Bellhaven Park To Be More Eco-Friendly

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By Marion Lynch
RED BANK – A much-disputed plan to build a spray park for children in the Bellhaven Park natural area is being scrapped in favor of a more eco-friendly plan.
Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer reported at the Nov. 9 Borough Council meeting that the council’s parks and recreation committee met with representatives of the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), The American Littoral Society, the borough environmental commission, the borough’s engineer and a neighbor of the park.
“Everyone agreed that we needed a playground on the west side, and we actually have an opportunity to do something really great,” she told the council.
Bellhaven is located at the end of Locust Ave. adjacent to the Swimming River on the borough’s west side. Much of the property is wetlands or overgrown with brush. There was a private residence on the property that was demolished many years ago.
Previous plans to build a playground with a spray park met with criticism from many residents, citing the expense, the impact on the wetlands and the crowds it could potentially attract to the residential neighborhood.
The borough received a $250,000 Monmouth County Open Spaces matching grant to make improvements to the park.
The new plan, Schabenbauer says, will offer recreation for children and a vantage point to view the park’s wildlife. “We have an amazing natural habitat there, but without an access point its completely impenetrable,” Schwabenbauer told the council.
There’s an abundance of wildlife in the park, including a pair of nesting bald eagles, egrets and osprey, the councilwoman told the Two River Times.
Removing the spray park from the plan will allow the borough to build a smaller playground made of environmentally friendly materials and climbing towers that will allow visitors to see the view beyond the marshy area. A playground made of natural materials will be a better fit for the area and complement the natural beauty of the park.
“Regular playground equipment would be out of place there. It would be like putting a McDonalds in the middle of a mountainside,” she said.
But eco-friendly also means more expensive, and the committee originally thought they would have to scrap the natural products to stay within the budget.
At some point in the meeting, the group realized that they could use the money allocated for the splash park and apply the costs toward the more expensive playground.
The parks and recreation committee – comprised of Schwabenbauer, Councilman Edward Zipprich and Councilwoman Kathy Horgan – is expected to ask T & M, the borough’s engineer, to redesign the bid package to remove the splash park and change the playground.