$3.5M Promised By County For Wilson Park, Site Of Horn Antenna

HOLMDEL, NJ — Holmdel's first-ever State of the Township address calls for both awareness of potential fiscal "headwinds," while still making meaningful investments to advance township goals, Mayor Rocco Impreveduto said.

Impreveduto presented the address - the first of its kind for the township, giving a thorough overview of the township's spending, its priorities for future needs and its sources of revenue.

It was a chance for residents to catch up on the many simultaneous initiatives and projects in town, as the top officials prepare the annual budget. You can hear the full presentation here.

And one important revenue item was included in the report - a grant by the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners to help fund Wilson Park, the recently acquired site on Crawford Hill that will be dedicated to the landmark Horn antenna there, used by scientist Robert Wilson and a colleague in Nobel Prize-winning research.

The county has "earmarked $3,562,500 to Holmdel Township for the acquisition of the historic Horn antenna and Crawford’s Hill,” said Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone earlier this week.

The county is working out the details of the grant agreement that will ultimately provide the funds to Holmdel Township for the acquisition, he said. Holmdel paid a net $4.75 million for the site.

Commissioner Deputy Director Ross Licitra said the grant is part of the Commissioners’ Municipal Land Preservation Incentive Program, created in 2023 to assist Monmouth County towns with land preservation projects. Licitra is liaison to the Monmouth County Park System.

“The contributions toward our understanding of the origins of the universe by Holmdel resident Robert Wilson, and his colleagues at Bell Laboratories, is a story that needs to be told the future generations,” Licitra said.

The Horn antenna site and plans for an educational center there and open space preservation are in line with township's goals to preserve land, honor technical achievement and expand its unique role in the county, Impreveduto said in his address.

Crawford Hill, at 391 feet above sea level, is the highest point in Monmouth County - a natural setting decades ago for the then-Bell Labs antenna - an antenna used to confirm the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe.

It was also announced at the meeting that a dedication ceremony for the new Wilson Park is April 20.

"It is fantastic to see the county and township working together to preserve Holmdel's open space, along with its scientific and historic legacy," said Julie Roth, president of Citizens for Informed Land Use, regarding the grant. "It will be exciting to see how the incredible educational and recreational potential of the site is realized."

Financial insights in presentation

"The state of Holmdel is healthy," Impreveduto asserted, citing the borough's AAA rating, one of the approximately 10 percent of towns in the state with such a high rating, he said.

But with local budgets outpacing inflation over the past 10 years - or "running hot," as he said, pivoting from fiscal responsibility to fiscal conservatism is the way to go.

"I'm a worrier," Impreveduto joked at one point. But his worry has a purpose, proceeding with needed initiatives but in a fiscally conservative mindset.

The "deep dive" into financial trends can help assess what future budgetary "headwinds" might come along, he added.

In the address, Impreveduto first thanked Eric Silvergold, chairman of the Holmdel Finance Advisory Committee, who "pulled together" the analysis, Impreveduto said.

He also thanked fellow committee members and township leaders such as Administrator Jay Delaney, CFO Bill Antonides and many others in township government, the police department and public works.

In general, he cited revenues apart from the county grant (and an earlier federal grant of $500,000) for the new park. He also cited a nearly $7 million Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) from Bell Works and the adjoining development, among other sources on the plus side.

One initiative Impreveduto announced was that the town will now fully fund the $300,000 cost of special police security officers for the school district, freeing up $300,000 for the school budget. That resolution was approved by the committee Tuesday.

There were several other initiatives discussed in the mayor's address - some happening soon, others requiring long-range planning.

Soon, five new year-round pickleball courts, a new basketball court and volleyball court are coming to the town at the Holmdel Swim & Tennis Club (no club membership needed).

A big need, Impreveduto said, is the improvement to the intersection at Holmdel High School on Crawfords Corner Road- busy on a normal day but jammed when there is an incident, such as a car fire that happened on Tuesday, he said.