Jamesburg gets funds to improve two parks
BY DICK METZGAR
Staff Writer

Jamesburg and Old Bridge are among four municipalities sharing $1.4 million in open space and recreation funds to upgrade parks and other playground facilities.

The Middlesex County Board of Freeholders recently authorized the grant money to help the selected municipalities improve local parks.

The projects represent the first round of 2005 recreation grants from the county’s Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund.

Two parks in Jamesburg, Veterans Park and Tillie Davison Park, will be refurbished with $200,000 in funds from the county.

Old Bridge will receive $518,000 to fund new lighting at four soccer fields in the Ticetown Soccer Complex.

“I want to thank the freeholders for all of the good they are doing for our town,” Jamesburg Mayor Tony LaMantia said. “This funding will help us make our two parks safer and more attractive,”

Veterans Park is a small triangle in the center of town bordered by Lincoln, East Railroad and Stockton streets. Currently, it consists of a monument for the town’s war veterans, a flagpole and trees.

“About eight years ago, we changed the name of the park from Triangle Park to Veterans Park,” LaMantia said. “It is a showcase for people who visit our town, and now we will be able to make it safer and better-looking.”

The improvements, according to borough Business Administrator Denise Jawidzik, will include the installation of a public address system for Memorial Day and Veterans Day festivities.

“We will also improve the lighting at the park and do some concrete work,” Jawidzik said. “We’ll clean up any dead trees and plant new ones. We’ll probably replace some of the old sidewalks and tiling.”

Tillie Davison Park, located on Williams Street, currently consists of several swings for children surrounded by an old fence.

“The park was established years ago with funds from the Tillie Davison estate,” LaMantia said. “Tillie Davison was an old-time schoolteacher from the area.

“We’re going to dress up the park for the kids,” LaMantia continued. “We’re going to replace the fencing and the swings. We’ll get rid of old dead trees and plant new ones, making it more attractive and safer.”

The new lighting at the four soccer fields in the Ticetown Soccer Complex in Old Bridge will be a tremendous boon to the township’s large soccer program, according to Tom Badcock, director of parks, recreation and social services.

Badcock said all of the grant money will be used to fund the new lighting.

“Soccer has become so big in Old Bridge, and we have had no lighting at this complex before,” Badcock said. “This will allow us to make fuller use of the four fields. By being able to continue playing after it begins to get dark, we will be able to increase playing time at the complex from 30 to 35 percent.”

Badcock estimated that 2,000 youngsters between the ages of 5 and 17 participate in the township’s soccer programs.

Installing the new lights, he said, could turn out to be a cost saver as well.

“This will be much cheaper than it would be to buy property and build another field, which we would need to accommodate our soccer programs,” Badcock said.

The borough of Carteret and Edison Township are the other two municipalities receiving funding through the current county program.

Carteret will receive $500,000 to reconstruct three Little League softball fields and other park amenities at the Civic Center Sports Complex on Pershing Avenue.

Edison will use its $271,469 grant to build Gateway Park on Route 27 at Stony Road. The new park will include a sitting area, fountain, trellis and walking paths.

“My freeholder colleagues and I are committed to helping our municipalities improve their recreational offerings for the residents,” Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel said. ‘These grants will go a long way in ensuring that residents of all ages have access to quality facilities.”