By JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent
SAYREVILLE — The Borough of Sayreville is working with Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) to develop recommendations for the Weber Avenue neighborhood.
Councilman Art Rittenhouse said that the project started after he attended a seminar at Rutgers and wanted to bring their expertise to the borough.
The council subsequently authorized a study for $9,500, and a draft from the first phase of that study is now available. The RCE presented that draft at a recent Environmental Commission meeting, and Rittenhouse shared it with the Borough Council at the Sept. 12 meeting.
“It’s looking at what we can do to answer a lot of the questions that residents have had,” Rittenhouse explained in giving some background on the project. “People have said it looks terrible down there, what can do you do make the area look better,” he said.
According to the report, the Blue Acres program has acquired 125 homes across 22.5 acres in the Weber Avenue neighborhood after those homes were significantly damaged by superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Irene the year before. Most of those homes have been torn down, leaving flood-prone open space behind.
According to the report, the intent of the partnership between RCE and Sayreville is to “better understand how these newly acquired properties can maximize flood storage, provide recreational opportunities, and support diverse wildlife habitats. Additionally, efforts include developing long-term management strategies for the area.”
RCE’s preliminary recommendations include increasing the vegetation in the area and carving out passive recreation paths to both create opportunities for residents to use the area as well as mitigate future flooding.
“It will be an area that the entire town can take advantage of,” Rittenhouse said of the potential passive recreation opportunities. He said it is possible the trails would extend out of Veterans Park off MacArthur Avenue into the area.
Councilman Steven Grillo, who attended the Environmental Commission meeting, said he was impressed with RCE’s presentation, adding that the ability to undertake some green infrastructure would be both cost effective and beneficial to the residents. He also said representatives from Rutgers are also interested in restructuring the roadway in the area, which he said was “exceptionally antiquated.”
“I think we’re going to see, if these plans are implemented, a significant improvement not just on the flood prevention side, but also on just the appearance of that part of town. So I’m eager to see what else they have in the future iterations of this report,” Grillo said.
Councilwoman Mary Novak asked if the Rutgers representatives had any cost estimates for the various projects they are suggesting. Rittenhouse said they did not, but that the borough should be looking at finding money to incorporate these projects into the budget over the next two years. However, he also said the RCE will be recommending grants to offset the costs associated with their recommendations.
“There should be a lot of grants available for this,” Rittenhouse said.
Rittenhouse stressed nothing was final and the council would make the decisions as to what projects actually advance.
