News
RB Council Reviews Proposals For Community Center
By John Burton
RED BANK - With two proposals on the table - one of which seeming to provide what borough officials had asked for - the Borough Council could make a decision in the near future about whether to establish a community center.
Councilman Michael DuPont, announced at Monday's council meeting his committee investigating the viability of establishing such a center, had received two bids for operating such a center.
The bids were from the Community YMCA, located in the borough, and from the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County.
The two groups would operate the facility, if established, likely to be operated at 138 Drs. James Parker Boulevard, at the corner of Bridge Avenue, a structure and property currently owned by the borough.
The Community YMCA would provide the programs, but would require an $88,000 annual contribution from the borough, which is not true of the boys and girls club, according to DuPont.
The club would institute an annual membership fee of $8 to help defray costs, DuPont said.
The proposals were passed along to the council members to evaluate them and, "Now its up to us to take a look at the work you've done," Mayor Pasquale Menna told DuPont after Menna praised the work of the committee.
According to DuPont and committee member David Prown, the committee unanimously endorsed the club proposal. "It does seem like a very good fit," DuPont said Monday.
The club would operate the facility as a combination of youth and community center, with after school educational and recreational programs, and the space would also be used for any local group looking for a place to hold their meetings, DuPont and Prown explained.
The club would be responsible for the day-to-day operations but the borough, probably under the purview of the parks and recreation director, would be responsible for oversight.
And, Prown stressed, it would be done without cost to borough taxpayers.
That appeared to be a major consideration when this topic was first broached more than a year ago.
Prown in Aug. 2007 approached the mayor and borough council about using the borough owned site for this purpose.
The location, situated on the borough's west side, had first been home to the Count Basie Learning Center, a community educational program. Subsequently, the Community YMCA had acquired the program and began calling it the Count Basie Achievement Branch. But borough officials had decided to not renew the lease - which had been given to the learning center for $1 a year. After the YMCA ceased using the location, Prown and others had begun floating the idea of converting the structure for this use.
Some elected borough officials, while saying they were not opposed to the idea, wondered if it was the best location for such a use, worried about the cost, and they had expressed an interest in trying to sell the site, to raise much needed revenue.
Officials had appeared to abandon the idea of selling it, as they received no sufficient offers for it; afterwards, Menna established the fact-finding committee to look into the matter.
The Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County have a facility in Asbury Park and are building another one in Long Branch, Prown said.
The club is interested in developing a presence in the borough and this would allow for it, DuPont said.
The club would require a $45,000 initial start up, DuPont said. And, according to Prown, the borough would be responsible for paying the site's utilities, which it currently does, anyway.
The mayor did not establish any timeframe for a possible vote on the matter. Prown, with apparent reservations said on Tuesday he was "hopeful."
Red Bank has been delivered for this holiday season an amazing and generous gift," Prown said. "I hope they decide to unwrap the present for the town to enjoy."
