Residents petition against ball fields on Wygant Rd.
Development includes softball fields, tennis and basketball courts
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

Wygant Road residents signed a petition expressing concern about Upper Freehold’s plan to put ball fields near their homes.

The township purchased the Hudler tract at the corner of Wygant and Jonathan Holmes roads late last year. The tract includes 30 acres for recreational use, as well as 53 acres across Wygant Road that will be preserved as farmland. That portion of the property will eventually be auctioned to someone who will farm the land.

Wygant Road resident Al Trenton told the Township Committee at its Aug. 18 meeting that all but two residents on the road signed the petition. He said that one resident, Dianne Kelly, the township’s chief financial officer, declined to sign because of her official position.

The petition states that the acreage has been historically farmed and that the soils may be particularly suited for farming.

“We would appreciate your giving further consideration to allowing the 30-acre parcel to continue to be farmed,” the petition states, “with the opportunity for this piece to be used as a more passive recreation opportunity.”

The petition also asks that the governing body thoroughly research the recreational needs of the community before playing fields are placed in any part of the township.

“Such a plan should consider the wisdom of randomly locating playing fields throughout the township on a haphazard basis wherever vacant ground presents itself,” the petition states. Such a careless action may cause further stress on the township’s ability to stretch its resources, both personnel and equipment, to meet the needs of these fields.”

The petition also addresses the issues of lighting, traffic patterns and noise in residential neighborhoods.

Trenton said that Wygant Road is rural, with no developments on it, as well as very winding and narrow. He called it “very dangerous,” saying it is already difficult to exit onto Burlington Path at the other end of Wygant.

Trenton wants to know what has been considered for the Hudler property. He said many people on Wygant Road have horses and therefore want equine and walking trails.

“We’re really concerned with the preservation of the rural character of the area,” Trenton said.

Recreation, according to Trenton, should be put where people and houses are, not where the entire road is of a rural character, with horses and farmland.

Mayor Sal Diecidue, who serves as chairman of the Recreation Committee, said that committee has agreed to put a multipurpose playing field on the Hudler site.

Diecidue said two softball fields will be in the corners of the property, while the middle part of it will remain open for use as passive recreation. Diecidue said both a tennis court and basketball court will be placed in another corner near a parking lot owned by the county. There may be walking or fitness trails as well, he said.

Diecidue said that no one at the Recreation Committee meeting on the Hudler property had discussed lighting or a sound system.

Committeeman Stephen Alexander confirmed with Diecidue that no soccer or football fields were planned for the area. Diecidue said the township’s main park will still be Byron Johnson Park on Ellisdale Road.

Deputy Mayor William Miscoski, who lives on Jonathan Holmes Road near the proposed recreation facility, said he was “totally dismayed” by the people who signed the petition.

Miscoski said, “It’s a shame that we spend time and a lot of money to get a recreational facility for residents and children, [but] because it’s in their backyard, they don’t want to do something for children.”

Miscoski said it is a sad day when people in town are against children.

Alexander said the park is something the town needs and that the Hudler site is a good location for it.

“If we don’t use what we have, it will go somewhere else and the people there won’t like it,” he said.

Alexander called the process part of growing pains in a growing town. He warned Trenton that “development is coming your way,” citing several proposed projects.

“We can’t keep recreation in one area in a 47-square-mile township,” he said, adding that the township was already maxed out at its current recreational facilities.

Committeeman Stephen Fleischacker said that when the Recreation Committee formulates its evaluation plan for the property, it should take into account points made by those who signed the petition.

Trenton told Miscoski that he was not against children, but that he believes the type of recreation planned for the area is wrong. He said that a stream and wetlands are on the property, including a pond in which a drowning once occurred.

“I wanted to bring concerns to the township before something is cast in concrete,” he said.

Diecidue said Recreation Committee meetings are open to the public and that they include every recreation group in town. He welcomed Trenton to attend the committee’s next meeting on Sept. 19 to discuss the issues.