MANCHESTER – Township officials questioned whether a dog park that was initially proposed by Ocean County was part of the current plan.
Councilman James Vaccaro cited a recent story in The Manchester Times regarding the plans for a new county park located along Route 571 that would feature a park for dogs.
This 250-acre facility will be the county’s 28th park and will serve both passive and recreational needs, according to Board of Ocean County Commissioners Deputy Director Virginia E. Haines. She noted the first part of the park would be from “the railroad track to Ridgeway Boulevard.” She noted the passive area would include nature trails.
“When we were planning the County Park on Route 571, we discussed and I believe our suggestion was accepted by the county, that the building of a dog park was an additional component,” Councilman Vaccaro said referencing the initial proposed project for a Manchester based County Park. That site was later rejected in favor of the new location.
“Recently reading The Manchester Times, it did not mention the dog park. Has there been a change in plans since the residents of the eastern portion of the township have to take their pets to the Robert Miller County Airport for pet park services?” the councilman asked.
Business Administrator Brandon Umba said he’d look into the matter “but from what they told us I don’t believe that was one of the recreational items that was planned but we can look into it and see if there is a way to include that.”
Solar Power Project
There were also questions about a planned Whiting solar project involving property on a former landfill. Umba explained that the land lease with Whiting Landfill needed to be extended for one year. “You don’t have a long-term lease with them until “they go operational by putting the solar panels in and as part of your original agreement, every year can be extended by a year,” he told the Council.
“In talking with the company, it looks like you didn’t extend it in 2019 to 2020 and in 2021 there was an extension and now we need to extend it for 2022,” Umba said. He explained that a resolution was added to that meeting that was prepared for by the township’s legal firm that would provide the township another year.
“They have January 27, 2022 to January 27, 2023 for them to complete the construction of the solar installation and then it will go into the long-term lease,” Umba added.
