FREEHOLD – The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders approved grants totaling $2.3 million from the 2013 Monmouth County Open Space Trust Fund to improve park facilities in 13 municipalities.
This is the 11th year of the program. All of the county’s 53 municipalities were eligible to apply for the land acquisition and park facility awards.
Among the grants awarded this years were:
Atlantic Highlands, $113,000 for Super Storm Sandy repairs to Harbor Park’s three popular tennis courts and basketball court.
Fair Haven, $30,000 for improvements to Fair Haven Fields to replace Super Storm Sandy-damaged treed buffer between active area of the park and neighboring residential area.
Oceanport, $168,000 for rehabilitation of boat-launch facility at Blackberry Bay Park that was damaged during Super Storm Sandy.
Red Bank, $188,000 for Super Storm Sandy damage to Marine Park that will relocate the restroom building out of the flood zone and replace lighting and marina power pedestals.
“The municipal open space grant program furthers the county’s ongoing commitment to land preservation for parks, recreation, open space and farmland,” said Lillian G. Burry, liaison to the county’s park system that administers the grants. “This year, seven towns applied for funding to help with Sandy-related recovery projects.”
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 Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders and administered by the Monmouth County Park System. The maximum matching amount awarded to a particular project is $250,000.
“Since the inception of the county’s Municipal Open Space Grant program in 2003, 47 towns have successfully applied and received funding for 144 individual projects,” Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone said. “This is another example of working cooperatively with our towns to provide a more beautiful and more active county.”
With the inclusion of the 2013 matching grants, a total of $24,664,000 has been awarded to date.
For more information, visit the Monmouth County Park System’s website at www.monmouthcountyparks.com.
