Memorial Park in Little Silver to be dedicated on Arbor Day

The Little Silver Shade Tree Commission Tuesday night approved a resolution making Arbor Day, April 29, the official dedication date for Memorial Park. The proposal, submitted by member Linda Goff, is intended to give the borough sufficient time to ready the park, located at Prospect Avenue and Willow Drive, for a planned Memorial Day opening.

Commission members also said the festivities scheduled for Memorial Day and the park’s official dedication deserved equal attention and the earlier dedication date would assure that.

Co-Chairman Darwin Spears said he hopes the date change will kick off a series of annual Arbor Day activities, something he said he found lacking in recent years. The change still needs approval by Mayor Suzanne Castleman and the borough council, but Spears said the “chances are good.”

According to the commission, work remaining to be completed at the park includes grading and landscaping. Sod is being installed to insure a full lawn by Memorial Day. Monuments still need to be moved from Borough Hall and fencing must be installed around the park’s garden area. The Shade Tree Commission must also purchase a water circulation pump, the cost of which is not currently covered by the Green Acres Open Space Funding grant. 

The sculpture commissioned for the park is currently on hold as the committee negotiates sizing issues with the artist and solicits donations from the public for boulders and paving stones, as well as monetary contributions for other decorative accessories and gardens. If you would like to contribute, e-mail Linda Goff at lindagoff@verizon.net.