BERKELEY – Township officials want to build a new dog park and expand a soccer complex, and there will be public hearings for both of them.
The township wants to use 31.9 acres of vacant land at the Eastern Boulevard Soccer Complex to make three new soccer fields, three softball fields, a roller hockey rink, and three parking lots.
During a recent meeting, the Township Council awarded a contract for an archaeological study at the soccer complex for $22,041.20. This was required for environmental purposes.
The dog park is planned for .9 acres of vacant land on Butler Boulevard. It would also include a 24-spot parking lot.
Councilman James Byrnes said that the State Department of Environmental Protection is requiring an archaeological study of that site as well. The land used to be a sewer plant. He shook his head at the bureaucracy: the town took a dirty piece of land, cleaned it up, the DEP approved their clean up, and now the DEP wants them to prove that it’s clean.
Councilman Angelo Guadagno said they will also be adding a dog park to Whispering Pines Park.
“There are a lot of people there and they always have dogs with them,” he said.
They are also planning on having a new pickleball court there, he said. The township budgeted for a new pickleball court that was built at Veterans Park. They have money left over from that appropriation to do the work at Whispering Pines.
Both hearings will take place in Town Hall, 627 Pinewald-Keswick Road, Bayville on August 3. The Butler Boulevard dog park meeting will be at 6 p.m. (There is no meeting required for the Whispering Pines project.) The soccer complex meeting will be at 7 p.m. The purpose of the hearings is to obtain public comment on the projects.
Written comments may be directed to the Township Administrator at 627 Pinewald-Keswick Road, Berkeley. A copy of any comments submitted in this request should be sent to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Transactions and Public Land Administration, Public Land Compliance Section, P.O. Box 420, Mail Code 401-07B, Trenton, NJ 08625-0420.
Public comment will be accepted until August 17.
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