County awards $500K for Mundy Ave. Park Safer area, better equipment in works for Spotswood park BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer The largest park in Spotswood will get a $500,000 face-lift thanks to a county grant. The grant, which will fund improvements to Mundy Avenue Park, comes at the same time the borough has been awarded $54,000 for a nearby walkway area between DeVoe Avenue and DeVoe Lake. Borough officials applied for the Mundy Avenue Park grant in October, according to Borough Business Administrator Ronald Fasanello. "This is just some money we were requesting from the county open space fund," Fasanello said. Proposed improvements include a new pedestrian walkway with warning lights, rehabilitated and expanded playground equipment, resurfacing for the existing basketball court and lighting, according to borough officials. Mayor Barry Zagnit said the grant will fund almost the entire cost of the $504,000 project being planned for the park. "We're very, very thankful to the Middlesex County freeholders for funding this," Zagnit said. "… They are in effect funding the entire project for us." Fasanello said the borough submitted a concept plan to the county and presented maps and renderings of the various upgrades that the park would undergo. "I believe they looked at the merits of the application and they accepted it," Fasanello said. Mundy Avenue Park is one of the borough's oldest parks and is the largest, but Fasanello said the project is worthwhile for more reasons than its local significance. "We just knew that we wanted to upgrade the park," Fasanello said. "We took a look at the park, and the equipment in the park was getting old [and] we didn't have any parking at all. People had to park across the street and walk to the park." The street that Fasanello referred to is DeVoe Avenue, a county road with streetside parking. There is also streetside parking along Mundy Avenue. Zagnit said that drivers and pedestrians have limited visibility on the road, where families often cross with children to get to the park. He added that the county-funded improvements will help slow drivers down in that area. "DeVoe Avenue is a very heavily traveled artery," Zagnit said. Fasanello said there is some lighting there, but it is not sufficient. "It's dark in some spots. Lighting just isn't where it should be," he said. The walkway in Mundy Avenue Park will be safer with new lighting, Fasanello said, noting that changes for the walkway have not been determined yet. Zagnit said off-street parking will be provided during the renovations. Mandated work was done at the park as recently as October, Zagnit said. However, the equipment and the general layout of the park have not been upgraded in many years. "This will make it a lot more attractive for families," Zagnit said. "It's a real windfall for the municipality," he added.