Courts, path planned for Abate Park

BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

MILLSTONE - The township plans to spend more than $500,000 developing one of its pocket parks.

The Township Committee unanimously voted to pass an ordinance at its April 5 meeting that allows for the appropriation of $520,000 for improvements to Charles Abate Park. The ordinance also authorizes the township to bond for $494,000 of the total cost of the project.

Committeeman Elias Abilheira did not vote on the matter, as he was not present at the meeting.

Deputy Mayor Robert Kinsey said, "When this park is done, I think it will be a shining example of what a pocket park should look like."

According to Township Engineer Matt Shafai, the park, located at the corner of Charleston Spring and Young Terrace roads, consists of approximately 25 acres. He said the township received the park as a dedicated piece of open space from the developer of the adjacent subdivision.

The improvements to the parcel will take place in two or three phases, according to Shafai. The project will include improving and paving the road into the park off Carriage Way and creating a 70-spot parking lot, Shafai said.

The build-out of the park will include the creation of three basketball courts, three tennis courts, a handball court and a walking path.

The township will create a berm on the park's edge along Young Terrace Road, which will help to conceal it from the roadway.

Shafai said the township hopes to go out to bid for the project in the next couple of weeks and to work on the improvements this summer. He also said the township would like to complete the project before the winter.

Former Township Committeeman William Nurko and resident Cory Wingerter recommended that the township consider placing a tot-lot in the park.

Noting that the Millstone Township School District plans to put a handball court at the site of the new middle school on Baird Road, Wingerter also said the township should analyze residents' need for another handball court.

Kinsey said the township's Parks and Recreation Commission has been discussing the park's possibilities since last summer. He said the commission was split over whether the park should have a tot-lot, and then decided against it because many residents have play sets for children in their own yards.

Kinsey also said lacrosse is a popular sport in town and that players use the handball courts for practice.

The township's Parks and Recreation Commission named the park Charles Abate Park in 2003 in honor of Abate, who reportedly never missed a committee meeting during his 30 years of service as a township official. Abate has also served on the Parks and Recreation Commission.