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LOCAL OFFICIALS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE OF TRADER'S COVE
BRICK Brick Township hosted a meeting last week to discuss the future of the Trader's Cove property. The meeting was attended by township officials, representatives from Ocean County and the state, landscape architect consultants for the township, various engineering firms, the activist group known as Save Barnegat Bay and representatives from the New Jersey Museum of Boating and Marine Trades Association.
"Brick Township has successfully redeveloped properties for the betterment of our community in the past, such as the Civic Plaza
and Dealaman Farm," said
Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli. "We are confident that our efforts to redevelop Trader's Cove will be as successful and will create a place our residents can be proud of."
The Trader's Cove property was purchased last year through a cooperative effort by the township, the county, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program, Save Barnegat Bay and an anonymous donor. The property was purchased for $8,000,000.
"We are looking forward to the continuing partnership with Brick Township on this very important project," said Ocean County Freeholder John C. Bartlett, Jr. who serves as liaison to
Ocean County's Natural
Lands Trust Fund Program. "Ocean County is working to make sure that there is passive recreation in the area, providing access to the water for fishing and crabbing. We believe this work will complement Brick Township's plans."
Councilman Stephen Acropolis is proud of the council's involvement in the project.
"The council is happy to continue working with the administration, county and other entities involved on the Trader's Cove project," said Acropolis. "We are confident that when it is done it will be the jewel of Brick Township."
Among the topics discussed at the meeting were the subdivision of the property amongst the township, county and state, possible funding sources and the overall site and landscape design of the future facilities. Among the facilities and amenities planned for the sites are a marina, public waterfront park and boat museum. The tentative timeline for the project has a completion date of May 2009.
The marina was a major topic of discussion at the meeting. Representatives from Marinas International discussed design details that would improve the functionality of the marina including a double wide boat launch, a travel lift pit, accessible boat trailer parking and deep water wells for maintenance.
The next step in the project is the awarding of a marina operator's contract. Township officials plan to meet with representatives of the Marine Trades Association to discuss marina design and operation to develop specifications for requests for proposals. Once the marina operator contract is awarded, the township plans to seek bids and award contracts to engineering firms for site improvement and development.
A topic of discussion was additional funding sources, such as grants. The township will aggressively seek grants through the New Jersey Department of Transportation I-Boat and Boating Infrastructure Grants Program to help offset the costs of developing the site. Since the site was purchased with Green Acres funds, there are restrictions and regulations on the future use of the site, including provisions that the site is used to promote outdoor recreation and conservation and that profits from the marina be used for recreational purposes.
"I am delighted everything is going forward with such consensus and that we will have so many varied water dependent uses," said Willie de Camp, President of Save Barnegat Bay.
"We must keep sight of the fact that this park and marina need to first serve the needs of the residents of Brick Township and all that pass through as a waterfront park and marina," said Tara B. Paxton, Project Manager for the Redevelopment of Trader's Cove. "Any other amenities planned for the site need to be accessory to the primary purpose to promote outdoor recreation and conservation."
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