Brick Seeking Green Acres Grant For Birchwood, Bayside, Bernie Cooke Parks

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township officials will hold a public hearing Tuesday on a plan to seek more than $2 million in Green Acres funding for development of parks within the township.

The Green Acres hearing, set for 6:30 p.m., before the Township Council meeting, will focus on Bayside and Bernard J. Cooke parks, according to the agenda posted on the township's website.

The township is seeking a grant of $2,273,954.50 from the state's Green Acres program to fund development at those two parks and at Hank Waltonowski Memorial Park in the Birchwood Park development, according to the Township Council agenda. Hank Waltonowski Memorial Park was addressed at the Green Acres hearing held in September, the resolution says.

The township has been aggressively working to renovate and rehabilitate parks all across the township for the last three years, funding the improvements through the capital budget. Lake Riviera and Angela Hibberd parks were completed last year, with Angela Hibberd getting a makeover that included the addition of pickleball courts and off-leash dog areas.

Bayside Park, on Route 35 South in the Normandy Beach section, has languished since Superstorm Sandy. The park was in need of repairs prior to the destruction wreaked by Sandy — in August 2012 the Township Council had approved seeking bids for the work, which was to include bulkhead repairs and new playground equipment — but Sandy disrupted that work.

Work on Bernard J. "Bernie" Cooke Memorial Park on Burnt Tavern Road, just west of the Garden State Parkway, has been delayed while Ocean County and the state Department of Transportation complete construction of new access ramps and roads at Interchange 91.

The plans for Hank Waltonowski Memorial Park in Birchwood Park were announced during the Sept. 19 Green Acres hearing. Councilwoman Andrea Zapcic said the 4-acre neighborhood park, in the development where Waltnowski, a longtime employee of the township's public works department, is estimated to cost $1.2 million and includes a complete redevelopment of the playground with equipment for a 2- to 5-year-olds and 6- to 12-year-olds, a gazebo, seating, two state-of-the-art basketball courts, a multi-purpose sports field, a walking/running track, and new landscaping with irrigation. Security cameras and new lighting also will be part of the project, Zapcic said.

The Green Acres hearing on Bernie Cooke and Bayside parks and the township council meeting will be preceded by another Facebook Live session with Mayor John Ducey. That session is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Bayside Park in Brick was slated for work in 2012 just before Superstorm Sandy hit. Karen Wall photo