Cherry Hill will move forward with a pair of park maintenance projects thanks to grants from the Camden County Open Space Preservation Fund.
At last night’s meeting, township council passed two resolutions to enter into a shared services agreement with Camden County to fund two recreation projects. The projects are improvements at the Croft Farm Arts Center and Kenilworth Park.
The arts center’s project will be the latest in a series of renovations. The township will replace the HVAC system at the center. The project will be paid for with a $25,000 grant from Camden County. Director of recreation Megan Brown doesn’t think the township will need to use any additional funds for the project.
“It will likely cover the entire cost of the new system,” Brown said.
The HVAC installation will be the latest improvement made to the arts center. Last year, the township received a pair of grants from Camden County to modernize the interior of the building and increase the capacity. Another grant paid for improvements to the smaller buildings surrounding the center.
Kenilworth Park will be receiving a large makeover with its open space grant money. The $25,000 approved for the park will be used for multiple projects.
“We’re going to make improvements to the overall park facilities,” Brown said.
Among the improvements are the replacement of the softball backstop and new basketball courts. The township will also erect a new park pavilion at the location.
“There was a pavilion at the park that had to be taken down because it was unsafe,” Brown said. “We’ll be replacing that.”
Council also approved the bid for a third recreation project at the Barton tennis courts. Nicholas Construction was approved to repave and recolor the courts.
Most of the Barton tennis court project will be paid for through a $35,000 Community Development Block Grant. Brown said the remainder of the estimated $42,000 total cost will come from the township’s capital improvement plan.
