Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

RED BANK: NEW ‘PASSIVE PARK’ ON AGENDA

red-bank-senior-center-031221-3-500x332-2608816A 2021 view of the rear of the Senior Center, which overlooks the Swimming River. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot-topic_03-220x138-220x138-7378486A proposal to subdivide the Senior Center property to create a “passive park” is on the Red Bank council’s agenda Wednesday night.

Also on the table for the semimonthly meeting are matters relating to parking, parks and a committee name change. Here’s what to expect.

red-bank-anderson-200-monmouth-042222-500x375-5954450Parking in front of 200 Monmouth Street, home of Sickles Market and other businesses, would be metered under a change up for a council vote. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

• A resolution proposed by Councilman Michael Ballard would, if approved, authorize the borough to initiate steps to subdivide the Senior Center property, which overlooks the Swimming River from 80 Shrewsbury Avenue.

The effort “is part of a multi-step process to separate the Senior Center building from the land that surrounds it into distinct parcels, both owned by the Borough, then converting the land portion into a permanent outdoor passive park on the Swimming River for all residents to enjoy,” Ballard told redbankgreen via email Tuesday.

Ballard said he was hoping to move the council beyond the “empty promises” of a February, 2021 resolution in which the governing body affirmed its commitment “to public acquisition, ownership and management of riverfront properties.”

Since then, he said, he has been “working with the New Jersey DEP and ultimately with the new Borough Attorney to finally put in motion the necessary actions to create what will soon be another beautiful public park on the Red Bank waterfront.”

• An $870,000 bond ordinance, approved in February, toward anticipated $1.9 million. in costs for repairs to the Senior Center, would be amended to allow for “improvements to various municipal facilities.”

According to interim Administrator Darren McConnell, the borrowing anticipated that $400,000 to $500,000 would be available for other municipal purposes. “This amendment to the ordinance will allow us to reallocate those remaining funds for other uses,” he said.

Those uses, however, “are not all determined at this point,” he told redbankgreen. “There are some needs at Borough Hall involving plumbing and HVAC as well as a project at the library that is being awarded.”

• Free parking would be replaced by metered parking on stretches of Monmouth Street, Bridge Avenue and Oakland Street under a proposed ordinance amendment.

McConnell said the change would add about 19 meters to the area around the train station.

“Over the past several years that immediate area has changed with new development and the use of those spaces has increased, making the implementation of metered parking appropriate,” he said.

As a result of the plan, the entire length of Monmouth Street would be metered.

• Another change would reclassify select downtown parking spaces, some as available for parking, and others not.

McConnell said the changes constitute “housekeeping. Over time, particularly during COVID, some short-term parking was added or moved to meet those temporary needs. We are just now cleaning up the ordinance and reallocating some spaces to better meet the current conditions and demand.”

• A $37,500 contract with CME Associates for engineering work on phase three of improvements to Eastside Park.

McConnell: “Phase III will be an upgrade to the large baseball field at Count Basie Park, similar to the recent upgrades at Eastside Park. These phases were funded through different Open Space grants over a number of years. Those upgrades have been at both Count Basie Park and Eastside Park, hence the title listing Eastside Park although in this particular case the upgrades are actually at Count Basie. I would expect the actual work on Phase III to occur sometime in late 2023 but that is dependent on when the grant is awarded and then the subsequent design and awarding of the project.”

• The Human Relations Advisory Committee‘s name would be changed to the Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee under an ordinance amendment up for introduction.

Here’s the full agenda. The meeting is scheduled to be conducted both in-person and via Zoom beginning at 6:30 p.m. Access and participation details can be found here.

If you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen, please become a financial supporter for as little as $1 per month. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...
WHAT? NO redbankgreen NEWSLETTER?
Apologies to redbankgreen newsletter subscribers: the daily email hasn’t gone out for two days because of technical issues.
RED BANK: TIRED OF SKEETERS?
RED BANK: Tired of mosquito bites every summer? Monmouth County has a free program to help eliminate skeeter breeding grounds.