In a move that hopes to resolve two issues at once, the Hudson County Board of Freeholders voted on Sept. 8 to allow the county to run a golf facility in Jersey City’s Lincoln Park for a period slightly longer than two years.
County officials said this rid the county of an operator that had allowed the facility to deteriorate and may in the future provide residents of the county with an affordable facility on which to play golf.
Not all of the freeholders were thrilled with the idea.
Freeholder Bill O’Dea said Hudson County should not be in the golf business and asked for an amenment to an agreement with the Hudson County Improvement Authority that would cut in half the time the county will operate a facility in Lincoln Park.
After years of legal wrangling which may still end up in the courts, the county managed to evict the operators of the driving range, claiming they had not kept their agreement to maintain the facility.
O’Dea’s objections — while picked up by County Welfare workers who claimed the money might be better spent on providing their department with basic office supplies — went unheeded for the most part by the other freeholders.
O’Dea had argued that the county could set up operations, but should find another vendor to take up the operation as soon as possible. He pointed out that if farmed out to another vendor, the county would be guaranteed revenue. But if the county operates the facility, it could lose money.
O’Dea said HCIA will likely operate the golf facility in a more costly manner than a private operator. He said the HCIA has already predicted a loss of $25,000 a year. He said that leasing the facility would bring in as much as $50,000 to $100,000.
“I’m not opposed to a county golf course in theory,” O’Dea said, but noted that other counties in the state the operate public golf courses lost money. “I can put together a list of twenty one things Our School Kids in Jersey City presently need a lot more than a golf course.”
Among these would be a full sized football soccer stadium in the West side of Jersey City. Newark, he noted, has four. Local schools also need soccer and football fields for practice. He also suggested that the county move the batting cage operation to the site and have the local Little League operate it.
The city also needs a rollerblade/skate board park and indoor basketball facilities that are open on Saturday/Sunday during late Fall/Winter, at least one more outdoor swimming pool, an affordable heated indoor pool for kids, a roller skating rink and other things.
HCIA Executive Director Norman M. Guerra, said the county’s Parks Department had already cleared the range of weeds and installed mats, painted walls and performed other renovations that would allow the facility to operate – in some cases hiring back some of the people who previously worked there.
The facility located near Duncan Avenue and Route 440 along the western side of Lincoln Park would be operated by the county for 28 months in order to determine if it is a profitable venture. O’Dea argued that the Freeholders should only authorize a year at which time the HCIA would have to give a progress report in order to justify additional time.
County Executive Tom DeGise – when interviewed previous to the Freeholder meeting, said he envisioned a nine-hole course in the future that would be open to the general public at reasonable prices.
“You have other golf courses being constructed in the county that only the rich can afford,” he said.
Legal issues with Lincoln Golf and Amusements Inc. – the former operators – are not concluded, cautioned County Counsel Donato Battista and discouraged Freeholders from saying too much in their discourse over the previous operation.
During the public portion of the meeting, some welfare workers asked why the county was going into the golf business the county welfare officers need supplies, such as paper, pens and working copy machines.
Wayfinding signs get okay for Kennedy Boulevard in Bayonne
Freeholders authorized the City of Bayonne to install Wayfinding Signs along Kennedy Boulevard in Bayonne.
Earlier this year, the City of Bayonne initiation a program called Wayfinding Sign System, which will place information signs throughout the City. The effort is to make the city easier to navigate for out of town people seeking to find key businesses, government buildings and parks within the 5.6 square miles of the city. Because 12 of these signs will be located on JFK Boulevard, the city was required to seek Freeholder permission for placement. Bayonne – through grants – will pay the whole cost of the installation and maintenance.
In another matter The freeholders voted to require payment to sheriff’s to be done through the county payroll. Under new regulations, law enforcement officials are no longer allowed to take payment directly from private companies for security other jobs unrelated to their official duties. The money must be paid to the governmental body and then issued to the officers. This covers a range of duties such as security for street closings and such.
Contact Al Sullivan at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com