Our Township Committee should be commended for responding to the residents' need for improved recreational resources. Under Mayor Cirulli's leadership the Committee did the right thing by not ignoring our voices, and taking action. Mayor Cirulli told the Beacon, "This is an issue that needs to be addressed right away. Everyone is talking about the lack of recreation in the township and this is the first step in order to make it better." Good job, Mayor. Now let's talk about what should be done.

The failed $13 million Rose Hill Park plan obviously has serious problems. This plan was pushed by then-Mayor Hartman back in 2005. At that time Hartman told the Beacon, "If everything goes well, I expect to start clearing land for the project sometime next fall." (fall of 2006) Well everything didn't go so well until David P. Biggy wrote a series of spin-free articles about Barnegat's lack of recreational resources, and we at DowntownBarnegat.com commented on them in March of 2007. Committeman Hartman now sees the opportunity to again trot out this plan that failed once, and many feel should fail again.

The local press may not point out that the Committee's response to our needs in 2007 is a rehashed 2005 failed plan. Most importantly, they also won't point out all the resources and facilities we have lost in our community. Our children's downtown playground and 2 baseball fields were ripped down. The downtown youth center -- where downtown children could conveniently attend township recreational classes was closed. The township finally removed the trash cans from the Lower Shore Rd. tennis courts, but then wanted to turn it into a parking lot. We were losing all of this while the other pocket parks in our community are left to deteriorate. If the local media would have put a spotlight on these issues -- with no spin -- perhaps the Committee would have addressed them. We at DowntownBarnegat.com have written several letters to our Township Committee about what our children have lost, yet they never gave us the courtesy, as taxpayers, of a response. We hope that Mayor Cirulli will have the courage to address our childrens' needs as we recently wrote him a letter and await his reply.

So what's the answer? Is it to spend $13 million on this one site -- in a remote area to most of the population...probably not. Note that the $13 million price tag hasn't increased since the plan was introduced 3 years ago. The township spent $1 million on Meadowedge Park...and taxpayers received very little in return. It was definitely a good idea to preserve open space...but Meadowedge is a grossly under-utilized facility. It is in dire need of some creative thinking so it can be used wisely.

All the facilities proposed for Rose Hill Park would be very much welcomed by everyone. The site should definitely be used for better recreation, but the problem is two-fold. One -- the cost will be high. probably much higher than the $13 million 2005 plan, especially if grants are not obtained. Money would be better spent bringing back what we have already lost, and improving existing sites. This should be done FIRST -- before $1.00 is spent on the Rose Hill Park project. Two -- locating all resources in one remote area of town causes many problems. Accessibility and traffic are but a few. Most importantly this type of (NON) smart-growth planning kills our sense of community. How about some recreational activities West of the Parkway for our many active seniors who live in that area? Or how about this...a playground and recreational facilities that families can WALK to in the downtown area.

There are so many ideas out there for what we could do to improve recreation. The old Rose Hill Park plan alone is not the answer. But by talking about it, Mayor Cirulli is right -- it is a start. Hats off to you, Mayor, for opening a dialogue regarding this problem. That's the type of leadership we need. Now it's time for our Committee to listen again. Public input is now called for. We invite our readers to submit ideas regarding what they think Barnegat should do to provide the recreation they so dearly deserve.