Tough economic times sink Middletown turf fields

Middletown Township officials laid to rest any and all plans for the construction of turf fields in Middletown, including West Front Street Park, at the April 5 Township Committee workshop meeting.

“There’s no way, in this economic climate when people’s jobs are hanging in the balance, we could go ahead with a project like that,” Mayor Gerard P. Scharfenberger said of the turf field project.

“When you do these kinds of things, you have to take a lot into consideration; one of the biggest factors now … is the budget,” Scharfenberger said.

Middletown is still engaged in the budget process and faces a $5 million deficit along with other significant financial issues.

Middletown’s state municipal aid was reduced for 2010 by $1.5 million; the township is slated to receive $6,045,173. In 2009, Middletown received $7,606,904 in state aid.

Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante also said Middletown incurred more than $800,000 in overtime for winter cleanup.

“What we have to do is examine our options as far as the bond, what we can legally do with it, and certainly if we can put it toward a capital expenditure that you would have to bond for anyway, that would probably be the wisest thing,” Scharfenberger said.

Bonded funds can only be used for the purpose originally specified; however, an ordinance can be passed to amend the bond’s intended use.

“There are certain requirements with amending it,” Chief Financial Officer Nick Trasente said. “It can’t be for any project.”

Township officials assured residents that they would still make efforts to repair and maintain the fields, which residents indicated were in poor condition.

“Field maintenance and field improvements can still be addressed through the capital budget; the issue is there is no plan at this point to proceed with building synthetic turf fields … anywhere,” Mercantante said.

Scharfenberger said he plans to call a meeting with township officials, Little League representatives and other stakeholders.

“We’ll try and pool our resources to do the best we can for these fields. We’re going to try and accommodate everybody as much as possible within the confines of this horrible economic situation,” he said.

Scharfenberger said the committee is still trying to negotiate with the Board of Education for use of the fields at Middletown High School South.

Pop Warner football’s use of these fields has always been an option; however, the board has thus far rejected all proposals.

“There’s a lot we can still do even under the constraints we are under,” Scharfenberger said.

“All we can do, is do everything humanly possible to improve these fields, and I guarantee that.”

Funding for the now-defunct project was acquired in 2006 when the township bonded $2.5 million to add two turf fields. Over the past few months, the governing body struggled to reach a consensus on a site with stakeholders.

The option preferred by administrators, residents and sports clubs would have turf added to Trezza Field on Gordon Street, where the River Plaza-Lincroft Chargers, a Pop Warner football organization, play and practice.

However, Township Engineer Rob Keady, of T&M Associates, Middletown, and Mercantante both indicated that Trezza Field was unsuitable due to adjacent wetlands.

The township proposed West Front Street Park, off Crawfords Corner/Everett Road, as the alternate site of the new complex. Construction there would replace the existing soccer fields with a synthetic turf field designed for football, soccer, field hockey and lacrosse to be used by the public and local sports associations.

Local residents objected to this, citing the potential for increased traffic at that already busy intersection in Lincroft.

Residents also claimed the bright lights and public address system would lower their quality of life and property values.

Officials considered installing just a turf field at West Front Street Park without the lights or P.A., but this would limit field use and might still increase traffic.

The restructuring of CMX, the Manalapan based engineering firm that drew up plans for the complex, also impeded the project. Officials are still unclear on the status of the firm. CMX was awarded the $194,700 contract for the project in December.

The proposal also called for the Croydon Hall complex on Leonardville Road to have its football field replaced with an artificial turf field.