Millstone makes plans for community park
160-acre parcel could provide more fields, lake for passive recreation
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

MILLSTONE - The Lee farm on Red Valley Road could satisfy many of the township's future recreational needs.

That was the conclusion of a recreation study conducted for the township by Environmental Resolutions, of Mount Laurel. Representatives from the company discussed the findings at a special recreation meeting held June 14.

The township is currently in the process of purchasing the 160-acre Lee farm. Mayor Nancy Grbelja said that at this point the property could be used for farmland preservation or open space.

Tim Kaluhiokalani, of Environmental Resolutions, said the township has a basic need for flat fields for its various recreational programs. The lack of fields is especially a problem in the spring, he said.

According to Kaluhiokalani, there are 500 children participating in the local Little League, and in order not to denude the fields, some practices are held on the elementary/middle school grounds. He said the teams are forced to compete with the middle school teams for practice space.

"It's a constant battle to put teams on there and have adequate practice," he said.

The Brandywine Soccer Fields have 600 kids playing on them in the fall, Kaluhiokalani said. Two regulation soccer fields are there, as well as temporary fields.

"Between game scheduling, the practice fields get beat up," he said. "The permanent fields are getting chopped up, especially near the goals."

Lacrosse and spring soccer teams use Brandywine in the fall, he said, which leaves little time to perform maintenance such as aerating and seeding on the fields. He added that despite the abuse it receives, Brandywine is a beautiful facility.

Wagner Farm Park hosts football in the fall and lacrosse in the spring.

"Both are high-intensity uses that tear up the turf," Kaluhiokalani said.

He suggested that the township consider using synthetic fields. While their use would be an expensive endeavor, they look natural, he said.

"The bottom line is you need more fields," he said. "The facility now is basically built-out. There is no more room to construct additional fields."

Kaluhiokalani said the study looked at 10 potential areas in the township that could be developed into parks. Criteria included the ability to be developed, since it is difficult to find large pieces of land to support athletic fields, he said.

Such parcels should not be close to residential areas, he said, so that lights could be put up without an adverse impact on neighbors. The property should also have the ability to be developed as a true community park, with both active and passive recreation, he said.

According to Kaluhiokalani, the Lee tract fits the bill, as it includes varied terrain such as flat fields and an irrigation pond that could be used as a lake for passive recreation.

There is enough land on the Lee property to "more than accommodate" the township's existing recreational needs, he said.

Grbelja said the lake is 8-10 feet deep and that it could be stocked with fish or used for paddle boats. Kaluhiokalani said there is an existing access driveway to the lake and that no wetland permits would be needed. He said the water facility is also important to the fields, as they require irrigation.

When asked about other property in the area, the township's Open Space/Farmland Preservation Council chairwoman, Pat Butch, said that a preserved property backs up to the Lee farm on Spring Road. She added that a farm across the street from the Lee property will also be preserved soon.

Butch said there is a great deal of preserved land in the area, including some owned by the N.J. Division of Fish & Wildlife and the Capital to the Coast Trail owned by the state.

She added that the Lees are willing sellers.

Grbelja said the Lee property could be developed at a "comfortable rate the township can afford without burdening residents who live here."

"We have something we can plan and build out over a long period of time," she said. "Now we have to make an assessment for the best use of the land. I'm happy we had an opportunity to reach an agreement with the Lee family to purchase it."

Butch said the Lee property would cost approximately $39,000 per acre, for which the township would pay 50 percent. She said a $250,000 matching grant from the county could be used for recreation areas.

Environmental Resolutions hopes to finalize its recreation study by mid-July.