Kinnelon to Remove Roller Rink

The voted Thursday to approve a proposal from Ron Jon Construction Corp. just below bid threshold to behind the Kinnelon Municipal Building and spread top soil in its place. The Kinnelon Department of Public Works will be planting grass seed in the top soil so that the borough can grow a field to be used by Kinnelon Recreation programs.

The rink removal will cost $17,499, which will be paid for from a residual bond for field rehabilitation and lighting. The decision was agreed upon by council members after Councilman Jim Freda, liaision to the borough's recreation department, spoke about the feedback the borough has received from residents and referees using the field.

"We're getting killed with complaints," Freda said.

Freda said objects have surfaced on the field that may have been buried years ago, such as nails and screws and even glass. There are also some holes in the field where Freda believes some of the ground has sunk.

"They're in rough condition and what concerns me is somebody is going to get hurt bad and then all the money that we want to save taxpayers is gone," Councilman Ron Mondello said.

The council has been discussing for several months but has not yet reached a resolution. Freda said he received cost estimates to repair the entire field and that if the field was broken down into three sections, the cost would be $175,000 per section. He argued that for that cost, the borough could use artificial turf and spend significantly less to maintain the field every several years.

But the borough on the field and has learned from the New Jersey Highlands Council that it would be difficult to receive approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for artificial turf in that location because of the field's close proximity to a stream that could potentially be inhabited by trout.

"The environmental issues there haven't changed," Mayor Bob Collins told the council Thursday.

The mayor acknowledged that something needed to be done to improve the field conditions in that location and said the rink removal and seeding in the asphalt's place is a step in the right direction.

"It's a huge step, but again, it doesn't correct the whole problem," Freda said.