Sometime in 2012, Medford will have a new skate park at Freedom Park.
The council voted at a recent meeting to award $249,000 to Grindline Skateparks, which will construct a concrete park for skateboarders, where a wooden one now exists.
While grateful for the funds, Medford Councilman James “Randy” Pace said county money could be better spent on other projects.
“I think Medford Township, (the) County of Burlington, the State of New Jersey and the federal government need to tighten their belts,” Pace said. “Given the nature of everybody’s deficit, we need to take another look at how it is we’re spending our money.
We need to balance need and want.”
“Going forward, my focus is going to be to make sure that those grants are awarded appropriately in the dollar amounts for things that are needed first and wanted second,” Pace said. “I’m just not certain that building a brand new skate park, given the financial condition we’re in, was the most efficient use of those tax dollars.”
He explained that, since the township applied for the $250,000 grant for the skate park, it has to use it for the skate park.
“Unfortunately, I think that the needs of the community in police protection, in fire protection, in simply picking up our trash are more important,” Pace said, noting he is not saying kids come second.
He said Medford has paved open space that can be used which he admitted is probably not as much fun as a skate park.
“The balancing act of how we best spend our money is unfortunately tipped in the wrong direction,” Pace said. “We’re all operating at deficits; we can no longer operate our governments at deficits. We need to pay as we go.”
In September 2010, Burlington County offered each county municipality an opportunity to apply for grant funds up to $250,000 under its new municipal-park development-grant program.
With the consent of the council and administration, Medford applied to rebuild the Freedom Park skate park, as it had been closed since January 2010 due to age, wear and deterioration.
Medford was notified in November 2010 it was approved for the full $250,000 request.
For safety and security reasons, the wooden ramps in the original skate park were demolished in the summer.
