Sports complex proposal remains controversial

After an hourlong public comment session on the controversial sports complex proposed for West Front Street Park, the Middletown Township Committee has asked the Board of Education to allow local sports associations to use fields at Middletown High School South.

At the Feb. 16 meeting, Deputy Mayor Anthony Fiore stated on the record that Pop Warner games should be considered for play at High School South. His comments were in response to a Feb. 8 Board of Education letter addressed to members of the public about the controversy over the athletic fields.

“I saw a letter this week from the Board of Education, and everyone wants us to work together, and I’d love to work together with the Board of Education. But one of the things I read in that letter was that they never officially did ask to have Pop Warner play on High School South,” Fiore said.

“This evening I will go on the record and officially ask the Board of Education to allow the Pop Warner River Plaza/Lincroft if they want to play on Middletown South.”

Approximately 30 people spoke for and against the turf field issue at the Feb. 16 meeting. As proposed at West Front Street Park, the existing soccer fields would be replaced with a synthetic turf field, an extension of the existing parking lot, sidewalks and a practice field.

The proposal also calls for the Croydon Hall Complex, located on Leonardville Road, to have its football field removed and replaced with an artificial turf field.

“There is no reason High School South should not be open to Pop Warner,” said Mayor Gerard P. Scharfenberger. “High School South is paid for by taxpayer dollars, and that is closed to the Pop Warner League. We’ve played at Rumson-Fair Haven High School, Holmdel High School, Keyport High School, Hazlet High School. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be playing at Middletown South High School.”

The Middletown School District Board of Education has also weighed in on the controversy.

In a letter from the board, Laura Agin, BOE president, explained that the board’s concerns with use of the high school field include field maintenance and security.

“The BOE works collaboratively with our administration and board attorney to ensure that the interests of the school district, the students and the taxpayers are considered and protected,” she wrote.

Agin did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The proposed use of fields at West Front Street Park has drawn concerns from residents in the Lincroft section of town, spurring the formation of a neighborhood group called Save Our Neighborhood’s Integrity and Character (SONIC).

The group is objecting to the township’s request for proposals to use $2.5 million in unspent recreation funds for turf and amenities at the two sites. At the West Front Street Park, the funds would be used for design elements such as site lighting, scoreboards, a public address system and a clubhouse with a snack bar.

“I want to reiterate to the community I strongly believe we need to improve the fields that we have,” said Mary Mahoney, a member of SONIC. “In general, there is poor maintenance with all of our sports fields, and I would like to see shared use with the schools, and that is ultimately what we need to do.”

Lincroft resident Jeffrey Blumengold said he was appalled that the Township Committee and the Board of Education have not reopened discussion about the turf field issue.

“I don’t have a problem with West Front Street,” Blumengold said. “I have a problem with how long this is dragging on. I have a problem with the fact that there is $3 million now sitting that could be used, and when it was voted on, it was 2006. It was a very different economic time.

“Perhaps some of those proceeds could be used to offset already expended capital improvements consistent with the reason with which the bond was originally floated. That would be a prudent use that, frankly, if we had a CFO in place, they probably would have already advised you to do so.”

Jill Henry, a member of the Lincroft Village Green Association, read a letter into the record recognizing that the money being used for the proposed turf field was bonded and not through grant funding.