Cedar Grove Unanimously Approves Funds for Panther Park

The Cedar Grove Township Council voted unanimously Monday night to appropriate $3 million for the redevelopment of Panther Park after months of discussion, calling the project “long overdue.”

The project calls for a turf multi-purpose field, walking track, concessions and bathrooms as well as renovations to two baseball fields.

At the last meeting on Panther Park, Carl O’Brien, a partner at Maser Consulting, presented a preliminary design to the council depicting several different options and possible choices.

“The money needs to be put in place first and when it does go out to bid, the council directed Town Manager Tom Tucci to bid it with options,” said councilman Joseph Chiusolo. “Regardless of the options we feel comfortable we will not exceed the $3 million.

It's important to bid it with options, he said, in case something turns out to cost more than the council anticipated. That way, they reserve the right to complete what they feel is most important.

The bonding will cost the average taxpayer about $40 a year for the next 20 years, Tucci told the council. The average assessed value of a home in Cedar Grove is $466,200, he said at a previous meeting.

The interest on the bond, over the course of the 10 years will be somewhere around $800,000 Tucci said Monday.

“There is no better time to do it than now,” several of the councilman echoed.

“It's the right time to do a project like this because of the low interest rates,” said councilman John Zunic on Tuesday. “The town needs it, I think it is long overdue and everyone will benefit once it's built.”

The council expects the bonding to be put into place within the next several weeks while the bids and specifications are prepared. They hope that the bids will be put out and accepted sometime in the summer and hopefully complete the project by next spring.

“I think this project is good for the entire town with the walking track, running track, multi-purpose field, plenty of parking, concessions, restrooms and lighting,” said Chiosolo. “This will be a great thing for the entire town and I am glad that I am a part of the decision making process.