Roller Rink Proposal Moves Ahead for Masar Park

Montville Township Committee members agreed Tuesday on a new possible location for a roller rink to be built in town at Masar Park and will be passing their recommendation on to the township's Recreation Commission for review.

If the project is moved forward, the rink would be constructed for an estimated $60,000, which includes preparing the land and constructing the rink surface.

The Montville Hockey Association has requested the town build a roller rink for the past several years and has raised funds toward the project through hockey events. Original consideration was for the rink to be built at Metro Park. The project had been delayed while the environmental impacts were considered (as the Metro property has wetlands) and funding was not available.

While the township committee did not support borrowing money to fund the rink overall, members began exploring the option of building the rink at Community Park over a row of garden plots with existing capital funds. Manchester Park was also discussed as a potential rink site, but officials were concerned about flooding and vandalism that had occurred there in the past.

Tuesday night's brief discussion centered on constructing the rink at Masar Park, a piece of property between Boonton Avenue and Kingsland Road that already has a baseball field in place. Township Engineer Mark Mantyla told the township committee members that the property is in good condition for a rink.

"The grade is already very close to being leveled, its good soil," Mantyla said.

Of the costs, approximately $50,000 would be needed for the surface of the rink while the costs for removing top soil and leveling the ground amount to about $10,000, according to Mantyla.

Though township officials have previously said money is available in a fund from an artificial turf project, about $140,000, Township Administrator Victor Canning said he has not seen the fund in which the money is reserved. Committeeman Jim Sandham said that if the money is not available, the township should try to find a trail of what it was spent on.

"We would love to find out where [the money] went and if, in fact, it's still out there, we could utilize it for this project," a member of the Recreation Commission who spoke at the meeting said.

Scott Van Koppen, an alternate on the Recreation Commission, said that the commission has already had some discussion and members seem to be in agreement that Masar Park would be the best location for the rink.

"This seems to be the most inexpensive way and the most appropriate spot for it," Van Koppen said.

Plans and drawings for the Masar Park rink proposal will be sent to the Recreation Commission for review before the township votes on approving the project.