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Egg Harbor Township parks director seeks public input; coach proposes community track
Summary
Parks director Rick Audette outlined the township’s six-year capital plan, listed planned improvements (Veterans Park, Canale Park, tennis-court work and nature-reserve upgrades) and said the township will seek Green Acres and NJ DCA recreation grants; resident Aaron Halaba proposed a public track, saying the high-school track is "locked up like Fort Knox."
Egg Harbor Township’s parks and recreation director presented a parks open house inside the township-committee meeting and asked residents to help shape the 2025 capital plan and grant applications.
"We want to create as safe parks as possible," Director Rick Audette told the committee and public, outlining sources of funding — municipal capital funds, open‑space funds and competitive grants such as Green Acres and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs local recreation-improvement program.
Audette listed recent and proposed projects: renovations at MK Betterment Park (including pickleball courts), Veterans Park football-field upgrades, Canale Park soccer-field reconstruction, a batting cage at Charles Kirk Park, lighting improvements, and continued support for the nature reserve. He said the recreation commission develops the capital-improvement proposal with input from youth sports organizations before the administrator and township committee finalize funding decisions.
During public comment, Aaron Halaba, a township resident, physical-education teacher and rec‑department coach, proposed establishing a public running track that would be accessible to residents and local programs. "Our track at the high school is locked up like Fort Knox," Halaba said, describing difficulties the rec program has had scheduling visits and arguing a public track would support youth development, adult fitness programs and returning alumni training.
Committee members and staff discussed siting constraints, parking, and school‑property access. Audette noted options such as Shires Park, MK Betterment and possible use of school grounds (Miller or other school properties), but cautioned that some locations would face fencing, parking or slope challenges and that school permission would be required for access to school fields.
Other members of the public praised MK Betterment Park’s pickleball courts and asked the township to consider extending park hours into later evening; officials said they would consider adjusting park hours and explore whether more courts could be added.
Audette said the township plans to distribute a public survey in early December, and that results will inform the grant applications and the capital plan.
Next steps: the parks survey will be published on municipal channels and used to refine the capital requests Audette plans to submit for Green Acres and NJ DCA funding.
