Pennsauken’s Johnson Park is scheduled to receive a $25,000 facelift, thanks to a grant from the Camden County Open Space Preservation Trust Fund. The Freeholder Board has approved the recommendations of the Open Space Preservation Trust Fund Advisory Committee to award the 2017 Recreation Facility Enhancement Project Grants. The grants, totaling $824,860 this year, are funded through the Camden County Open Space Preservation Trust Fund, are presented to existing publicly owned recreation facilities planning to expand their utilization for recreational purposes. Pennsauken Township is one of 23 Camden County communities that will be receiving funds through this initiative.
“These grants are an opportunity to build and enhance our parks and playgrounds throughout the county. We know these passive and active recreational offerings make Camden County a special place to live and improve our overall quality of life,” said Freeholder Jeffery L. Nash, liaison to the Open Space Preservation Trust Fund Advisory Committee. “This year’s applications represented a wide range of projects throughout the county. We appreciate the hard work and planning that went into each request.”
Pennsauken Township is receiving $25,000 to upgrade Johnson Park, located at Bethel and Norwood avenues. The park will undergo a variety of improvements, including the repaving of the basketball court; repairing and replacing playground equipment; landscaping the play areas with engineered playground mulch; and adding both a Pickleball court and walking path. Work is scheduled to start later this month.
“We’re excited to receive this grant and to be able to enhance one of Pennsauken’s many parks,” says Elwood Martz, head of the Township’s Department of Parks and Recreation. “Johnson Park is a great place for our residents to spend time outdoors with their families. I think frequent park goers will be extremely pleased with the work we have planned.”
Each year, municipal organizations are invited to submit an application detailing the enhancements planned for their existing recreation facilities for consideration by the advisory committee. The requests for funding are limited to $25,000 per project, per year. The projects must be completed within a one year period. The Camden County Open Space Preservation Trust Fund was created by the Freeholder Board in 1999 in response to overwhelming voter support of an open space referendum placed on the ballot in November 1998.
