Borough looks for new locations for rec areas

Removal of ‘unsafe’ playground leaves few options for kids SUSSEX - When the Sussex-Wantage Regional School District removed a playground from the Sussex Middle School campus in May after it failed a safety inspection, the move further limited the recreation options available to youngsters in Sussex Borough. Other than a few ball fields at Brookside Park and fishing at Clove Lake and Clove Brook, there aren’t a lot of activities within walking or bicycling distance for a lot of kids here. To help address these concerns, the Sussex Borough Council and the town’s Department of Public Works are exploring the potential for obtaining state or federal grants which could be used to add new leisure pursuits for area youth, such as a skateboarding park or a bicycle path at Brookside Park, according to Sussex Borough Councilman Edward Meyer. “The concern is that we’re removing all of these facilities and it’s not clear whether the school district plans to utilize that space,” said Meyer. According to the school district’s Building and Grounds Supervisor, Robert Gomes, the district doesn’t have any current plans for the space that was previously used for the playground. He said the school district was forced to remove the playground on May 22 after the district’s insurance company determined the equipment wasn’t up to code. Plus, there were jagged pieces of equipment caused by vandalism which also made the equipment unsafe for use, he said. Plus, the playground had been on the grounds of the Sussex Middle School and “it’s not really used by students there,” added Sussex-Wantage Regional School District Superintendent Dr. Edward Izbicki. At the Sussex Borough Council meeting on Sept. 1, Meyer recommended that the council also look into the possibility of obtaining a grant to help pay for repaving Brookside Avenue and the parking lot at Brookside Park, both of which are in need of repair. Since the state’s Department of Transportation is planning to realign Route 23 through the borough sometime between 2011 and 2013, it would make sense to try to rehabilitate Brookside Avenue and the parking lot to make it easier for borough residents, including youngsters, to travel in and out of Brookside Park, said Meyer. Meyer said he planned to attend a Sept. 8 meeting scheduled for the Sussex Borough Recreation Commission to brainstorm on some potential recreation options. He’s hopeful that the borough could have some kind of plan in place by spring 2010.