Government
Kiwanis Park tennis courtsPhoto Credit: TAPinto Roxbury
Aerial view of Kiwanis Park, off Eyland Avenue in SuccasunnaPhoto Credit: Roxbury Township SDL Portal
Kiwanis Park tennis courtsPhoto Credit: TAPinto Roxbury
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By Fred J. Aun
Published February 20, 2024 at 9:14 AM
ROXBURY, NJ – The township will apply for a state grant to help pay for proposed improvements to the tennis courts at Kiwanis Park in Succasunna.
A resolution authorizing the grant application was approved this week by the township Mayor and Council at the request of Roxbury Township Manager John Shepherd. He said the maximum amount Roxbury can hope to get from the state is $100,000.
If the township gets the full grant, it would still need to come up with about $260,000 to perform the proposed renovations to the three courts, a plan that includes adding new striping on two of the courts so they can be used for pickleball.
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“The courts are in need of renovation because of age,” Shepherd wrote to the council in a Feb. 8 memo. “The projected cost of the project is $360,000 which includes removal of the existing court surface and fencing, the installation of a new court surface, new exterior fencing and court striping.”
Shepherd’s memo notes that the project would not include new lighting, an option that would cost an additional $175,000.
“The proposed plan is to rebuild the existing three tennis courts,” Shepherd explained in the memo. “However, with the changing demand for tennis courts, the plan also includes the over-striping of pickleball courts on two of the three tennis courts. Each tennis court can accommodate two pickleball courts, so the renovated facility will include four pickleball courts.”
The township has already earmarked about $16,000 on engineering and design for the Kiwanis Park renovation.
Shepherd is suggesting the $260,000 come from the township’s open space fund, told the council that the state might not grant the full $100,000. “If we don’t get the entire amount, the council would have to agree to supplement the additional money,” he said.
Roxbury Councilman Bob DeFillippo said the township should be prepared for all possibilities. “Here’s my only concern, because we’ve been here before,” he said. “Do we have a Plan B? A couple things have to fall into place in order to do the plan that you’ve come up with. But if we don’t get the grant, I don’t want everything to stop.”
DeFillippo’s suggested that a partial renovation could take place if the grant is not approved, but Shepherd said the court renovations are an all-or-nothing endeavor.
“I don’t know if you can do this in pieces,” he said.
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