HOWELL – According to a presentation to the Township Council during a recent meeting, Soldier Memorial Park will be seeing some structural changes and improvements.
Originally, in 2018, officials applied for a Monmouth County Open Space Grant from the state of New Jersey for further development of the park’s restrooms and concession building. They have since received this grant. Now, after further research and engineering, the funds will be directed in different avenues.
Some of these changes include adding pavement to walking trails throughout the facility, grading fields that have experienced slope changes, adding new storage buildings and installing new shade structures and seating for park goers.
“We are looking at installing several improvements to the park,” said Director of Community Development Matt Howard.
The original concession buildings been replaced some years ago with an area with electricity ports and space for food trucks. The food trucks were a popular amenity to park goers, and without the concession buildings, the park staff is not faced with the challenge of maintaining another building or concession employees.
“We listened to what the league said. We felt with how popular [the food trucks] are, we did not necessarily need to invest in the large concession stand,” Howard said.
When it comes to the bathrooms, the park’s highly populated events present an issue with park engineer’s septic plans. Because there is so much traffic and attendees at the park during all times of the year, the park is beginning a multi-year permanent application process for a treatment plan for a septic and disposal system beyond traditional septic tanks.
In the meantime, Howard and his team believe these revisions are a suitable way to use the grant toward the park’s benefit.
“We are accepting public comment for the revisions away from the bathroom and concession building to more spread out improvements,” he said.
There was no public comment from the meeting’s attendees.
Howard was required to present the change in plans for the grant to the public in order for it to be approved by the county. Because there were no objections in the meeting, the changes are anticipated to begin as soon as this upcoming spring season.
Once approved, he also plans to provide the council with a visual rendition and plans for the park in the near future.
While there was no statement of an exact amount the park will be receiving from this grant, there was no request for additional funds to make these changes. According to the Monmouth County Parks website, grants can reach up to $500,000 per project.
