Westsiders Demand Park Access

There is power in numbers and at a Westside community meeting at Celestial Lodge No. 36 Tuesday night, residents showed up in force to press Red Bank officials about a number of topics, most notably restricted access to Count Basie Park.

At a previous meeting, residents noted that the gates to the park had been locked from 3pm to 7am each day. The swelling number of people in attendance – more than double from the last meeting – pointed to the fact that Marine Park is not fenced or locked and neither is Eastside Park.

“Why should the Westside be restricted,” said Richard Ashton. “I used to cut through there as a kid and those gates were not locked. You’re treating us as if we’re going to tear up the place.”

It was then that Mayor Pat Menna suggested that he would poll the council at the upcoming meeting to have Count Basie Park remain open from 5am to 10pm. The Mayor was joined on the panel by Councilman Arthur Murphy, Borough Administrator Stanley Sickles, Reverend Dr. Henry P. Davis, president of the NAACP, Chief of Police Stephen McCarthy, and Councilwoman Sharon Lee.

Freddie Boynton, who organized both meetings, made it a point to state that he personally invited Memone Crystian, the director of Parks and Recreation, who was not in attendance.

In matters about Red Bank Catholic and its use of the park, which was unsettling to many of the Westside residents, Sickles provided several facts about what’s been paid to improve the park and what the private school pays to rent it.

The borough received two grants to improve the condition of the field and park: the open space and green acres grant. They amounted to $587,000, which RBC matched. Prior to the renovation project, RBC paid the borough $55,000 for rent, according to Sickles. The agreement made between the borough and RBC with the field upgrade and renovations was that RBC would pay $50,000 for three years and increase their rent by $25,000.

With the field upgrades, Red Bank kids now have the opportunity to participate in lacrosse (a game which the field had not been lined for), as well as soccer.

“Our kids never saw that sport (lacrosse) before, not until they went to the high school,” said Sickles. “We’re providing opportunities for kids.”

However, the opportunity for young adults who seek employment with the borough was another fiery issue that came up. Accusations were made that applications were presented to Sickles’ secretary that he said he never received.

“My son served this country in Iraq and he applied for the police department,” said Ashton. “He applied for a dispatching job and my nephew applied at public works. I think it’s a lot of nepotism going on.”

Boynton’s plea to the panel was that they consider hiring young people from Red Bank as opposed to hiring those who don’t live in the borough.

For the homeowners on the Westside, they took issue with taxes not being aligned with the market value of their homes. Mayor Menna assured them that this matter would be discussed with council.

According to the mayor, there are only five firms that assess municipalities and it is costly. He did allude to the fact that legislation has been passed that will allow the borough to borrow money from the state and pay it back over a period of five years to have properties in the borough assessed at the right market value.

The evening ended with issues surrounding traffic, roads and with the weather warming up the problem with loud noise and blaring music. Chief of Police McCarthy advised the residents to call the police department in such cases and if necessary to file a complaint.