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RED BANK: TURF HOLDING UP, SAYS SICKELS

rb-basie-turf-120516-5Rubber-crumb exposure at midfield and the sidelines, below, of the football field at Count Basie Fields is not indicative of the type of turf failure reported elsewhere, says the borough administrator. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

rb-basie-turf-120516-6Failing artificial-turf playing fields made by an industry-leading manufacturer are not an issue in Red Bank, according to borough Administrator Stanley Sickels.

three-day investigative exposé by NJ.com earlier this week reported that hundreds of turf fields across the United States were beginning to deteriorate long before the eight-to-ten-year life expectancy touted by the Canadian manufacturer, FieldTurf. The company knew about the failures but hid them as it continued to sell the fields, at prices often exceeding $500,000, the report alleged.

But the fields installed by the company at Count Basie Fields here are holding up well, Sickels told redbankgreen.

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MORE FAUX TURF SLATED FOR BASIE FIELDS

The additional fields would be striped primarily for soccer, lacrosse and field hockey, unlike the existing football and soccer field, above. Below, a visual provided by officials of the plan last year. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Sixteen months after the debut of an artificial-turf football field at Count Basie Fields, Red Bank officials are planning to ramp up the facility’s ongoing modernization this year.

A final vote by the borough council on a $1.6 million bond ordinance scheduled for next week is expected to clear the way for the $2.1 million project, which would add a synthetic-turf little league/softball field and a baseball field overlain with a multiuse field marked for lacrosse, field hockey and soccer play.

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FAIR HAVEN: SECOND TERM FOR HALFACRE

election_2010_header5

Mike Halfacre, who had previously vowed not to run for re-election but changed his mind after coming up short in his bid for the GOP nomination in the 12th congressional district, will get a second term as Fair Haven’s mayor.

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Y ZONE CHANGE QUASHED BY COUNCIL

rb-councilCongregation Beth Shalom Secretary Sara Breslow speaks against a proposed zoning ordinance at Monday’s council meeting. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Red Bank’s borough council voted 4-1 against a contentious ordinance amendment that would have made the Community YMCA a permitted use at its longtime location Monday night, effectively ending the organization’s recent bid to expand the Maple Avenue facility.

It very well may be the council’s most expensive vote this year, according to Mayor Pasquale Menna.

“My only admonition is that it’s going to be really costly for the borough. I can’t guarantee what happens,” he said.

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YMCA ZONE ISSUES HEADS BACK TO COUNCIL

ymcaMaple Avenue’s most famous non-conformer, the Community YMCA, will again seek permitted-use status. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

The hottest potato in town is back in the hands of the Red Bank Borough Council.

A proposed ordinance amendment that would make the Community YMCA a permitted use on Maple Avenue is moving toward a final vote by the council, presumably at its meeting next Monday night.

But the council will be acting without the aid of a resolution that Mayor Pasquale Menna believes the governing body may need in the event that the amendment is shot down, triggering a lawsuit.

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