Community Corner

New County Recreation Center To Open At Fort Monmouth in August

The pool at the property will not open until next year.

Written by Christopher Sheldon

A new county-run recreation center will open at Fort Monmouth on Aug. 10.

The 21,000-square-foot center, located at 2566 Guam Lane, Tinton Falls, is in the Charles Wood Section of the fort and will serve as the Monmouth County Park System's first indoor recreation facility.

The center is an acquisition from the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) and has a gymnasium with bleachers, game room, commercial kitchen, media room, classrooms, outdoor patio, picnic shelter with grills, a 3,500-square-foot outdoor pool and 50-square-foot kiddie pool.

The outdoor pool will not be open until 2014 as repairs are still being made to it, Monmouth County Recreation Leader Amanda Tanay said.

The center will be used primarily for county-sponsored programs and activities, Tanay said. She said there are already several events scheduled for the center.

The Monmouth County Freeholders and Board of Recreation Commissioners will host the opening ceremony, ribbon cutting and open house to introduce the center on Aug. 10. Freeholder Director Thomas Arnone and Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, liaison for the Monmouth County Park System, will be on hand to speak.

The county acquired the property last year, and although it won't pay for the it directly, it will come with costs.

As part of FMERA's developer agreement with the county, Tinton Falls and CommVault, the county will compensate FMERA in "in-kind services" equal to the agreed upon real estate value of the Teen Center and pool, $502,645. Likewise, Tinton Falls will give in-kind services up to $486,920, the agreed value of the Child Development Center, which Tinton Falls will use as an early elementary school.

The in-kind services will go toward sewer hook ups and road improvements to the property CommVault has agreed to purchase in Tinton Falls. According to the resolution, as the first property owner in the redevelopment CommVault will "require a higher amount of off-site improvements than subsequent developers." The three entities will make those improvements - with costs spread to each - to address the "disparity."


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