Fair Haven park plan hinges on whether oil tank is leaking
The deciding factor will be what is found when workers remove an old fuel oil tank from the DeNormandie Avenue property on July 14, but borough officials held the first meeting of a planning committee for the beachfront park last week.
The deal could only be derailed if major oil contamination is found after the tank is removed, Mayor Michael Halfacre said.
"That's a (tank removal) cost we choose to incur so we know what we're getting into," he said. "We made the choice that if we pull the tank and if it's leaking, we'll walk away."
Halfacre said the borough doesn't want to get involved in a costly, protracted environmental cleanup if a major oil leak is found.
That tank removal and analysis will be done before the borough closes on the property, he said. It is tentatively scheduled for July 14.
The council did hear a last-minute plea on June 28 from resident Ruth Blaser, who asked the council to walk away from the deal. Blaser questioned if residents would park in the River Road municipal parking lot and walk about two blocks to the park, as officials envision.
But officials seem determined to go ahead. Residents who have parked small boats and kayaks on the beach were warned to remove them by Saturday or the borough would consider them abandoned and haul them away.
Last year, the Borough Council voted to finance the purchase of about an acre of land on the Navesink River at 78 DeNormandie Ave. for $1.2 million for use as a passive waterfront park. On Dec. 16, the council approved a $220,000 down payment toward the purchase.
Officials obtained a $250,000 Monmouth County grant and a $337,000 state Green Acres grant and low-interest Green Acres loan guarantees, Halfacre said.
"We were very pleased with the outcome," he said.
The council also approved a resolution to eases neighbors' concerns about how the park would be used. It prohibits structures such as bathrooms or storage buildings, prohibits storing boats or other items there overnight, and bans using the passive park for sports or group entertainment events.
In 1858, Charlie Williams, a free African-American man, bought the land and built the home that stands on it today. Plans call for the house to be demolished.
