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Fair Haven council votes to apply for Green Acres grant to advance 21 Fair Haven Road park project
Summary
At a Jan. 14 special meeting, the Borough of Fair Haven council voted to submit a Green Acres grant application for 21 Fair Haven Road. Staff said the application is due Feb. 27, will seek roughly $318,750 (25%) on a $1.275 million illustrative project, and requires two public engagement sessions before the hearing.
The Borough of Fair Haven mayor and council voted Jan. 14 to submit a Green Acres grant application seeking state funding to advance redevelopment of 21 Fair Haven Road.
Councilmember Dimaselli moved to file the application and begin the public-participation schedule required for the grant; a council member seconded the motion and it carried in a roll-call vote with all present members recorded as voting in favor.
Chris, a municipal staff member who presented the application details, said the Green Acres program typically provides a 25% share of project costs while municipalities must supply a 75% match. "The grant itself is due on February 27," Chris said, and "for a municipality...we would provide a 75% match, and the grant would provide a 25% match towards a project." He summarized recent award sizes to standard municipalities at about $600,000–$700,000 and translated those award levels into illustrative project budgets and local-match obligations.
Chris told the council the borough currently has $974,205.25 available in the account tied to 21 Fair Haven Road (after a $361,817 Monmouth County open-space award and a $121,700 demo/asbestos expense). Using an illustrative $1,275,000 project, staff estimated a Green Acres award of $318,750 would require a local match of roughly $956,250. Chris said using the funds already appropriated would allow the borough to apply without incurring additional debt.
Council members asked whether previously awarded county open-space money could be counted as part of a Green Acres match. Chris said Green Acres sometimes allows matching with funds acquired through other grants or loans but added that Monmouth County Open Space program details for the current year had not been released and that he could not confirm cross-program eligibility until those rules were published.
Engineer Rich Gardella told the council the application timeline is tight: Green Acres requires two public sessions (a community-engagement planning activity and a public hearing) and specific advertising windows, including at least a 15-day period before the hearing. Gardella said staff would need to confirm calendar dates quickly to meet the Feb. 27 deadline.
After the vote, Chris said he, engineer Gardella and clerk Allison Sincrogano would meet the next day to finalize dates for public engagement and that the borough would publish those dates. The mayor asked for public comment before adjournment; no attendees offered comment. The meeting adjourned at 6:23 p.m.
What happens next: staff will schedule and publicize the required community-engagement session(s) and a public hearing, then submit the Green Acres application by the program deadline on Feb. 27.
