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Your Local Park Is Due For An Upgrade
"Pocket Park" Improvement Projects Moving Forward
By Keith Hagarty
Two of the town's small "pocket parks" will soon be getting a makeover, as the Township Council accepted a $1.6 million bid this week to get upgrades underway at Frede Park and Norman J. Sherman Park.
"It's well deserved, and long overdue," Council President Ruthanne Scuttaro said of the parks' improvement plans.
The two small parks are known as neighborhood "pocket parks," and are two of the 19 overall township maintained parks in Brick.
Plans for Frede Park include the addition of a basketball court, a picnic/ lawn area, a centralized shaded structure, a playground tot lot, swings, benches, trash receptacles, security lighting, improved walkways, a four-foot high decorative fence, a 10-foot high chain link security fencing and landscaping, which includes the planting of an evergreen screen.
Plans for Norman J. Sherman Park (formerly known as Arrowhead Park), situated between Village Way and Nottingham Drive, call for the removal of an aged dilapidated tennis court, the addition of two basketball courts, a 33-space parking lot, an upgraded softball field or multi-use field, walkways, a picnic/lawn area, two playground tot lots, benches, trash receptacles, security lighting and improved landscaping, which includes an evergreen buffer along the outfield perimeter of the softball field.
Approximately $1.2 million of funding will come from the state's Green Acres program.
"These are two parks that have basically had nothing done to them for about 10 to 15 years, maybe a little bit longer," said Mayor Stephen Acropolis. "These are parks that are largely overdue and overlooked … It fulfills a pledge that I know as a council member we made years ago, in that we're not going to continue to allow our parks and infrastructure to continue to decay."
With plans to upgrade the parks presented a year ago, Councilman Dan Toth credited the community's participation in making it a reality.
"The biggest thing I would like to mention about this is there was a lot of public participation in the outline and the drawing of these parks," he said. "I think almost all the neighbors got surveys, they got knocks on their doors and I know the mayor was extremely instrumental in this as well."
Toth said the participation between the town and residents was invaluable in the improvement project. The 1,200 residents from the neighboring Arrowhead and Point Pleasant Manor housing developments received a survey from the town last year seeking their input on the proposed upgrades changes, invited to attend a public information session.
"This was something where the public truly participated in it, and the designs are really, really nice," he said.
One of the key components of the upgrade plans at both parks will be the installation of surveillance cameras to deter criminal activity.
"Any of the parks that we're putting in from now on are going to have cameras," said Acropolis. "Right now, some of the cameras are going back to the Police Department so they can monitor them, or at least there will be a recording device so if there's damage done to the parks, we're going to hopefully be able to identify the people who did it."
Of the residents surveyed, Assistant Township Planner Tara B. Paxton said the top five most desired aspects for the park upgrades were for: playground facilities, basketball courts, a picnic area, tennis courts and open space for passive recreation.
As the chairman of the township recreation committee for five years, Councilman Anthony Matthews said it was an ongoing emphasis of the town to incorporate the public into all the park improvement discussions.
"I think it's worked out quite well in every project we do," said Matthews. "It's about the citizens of Brick helping us make decisions, and not necessarily doing it on our own, and I think it's worked out very well."
Matthews added that it was the collaborative efforts of the residents and the township in bringing the park upgrade plans to fruition.
Acropolis agreed, saying he's excited about what lies ahead at the parks.
"These are important parks for our neighborhoods," said Acropolis. "We want to allow those residents in those neighborhoods to feel proud of them and to feel safe to go over and use them."
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