NUTLEY –
A partial upgrade for one municipal park and a fix for a decades-old problem at another are being pursued by Nutley officials.
At their Jan. 19 meeting, the township Board of Commissioners authorized filing an application to the state Green Acres program for funding to replace the artificial turf surface of the soccer field at Father Glotzbach Park.
The 100-feet-by-50-feet soccer/lacrosse field, located off Park Ave. on the same side as the township Parks & Recreation office, had the turf installed about 10 years ago, said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Mauro Tucci.
There was an eight-year warranty for the turf, Tucci said.
Tucci said the field is also used by the department for flag football and Camp Nutley so it’s seen a lot of action and it’s held up pretty well, he added.
If there were any issues with the turf surface, Tucci didn’t mention any.
Nutley is asking Green Acres to provide a loan of $87,528 to help facilitate the project.
In the summer of 2012, Nutley arranged for the installation of a 169,000 square foot synthetic turf surface for Monsignor Owens Field covering two regulation-sized softball fields, regulation-sized football field and short-sided soccer fields for younger kids. The $1.28 million job was partly financed by a $700,000 Green Acres grant.
It could not be readily learned if this work involved the use of a FieldTurf product.
Meanwhile, Tucci said he is reviewing the possibility of seeking additional Green Acres funding for erosion remediation at various locations in Kingsland Park, to deal with runoff, for example, from the top of Memorial Drive, sloping down to the Third River.
In heavy rains, he said, “we get mudslides that flood the area and block walking paths. You lose trees and vegetation. We’ve been applying Band-Aids for years.”
Years ago, Tucci said, the township retained the services of a professor from New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark to do a hydrology study and the remedy he came up with would require “very expensive work.”
Judging from one recent estimate, Tucci said, “we could be on the hook for $850,000.”
However, Tucci said, there is also the possibility of going to a “terracing” approach. “That would be more labor intensive and could cost somewhere between $320,000 and $350,000,” which is still a lot of money.
“So I decided not now,” the commissioner said, “but maybe as a future project.”
One positive prospect on the horizon, though, Tucci noted, is the recent designation of Nutley as an “urban aid community,” which could place the township in a more favorable position to receive Green Acres grant funding.
– Ron Leir
