City seeks funding for Truax Park soil study

City seeks funding for Truax Park soil study
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH — The City Council unanimously passed a resolution at its April 29 meeting that approves an application for funding to investigate a possible hazardous waste discharge at Truax Park, which is located behind the now vacant Elberon School on Park Avenue.

The park, which features baseball diamonds and open grass fields, was built on an old landfill, according to Long Branch BusinessAdministrator Howard Woolley Jr.

"The site was a landfill up until probably the '50's or '60's," Woolley said.

The city has plans to reconstruct the Elberon School and now is applying to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for funding to investigate conditions at the park.

Long Branch Councilman Brian Unger said plans for the new school revealed the possible contamination at the park site.

"When they were looking at the reconstruction of the Elberon School, they discovered some seepage in the park from the old landfill," Unger said.

Resolution 115-09 was approved by a 4-0 vote. Councilwoman Mary Jane Celli was absent from the meeting.

The application will now go to the DEP, Woolley said.

Long Branch Building and Development Director Kevin Hayes said the state is funding construction of the new school, adding, "The state requires further testing for the land."

DEP spokesman Lawrence Hajna explained that the DEP makes funds available for investigations and site cleanup.

According to the DEP website, a public entity may apply for funding as long as it has a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the area and demonstrates a realistic possibility that the land will be developed within three years.

Municipalities are also eligible for grants and loans through the DEP. Grants are capped at $3 million per year per municipality for a calendar year.

"We put out an application for funding," Woolley said. "They [DEP] will review it and give us the money they think is necessary to research the site."

Woolley did not have a specific timeline on the process

"It really depends on the turnaround time," he said. "They have lost a lot of workers, but it is usually within 45 to 60 days."

The Elberon School is slated to open in 2011. The new school will replace the existing elementary school building on Park Avenue, which was constructed in 1969.

The new school will be 108,786 square feet with a total of 58 classrooms to house approximately 784 students from prekindergarten to fifth grade.

Woolley said he doesn't expect the investigation of the Truax Park site to hold up construction of the school.


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