Kinnelon Recreation Department Talks Camp Dawson

Kinnelon Councilman Andrew SanFilippo discussed his township's high school using Montville athletic fields at a recent Kinnelon recreation meeting

SanFilippo said that the recreational lacrosse teams have been using artificial turf fields in Montville "in order to get up to game standard." SanFilippo said that the non-artificial fields in Kinnelon have been too wet, following recent rain storms, to practice on.

During the public comment period, Kinnelon resident Mehul Gadhavi said it was a "sad state of affairs" that the recreation department was renting space from Montville, which neighbors Kinnelon and whose teams often compete against Kinnelon's.

"Renting space in Montville sends the wrong message," he said.

According to Montville Township Director of Parks and Recreation Maryann Whitty, Kinnelon has used the fields at , on Jacksonville Road in Towaco, twice this season and, as of today, has requested to potentially use the fields two more times.

Whitty said that Kinnelon is being charged $100 per date to use the fields, which goes towards electricity costs to light the field (since the teams are practicing at night), and maintenance of the fields. Whitty said Kinnelon is planning to use the space this weekend at Camp Dawson, which has two side-by-side artificial turf fields, as a result of

Kinnelon is not the only neighboring community that requests to use the turf fields when weather prevents them from using their own fields, Whitty said.

"I get bombarded with calls," she said, adding that the facility is frequently used by teams from Parsippany, Caldwell, Boonton, Lincoln Park, Sparta and more.

"It actually is what they call a Green Acres field," she said. "Montville can't legally keep people from using the field, but Montville has top priority."

Gadhavi said that Kinnelon has a lot of space that could be used for a turf field, and that perhaps the council should consider using money from the general fund to support creating another field as most of the money for recreation programs is generated by registration fees. SanFilippo encouraged Gadhavi to look into fundraising to come up with the money for a turf field in Kinnelon, as SanFilippo said Kinnelon voters have twice rejected the idea of a borough-funded turf field in the past through referendums.