The governing approved filing an application for the 2018 Union County Kids Recreation Trust Fund Grant at the August 16th municipal meeting.
Resolution 238-18 authorized a request for $77,070 in the application for five (5) items. This is a 50% matching grant which means that if it is awarded, the municipality – through property taxes – will have to pay the other $77,070 to fund the anticipated cost of the $154,140 project.
The five (5) purchases requested were:
- The acquisition of various items and equipment to maintain and expand the services provided to the community through its basketball program;
- The acquisition of various items and equipment to start a volleyball league, thereby expanding the recreational opportunities offered to the community;
- The acquisition of covers and rollers for the local baseball and softball fields in order to maintain the quality of facilities offered to the community;
- Furthering the Borough’s connectivity initiatives by creating a bikeable and walkable community through the acquisition of bicycle racks, as well as the installation of long-lasting delineative striping on the Borough’s existing bicycle path;
- The acquisition of a mobile bandstand and associated equipment to improve and expand the Borough’s recreational events, concerts, and outdoor programs.
At the meeting, there was a procedural error that needed correction. The agenda provided to the public excluded the $100,000 for the bandstand and the total amount on the public agenda was $54,140 with the municipality paying $27,070. After discussion among the governing body, the item was added back in, and the resolution was amended then voted on for $154,140. It was approved.
The reason for requesting the bandstand from Councilman-At-Large Joseph DeIorio was to avoid future issues with availability of the county bandstand which had been used in previous Roselle Park Arts Festivals. He explained, “We were recently denied the use of the bandstand for the arts festival because there was a scheduling conflict.”
Councilman DeIorio stated that Mayor Carl Hokanson reached out to Union Township and the request will be voted on – if not already by the time of this publication.
The councilman-at-large stated that the bandstand would be the last of the priorities with the first four requests needing to be funded before purchasing the bandstand. He added that although the major priorities would be renovations to local parks, “We need to address that more expeditiously and the grant would just slow that process down.”
The deadline to submit the grant application is Wednesday, August 29th. Notification of award – if approved by the Office of the Trust Fund – will occur by the end of November. Last year Roselle Park was awarded $30,000.