Plans for the installation of artificial turf playing fields at two Middletown locations have been killed because of fiscal concerns, today’s Asbury Park Press reports.
Citing cuts in state aid, expenses from retirement buyouts and unexpected snow-removal costs, Mayor Gerald Scharfenberger announced the nixing of the plans for fields at Croydon Hall and West Front Street last night.
From the Press:
“I see no way to go forward with this,” Scharfenberger said during a community meeting at Croydon Hall on Tuesday. “In terms of what had to go, this became something of a no-brainer.”
The Township Committee intends to cancel the $2.4 million bond authorized to finance the work and return the money it had borrowed, Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante said.