. At the Dec. 11 Borough Council meeting, Chief Financial Officer Steven Pfeffer announced that the county has approved a grant of $250,000 for the acquisition of open space in the borough. The $250,000 grant was the maximum amount granted by the Board of Chosen Freeholders, part of a total $2,301,000 granted to 11 municipalities. The grant was awarded to Tinton Falls for the acquisition of 4.89 acres located between state, town and school lands. The borough applied for the Monmouth County Municipal Open Space grant, along with the state Green Acres grant, in September in hopes of acquiring a 6-acre parcel that would enhance the trail system in Tinton Falls and ensure additional open space. The Somers tract is part of long-term plans for the acquisition of open space and the expansion of a trail system that would ultimately link sectors of the borough. The property, which connects to the Swimming River School, already contains a trail system. Borough officials are still waiting for word on the state Green Acres grant, according to the council's liaison to the Open Space Committee, Duane Morrill. "We're keeping our fingers crossed," he said at the meeting. The county grant will go toward the pending purchase of the 5.92-acre tract at 85 Riverdale Ave. East that is owned by the Somers family. The borough plans to subdivide the existing house from the rest of the property and sell it, and keep remaining land for the trail system, according to council President Michael Skudera. The borough is under contract and hopes to close on the Somers tract acquisition by Dec. 17, according to Morrill. Additionally, the Open Space Committee was authorized by the council last week to file a grant application with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Recreational Trails Grant program for $25,000. This trails grant, which was due on Dec. 15, would help the borough to put trails on properties acquired in the past, said Morrill. However, Morrill said that even without the grants, the borough's expenses are covered, as the Open Space Committee has a growing fund. When plans for the Somers tract acquisition were discussed in August, Morrill explained that this is the first piece of property the borough is purchasing with money from the open space tax fund since it was raised last year from 1.5 cents to 3 cents per $100 of valuation. The county grant award, he said last week, ensures that Tinton Falls will continue to move forward with plans to preserve open space.