Hockey Rink at Community Park May Be Option

A proposal to build a hockey rink and tennis courts over the Community Gardens upset gardeners, but another concept that would locate the rink at Community Park with less disruption to the garden plots is worth exploring, officials said Tuesday.

A plan that would situate the rink above the amphitheater and use a row of garden plots for additional parking should be explored further by the township, including determining estimated costs, officials said at a joint meeting of the Township Committee and Recreation Commission held Tuesday night to explore roller rink options.

Mayor Tim Braden said the governing body does not have enough members who support borrowing money to develop the Metro Property as a recreation complex, but there could be ways to accomplish installing a rink somewhere with existing capital funds. (An earlier version of this story reported the mayor said there weren't enough members who support borrowing money for the project.)

Part of the discussion centered on why hockey was a priority. Committeewoman Deborah Nielsen asked why the Rec Commission made roller hockey a priority over tennis. Commission members said the Montville Hockey Association, which purchased a roller hockey rink, was the organization that raised funds toward a project, but tennis courts also are needed.

Nielson also suggested that Montville hockey players could use a state-of-the-art rink in Parsippany that is 4 miles from her home. She said the facility is underused and Parsippany is open to arranging for groups from other towns to use it.

Commissioner Gerry Logan said there was a previous arrangement with Montville using a rink in Pequannock, and that shared service arrangements are not the solution they're looking for.

Manchester Park was mentioned as a possible rink site, but officials expressed concerns with flooding and vandalism that occurred at the tennis courts there.

Mark Amelino, the hockey liaison for the Rec Commission, said he saw the meeting as officials still evaluating sites.

"Nothing real concrete," he said.