Millstone set to buy 164 more acres for recreation
Final decisions have yet to be made about what Lee tract will be used for
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

MILLSTONE - When the township takes title to the 164-acre Lee property, it will become the largest municipally owned recreational facility in Millstone.

At the July 11 Planning Board meeting, board member Manny Blanco, who serves as liaison to the township's Open Space and Farmland Preservation Council, reported on a letter from the state Green Acres Program regarding what the township can and cannot do with the property.

Last month, Pat Butch, chairwoman of the Open Space and Farmland Preservation Council, said the Lee property would cost approximately $39,000 per acre, which would amount to about $6.4 million. The township will pay 50 percent of that cost. Butch also said the township could use a $250,000 matching grant from the county for the recreation area.

The letter, dated June 25, from Green Acres team leader David Smith, of the Bureau of Legal Services and Stewardship, stated that parkland funded or unfunded by Green Acres can include outdoor recreational fields and courts, concession stands, restrooms, environmental education centers, park maintenance buildings, open or partially secured ice-skating rinks, outdoor swimming facilities, campgrounds, fishing and hunting, amphitheaters, picnic areas, outdoor movies, re-enactment battles and remote-control planes. Fireworks are also a permitted use.

According to the Green Acres Web site, funded parkland is land that a municipality acquires or develops with Green Acres funding, while unfunded parkland is parkland held by a municipality for recreation and conservation purposes at the time of receipt of Green Acres funds.

At the Planning Board meeting, Butch said the township will retain one of the greenhouses on the site. According to the letter, a greenhouse that services the park and/or outdoor education is a permitted use. Additional uses include equestrian shows, fairs, trails and nature study.

Allowable uses on unfunded parkland, as per the Green Acres letter, include indoor recreation centers or gymnasiums, an enclosed ice-skating rink, and permanent bubbles for recreational use, such as tennis, swimming or soccer.

Uses not permitted on either funded or unfunded parkland, according to the letter, include cell towers, bowling facilities, police stations, libraries and a senior center. Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) developments are also prohibited on funded or unfunded parkland.

Township officials have mentioned several possibilities besides traditional recreational fields for the Lee site. Because there is a pond on the tract, the township has discussed having fishing or paddle boats there.

Butch said that because the property is surrounded by preserved land, it may be possible to put lighted fields in a secluded area on the tract that will not impact neighboring homeowners.