Photo courtesy Google Maps
FAIR HAVEN – Following the devastation of Super Storm Sandy, the recovery and rebirth of coastal communities commanded many of the headlines, but the work also continues farther inland at places like Fair Haven Fields.
According to Mayor Benjamin Lucarelli, the borough recently awarded a bid to Down To Earth Landscaping to improve areas of the 77-acre former nursery tract, which was acquired by the municipality in 1975 with aid from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state Green Acres program.
The acreage is divided into a western plot, 37 acres of tennis courts and ball fields for soccer, baseball and softball, and an eastern portion that serves as a wooded natural area with walking trails.
The park is bordered by Ridge Road to the south, Fair Haven Road to the east, Third Street to the north and Gentry Drive to the west. Lucarelli said the scope of the work includes removing trees in the area of the playing fields that were toppled by Sandy’s destructive winds. The tree line serves as a buffer between the active recreation area and residential properties.
The landscaping company will also plant new specimens to bolster the buffer and is working to remove invasive species that Lucarelli said could severely damage the foliage.
“This is an area we’re constantly looking at and, just as the natural area has, this (recreational) area has also been impacted heavily by invasive species, primarily kudzu, which is a vine that’s difficult to control and can take an entire forest down in the matter of a decade,” Lucarelli said.
Council member Jacqueline Rice, who also serves as the council liaison to the recreation committee, said the work is being partially funded by a $30,000 open space grant awarded to the municipality in 2014 by Monmouth County.
This is a matching grant, meaning the borough will also contribute $30,000 to fund the efforts.
“When the borough first went out to bid and the bids came back, they were for a lot more than was expected,” Rice said. “Over the years, the methodology has evolved to where we would get the most bang for our buck. So we’re finally seeing the implementation of this grant money.”
Work on the fields area began in the final week of August, and Rice expects the project to be completed at some point in October.
However, Rice said the buffer project is not the only improvement effort to highlight at Fair Haven Fields.
“We’ve extended the trails from the natural area and connected them to the areas around the playing fields to create more accessibility and we’re also working on installing two new water fountains for trail walkers, athletes and any other user groups,” Rice said.
Rice said Fair Haven was awarded a $10,000 grant from Sustainable Jersey, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping municipalities and school districts implement plans and programs to reduce waste, cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve environmental equity.
The drinking fountains that will be installed also serve as water bottle refilling stations to decrease the number of plastic bottles left around the park after sporting events, as well as those entering the recycling stream.
The plastic recycling market crashed after China, the world’s largest consumer, created more stringent purchasing policies. Though residents may properly dispose of these nonbiodegradable products, much is still ending up in landfills.
Rice also noted that in the last few years the borough has partnered with Rumson-Fair Haven High School to resurface the tennis courts at Fair Haven Fields and recently lined the courts to be used for pickleball activities.
The growing popularity of the sport has led to the launch of the Jamie Riley First Annual Pickleball Fundraising Festival, which is scheduled for Oct. 5 at Fair Haven Fields at 8 a.m. All proceeds from the event will be donated to a Knollwood School scholarship fund and ThanksUSA’s Military Family Scholarship Program.
Pfc. Jamie R. Riley, 21, was killed in the collision of two military vehicles during a training exercise in New Mexico Jan. 22.
Fair Haven Fields is open to the public throughout the duration of this project, though borough officials caution that some of the walking trail may be closed until the work is completed.
