By Sunayana Prabhu
Monmouth County’s Municipal Open Space Grant Program will begin doling out millions of dollars to 31 municipalities for the upkeep of parks.
The Monmouth County Park System administers the program on behalf of the commissioners who authorized grant funds totaling $2.10 million for the maintenance of nine municipal parks in the Two River area at its 2023 year-end meeting last month.
The parks benefiting from this year’s grant program in the Two River area are:
• Bayonet Farm in Holmdel, $272,000
• Bodman Park in Middletown, $342,000
• Five Points Park in Colts Neck, $200,000
• Harbor Skate Park in Atlantic Highlands, $200,000
• Maria Gatta Park in Oceanport, $330,000
• Meadow Ridge Park in Rumson, $331,000
• Shorelands Park in Monmouth Beach, $150,000
• Sickles Park in Little Silver, $90,000
• Wardell Park in Tinton Falls, $195,000
The project at Bayonet Farm, 71 Middletown Road, Holmdel, will include upgrades to the historic Harding House, a working agricultural farmhouse once owned and donated to the township by Laura Harding. Built in the early 19th century, the house is located within the park and part of the house dates back over 200 years with land titles that go back to the original patent of 1677.
Karen Strickland, chair of the Holmdel Environmental Commission, said she is “excited that the township is really focusing on Bayonet Farms because, to me, it’s an iconic structure that represents Holmdel and I want that building to be alive.”
Holmdel Township’s chief financial officer, William Antonides, said the township has come up with a 100% match to the county’s grant. “We are looking at between $500,000 and $600,000 of improvements that we initially identified for the grant application. More than likely we will be reviewing based on the funding allotment as to what projects will move forward and which we will defer to a future time.”
Alternately, Antonides added, the township may also decide to go ahead with the entire project by providing additional municipal funding as part of the 2024 budget.
The funds will help the township repair the roof, the furnace, floors and paint. “If they’re really bringing it up to a standard that it can be used, then the next step will be to figure out how we want to use it as a community,” Strickland said, enthusiastic about the possibilities for the property. “It would be a real nice adjunct to our seniors’ center because it has personality and character,” said Strickland.
Overall, the grants to towns range from $27,000 to $343,000. The total amount awarded to the 31 municipalities is over $6.5 million, an average award of more than $200,000.
The grant program was previously limited to $2 million a year and up to $250,000 per project but in July, the commissioners passed a resolution to allocate a total of $6 million per year for the program, though in 2023 the county awarded more than $500,000 more than that. Each town is limited to a single application per year and funding up to $500,000 per project. The county funds up to 50% of eligible project costs.
According to the grant details on the Monmouth County website, all applications for projects that “diversify or expand recreation opportunities” are favored over applications that “replace aged or substandard facilities or address issues of maintenance.” Additional priority is given to state-designated Urban Aid Communities and to projects located within state-designated Overburdened Communities.
The Municipal Open Space Grant Program is a competitive program with a strict timeline for completing projects that receive funding. Once the project is selected for an award, the municipality has six months to execute a grant agreement with the county. Additionally, the county recommends hiring an environmental consultant for a Preliminary Assessment and Site Inspection (PASI) of the property to identify any areas of concern before the grant agreement can be executed. The project must be completed within 30 months of the application selection.
The article originally appeared in the January 4 – January 10, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
