JACKSON – The township has a good variety of open space land that has been purchased for preservation, conservation and recreation purposes over time, officials said.
Colliers Engineering Senior Project Manager Gerald DeFelicis recently provided a review of the township’s open space properties to the governing body. A large amount of it is contiguous but there are also various independent parcels.
A lot of open space was preserved by the Ocean County Natural Land Trust, using a county tax. Much of it preserves watersheds in Jackson, DeFelicis said.
“I looked at the idea of developing trails across the town but there looks like too many hang-ups in doing that short of going through the utility right of ways. It would be very difficult to connect the northeast side of town to the southwest part of town,” he added.
Jackson Pathfinders is a volunteer group that supports the trails in town. DeFelicis said he spoke to them about the project. The county has a trail at Patriot’s Park and the state has some at the State Forestry Center.
He recommended that rather than having a trail go across the town, there could be a possibility to connect to the state or county trails. “You could have a quite interesting trail network and go into Patriots and come out at Justice (Park). It would require coordination between the County and the State and the town but it could be a very interesting feature and a walk for a couple of miles.”
Township Business Administrator Terence Wall noted that Jackson is the third largest municipality by land mass in the state and “has a strong rural character to it “with a history of recreational opportunities and all of those things for families. The reason this was directed last year by the mayor is to understand where all the resources are and then to see to what extent we would improve and expand.”
“This would tie into our capital budget. (We are) also getting input from our various departments that are working in the recreation area for children and families,” he added. “Those new to the community may not necessarily know where all the amenities are and how to get there.”
He said that part of the programming was “the mapping product that Colliers can put together so folks new to the town or those who have been here for many, many years, can learn where these facilities are.”
DeFelicis said such mapping would show where the facility was and what it offers to the public as far as recreational attractions. “Anybody could find any park and if they were looking for, say, a water spray – well that is in Justice (Park).”
Such a map could be placed on the website and allow for interactive use online.
“These are the kinds of discussions that would dovetail with the Rova Farms (Advisory) Committee and the processes there. The idea is for it to all work in harmony and to communicate it to the residents of Jackson so they can enjoy those amenities and know where they are,” Wall said.
