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New Athletic Fields Considered to Replace the Ones on Farmingdale Rd.

Officials look to install soccer, softball and lacrosse fields on 12 acres of land near DePaul.

 

The township is planning on developing a 12-acre plot of land off of Alps Road to replace the athletic fields on Farmingdale Road due to constant flooding in the area.

Officials closed the fields earlier this year and will just let nature take its course on the property.

Officials want to install soccer, softball, lacrosse, and possibly football fields on the property. The land is located near Hamburg Turnpike and DePaul Catholic High School.

The township purchased the land for $4.5 million in 2006.

Officials are planning on using a combination of municipal and county open space funds and money from the state’s Green Acres program to finance the project.

The council approved an ordinance Wednesday night to bond $71,000 to finance paying for the engineering and design work for the project.

Officials are applying for a $1.5 million grant from the Passaic County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund to help finance the project. Officials hope to hear if the town received the grant in December.

The township will go out to bid for the project in the middle of 2013 when funding is in place and a design plan is finalized.

Officials will not know the exact cost of the project until bids come back.

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Related Topics: DePaul Catholic High School

the dude

10:32 am on Thursday, October 4, 2012

I'm guessing the headline is supposed to read "New Athletic Fields Considered On Alps Rd"...right now it says "On Farmingdale Rd".

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wayne mom

11:13 am on Thursday, October 4, 2012

Why not Fieldhockey field for our growing youth program in town our girls would really get great use out of field.

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the dude

12:05 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012

The fields will likely be "multi-purpose", like the HS stadium fields.

I don't think field hockey will be precluded from using them,
it's probably just a matter of how they are lined.

Jack S

12:13 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012

Field hockey, lacrosse, softball, the more the merrier.

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Wayne's World

4:10 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012

Aaaaaargh - can't we just leave one tree in the ground in this town? I see empty ballfields all over town, do we really need more? Especially in such a heavily trafficked location? First the asinine dog run now the last few acres in the town's retail corridor. Why don't we just change the master plan to pave over the entire town and become a borough of Paterson? Wayne is certainly writing the book on how to kill a bucolic suburb.

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Nose Wayne

4:34 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012

Wayne, Don't get them any ideas, We are not far from that anyway.

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Ramona

8:00 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012

Thats just great! Welcome new fields! By the way, how many hours will the private high school next door be granted a week to use the fields a the taxpayers expense? How many times will the youth programs in Wayne be denied access because high school teams will be on the field?

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Frank Gallagher

8:31 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012

These will be township fields, public...not private, partially funded by the county, not Wayne BOE school fields.

The private school parents are taxpayers too, so not sure where you are going with your "use the fields at taxpayers expense" remark.

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Ramona

8:58 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012

Gee frank let me make it clear for you. The private school has for years tried to get this property. They didn't. The private school, and its township families do not have a right to use the fields as they are, as you say, public fields for use by the public. That would be residents of Wayne and perhaps some agreement with the county due to the Open Space funding. The fields will be paid for by the Wayne taxpayers and hopefully grants from the county. Private entities have no right of use for public facilities without rental fees being paid. I never said they were BOE fields. You came up with that all by yourself. Mark my word, the fields will be constructed and paid for by the township, and the school will make a sweetheart deal to use them.
Does that clear up my "use the fields at the taxpayers expense" remark?

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Frank Gallagher

9:24 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012

No that doesn't clear things up.

Why wouldn't the students, whose parents pay taxes, have the right to use taxpayer-funded facilities? If the taxpayers' children have no right to use them, then who does?

And, why would you oppose the use of ballfields by ball teams? Who else should use them? Would you be happier if they sat there unused?

Nose Wayne

1:35 am on Saturday, October 6, 2012

The "Township" purchased the land in 2006 for 4.5 Million. NOT the BOE. ALL township owned fields are used by a permit from Parks and Recreation, NOT the BOE. Hope that clears things up Frank.

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Frank Gallagher

10:17 am on Saturday, October 6, 2012

I NOSE that already, that's what I wrote above....not BOE fields.

I am unclear about this statement "The private school, and its township families do not have a right to use the fields".

The law states the following:

Public access to and use of funded parkland

(a) A local government unit shall ensure that funded parkland is open
and that reasonable public access, as determined by the Department,
is afforded to all New Jersey residents.

(d) A local government unit shall not enter into exclusive use agreements
or allow discriminatory scheduling of the use of the funded parkland
or its recreation and conservation facilities based on residency or
otherwise in violation of the Law Against Discrimination.

Reply

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