Hopatcong Seeks Grant For Walk Around Park

The borough has  applied for a grant from the New Jersey Department  of  Environmental Protection to construct a path around Modick Park.

Borough Administrator Robert Elia said last week the borough is seeking $17,500 from the DEP to fund 75 percent of the grant. The borough must contribute 25 percent of the cost, or $4,500.

The grant would be used to build a 600-foot path around the borough park, which is fronted on two sides by busy roads. The path would be five feet wide.

Mayor Sylvia Petillo said the path would give walkers and mothers pushing their  children in strollers a safe place to walk.

This is the second time the borough has applied for the grant, she said.

The council also passed an ordinance to take $35,000 from the borough’s open space recreation trust to rebuild the municipal  basketball courts.

Councilman Richard Bunce said the courts are in disrepair and it is hoped that once they are fixed some adult basketball programs that dropped away would be able to start again.

As it is, he said, “The court are always busy.”

Petillo said the open space trust funds can be used for the purchase of open  space and the maintenance of public recreation facilities.

The borough collects about $10,000 annually through its municipal open space tax.

The recreation department is planning to hold the annual Easter Egg Hunt on March 17, said Councilman John Young. The rain date is March 23.

Young also said the department is planning to expand the hours of its summer program to 6 p.m. daily to accommodate working families.