Page 4 • Wednesday , October 26 , 2016 • The Hammonton Gazette
Parks & Rec Comm . chooses All Vinyl Fencing for dog park
by Stephen Pistone
GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
HAMMONTON — The Parks and Recreation Commission made a motion to choose All Vinyl Fencing as the provider for the material required to fence the dog park at the fields on Boyer Avenue during their meeting on October 18 .
All Vinyl ’ s $ 11,375 quote was the less expensive of two received by the commission . Master Wire Manufacturing was the other vendor involved and both company ’ s fences are composed of the same material , according to the commission .
The fence will be paid for with money raised via a successful Go Fund Me fundraiser started by Shelley Weckerly , member of the Hammonton Dog Park Volunteers , who attended the meeting to receive an update on the fence ’ s progress . The fundraiser ’ s initial goal of $ 12,000 was surpassed significantly , with funds currently at $ 15,106 , according to the donation page on www . gofundme . com .
“ They had a very successful Go Fund Me event that they did . I think they did better than their expectations . As usual , Hammonton hit it out of the park ,” Councilman and member of the Parks and Recreation Commission Michael Pullia said .
Weckerly also received a $ 1,150 check from Green Giant Nursery and South Jersey Produce Cooperation Association during the meeting to pay for a water fountain at the dog park . Green Giant Nursery and South Jersey Produce Cooperation Association are owned by Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Louis Cappuccio and Parks and Recreation Commission member Paul Ordille respectively . Cappuccio and Ordille told Weckerly last year they would make the donation once the park was ready to be completed .
In other news , the commission made a motion to recommend to the council the idea of adding an electronic key fob system for the fencing in order to ensure better security and safety at the park . Pullia said none of the vendors he spoke to about the fencing provide such a lock system , so he may go to a separate vendor for the lock . Pullia said the key fob system would help for insurance purposes because each fob is assigned an identification number and each time someone enters the dog park , it is registered in a computer program the commission intends on using to track who visits the park and when .
Councilman and member of the Parks and Recreation Commission Sam Rodio vouched for the idea to use the key fob system at the dog park and said the Sons of Italy , which he is a member of , uses it . The commission could not confirm how much such a system would cost , but Rodio said the one the Sons of Italy uses was approximately $ 500 plus about $ 5 per key fob .
Parks and Recreation Commission member Sam Rodio Jr . told The Gazette immediately after the meeting that the process of finding and installing the key fob system will not delay the construction of the fencing and that a traditional keypad lock would be used in the meantime if necessary . Weckerly suggested the town may want to consider paying for the key fob system themselves since the Hammonton Dog Park Volunteers ’ initially wanted the dog park to be open to everyone .
Pullia said the town hasn ’ t yet used any of the $ 4,000 it generated through dog registration fees and would not have a problem suggesting to the council for that money to be used for the lock system .
“ We originally wanted the park to be open completely , so we were like , ‘ If the town wants to put the lock on it , the town should pay for the lock ,’ but I mean , if that ’ s a deal-breaker , then we ’ ll pay for it ,” Weckerly said .
The fence has been ordered , Cappuccio told The Gazette in an interview on October 24 .
On October 19 , the day after the meeting , Cappuccio said the fence will take two town employees “ 10 good working days ” to complete .
Pullia cited an email from Hammonton Public Works Manager / Business Administrator Jerome Barberio , who was absent from the meeting , which stated that the town will save $ 6,500 by installing the fencing itself , rather than hiring an outside contractor . While the fencing is officially picked , when its installation takes place is a matter of how Barberio manages the several public works projects the town is underdoing , such as leaf collection . However , the dog park is on Barberio ’ s
“ front burner ,” according to Pullia .
“ This time of the year — I know the dog park is very , very important and I know there ’ s not many leaves ; there will be . There ’ s a lot of work going on ... We ’ re not dropping anybody , picking up anybody . It ’ s a very busy time of the year . Whether [ the dog park ] needs something , whether the garden people need something , whether environmental commission needs something , lake water quality needs something , he ’ s spread very , very thin . It will all get done , I promise you ,” Rodio said .
In other business , the commission decided to table the proposal of a youth recreation facility at the Main Road apartment building project that has been proposed since 2005 until its next meeting .
Engineer from Churchill Consulting Engineers and designer for the apartments Andrew Coursen discussed the recreation facility for the eight-unit , five-building apartment complex , which contains a tot lot with various playground rides , a multi-purpose hardcourt and basketball court . The project owner was supposed to attend the meeting but was incorrectly-informed of its date by
Coursen .
The commission tabled the proposal due to the absence of the owner , because they wanted to hear more information from him , and also so they could have it reviewed by the town council and Robert Vettese of town engineering firm Adams Rehmann and Heggan Associates ( ARH ) to receive advice on what the best configuration for the project ’ s recreation area may be .
“ You may not really want it there once you listen to your professional . Let me just leave it at that . I think you should listen to your professional first … We need to do this the proper way , the way we do here in the town of Hammonton ,” Rodio said .
Parks and Recreation Commission member James Borda mentioned the following items during the Recreation Supervisor ’ s Report :
• Approvals needed for new use of facility requests for Hammonton Bulldogs youth basketball and Hammonton men ’ s basketball .
• Hammonton Bulldogs basketball registration approved for October 25-27 from 6 to 8 p . m .
• Top soil added and regraded for Boyer Avenue soccer fields one and eight . Hydroseeding to be done by outside contractor . Irrigation fertilization will be handled by the town .
• Dog park fence samples provided by Master Wire and All Vinyl .
• Underbrush management is ongoing .
• Installation of control section completed .
Parks and Recreation Commission member Otto Hernandez mentioned the following items during the Lake Water Quality Report :
• Amendments from the lake management plan from 1996 to be sent to Parks and Recreation Committee once draft is complete . Amendments include changing the lake lowering requirement from four feet to three feet to avoid risking a negative impact on the nearby wildlife .
• Call made to wildlife commission to relocate beavers causing damage to white cedar trees on private properties in order to build dams .
Rodio had no new items to mention for the town council report .
The Parks and Recreation Commission will meet next on Tuesday , November 15 at 7 p . m . in town hall chambers .