City Receives Grant For Atlantic Avenue Park Project

City officials got some good news from the county on Friday as they learned that they would be receiving financial help for a planned park project.

The city will be receiving a $208,000 grant from the Monmouth County Open Space Trust Fund to helo fund a proposed park on Atlantic Avenue that would improve fishing access, add vegetation and create a walkway that would connect the street and Shrewsbury Drive.

The council passed requesting funding from the county's Open Space Trust Fund for the first phase of the proposed park. But upon receiving the application, the county, in a letter to Mayor Adam Schneider, requested some clarification to the document, according to a resolution passed at the council’s Oct. 25 meeting that rescinded last month's authorization.

At the second meeting in October, the council rescinded its original resolution and passed another with what the resolution said were “specific language changes” to the application for the $209,000 grant, which would fund more than half of the first phase, known as “Troutman’s Greenway,” of the proposed park. Troutman’s Greenway is expected to cost $336,700, officials have said.

Last month, Long Branch Zoning Officer Michele Bernich and Green Committee member Chris Benosky presented plans for Troutman's Greenway, which would be built on the north side of Atlantic Avenue near the bridge that crossed Troutman's Creek.

Bernich has said the Green Committee is also looking for grants from Green Acres and FEMA to help fund the first phase of the project.

The second phase of the project would be on the south side of the bridge and include community gardens, shade trees and a walking trail that connects Atlantic Avenue to Avenel Way, Bernosky said.

The plans for the project’s second phase are not final, and the committee is focusing on Troutman's Greenway, Bernich said.