Reflecting the growing importance of parks and open space in Hudson County, the Board of Freeholders introduced an ordinance on June 23 that will create a department for recreation and parks.
The ordinance would amend the Hudson County Administration Code, which outlines the structure of county government. This would mean the doing away with the Department of Public Resources and the creation of the Department of Parks and Planning and a Department of Roads and Pubic Property.
Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons applauded the move saying he has long believed the county needed its own department for recreation because of the increasing use of ball fields.
“Someone has to monitor that use,” he said.
Currently, issues in county parks and roads are handled by the Department of Public Recourses. But over the last few years – particularly with the county’s effort through its Open Space Trust Fund to provide for additional parks – the job of both has become unwieldy.
The division would redistribute the duties between the two new departments. The Parks and Planning Department would have include a Division of Road – under which an office of Recreation would operator, a Division of Engineering – under which there would be a Construction Board of Appeals, and a Division of Planning — under which the Open Space Trust Fund, the Planning Board and Economic Development would operate.
The Department of Roads and Public Property would have a Division of Buildings and Grounds and a Division of Roads and Bridges – under which the motor pool and office of Traffic Signal and Signs would operate.
“I think this is a great for the kids to provide for them on a county level,” said Freeholder Jeff Dublin.
Freeholder Bill O’Dea said this comes as a direct result of the fact that the county has been making an investment in the parks.
New Court house? Not yet
In another matter, O’Dea said residents in the Hill Top section of Jersey City are up in arms about a report that the county intends to take over property near Newark Avenue for the possible construction of a new administration building.
The rumored site being consider is bordered by Newark and Hoboken avenues and Oakland and Cooke Streets.
O’Dea, in a later interview said construction cost estimates have varied with the $150 million being bandied about.
Although the issue had been discussed, Freeholder Chairman Sal Vega said no plans exist and did not know where the Hill Top group had received its information. Vega, however, said he had assigned his chief of staff, former Bayonne Freeholder Neil Carroll to act as liaison to the possible project.
O’Dea, however, cautioned the Freeholders to move cautiously and to seek out possible land already owned by the county rather than to seek additional land currently owned by private citizens.
“Nearly every resident at the meeting was opposed to the plan,” he said. “But if we were to use land we already own – such as property near the Block Drug property, we could avoid having neighborhood groups delaying the project.”
This property currently houses addition parking, and is not the main parking lot for the site.
This is next to Montgomery Street,” he said.
But Vega made it clear that county needed to address the needs of the courts and count office, calling the current building on Newark Avenue “a green monster” that is costing the county money and a concern for people who work there day in and day out.
“We have to do something about it,” he said.
Welfare to work programs questioned
Freeholders also grilled Ben Lopez, chairman of the Department of Family Services, over allegedly low figures in placing of welfare to work clients. But Lopez said the county had changed its approach in trying to get people back to work, saying that many needed training before they could address the work place.
In the past, workers were rushed out to jobs they were often ill prepared to handle, and thus could not keep the jobs. The new approach, Lopez said, would require more training to prepare the workers to handle jobs, with the hope that the training would allow them to retain the jobs once they obtained them.
The contract for Janus Solutions – a consultant hired to help oversee the evaluations of placement and educational firms, was put on hold to be reviewed by the Work Force Development Committee, chaired by Freeholder Jeff Dublin.
Lopez said the company fills a critical role in helping to keep up with evaluations in a department that lacks staff to handle the chore.
In other business, the Freeholder authorized more than $5 million towards the maintenance and restoration of buildings for the Hudson County Schools of Technology.
Contact Al Sullivan at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com