Application Deadline: 4:00 pm on September 17, 2020
The Board of Chosen Freeholders has allocated $2 million from the annual Monmouth County Open Space Trust Fund for cooperative projects with Monmouth County municipalities. Both land acquisition and development for park, recreation, and open space purposes are eligible for funding.
Funding Limit Per Project
Monmouth County will fund up to 50% of eligible project costs. In State- designated Urban Aid Communities, the county will increase its maximum share to 75%. County funding will be limited to $250,000 per project. Matching funds must be non-county funds. In-kind services are not eligible as project match. All funding requests should be rounded to the nearest $1000.
Number of Submissions per Municipality
Municipalities may submit one (1) project proposal per annual grant cycle.
Eligible Land Acquisitions
The applicant municipality must acquire a controlling interest in real property including but not limited to the following:
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Fee simple acquisition
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Purchase of Conservation Easement with public access
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Extinguishment of Development Rights
Eligible Development and Redevelopment Projects
All projects must be for park, recreation, and open space purposes. Building new facilities and improving existing facilities through demolition, renovation, and/or stabilization will be considered as eligible. All project sites must be owned by the applicant municipality or the municipality must hold a long-term lease for a term of at least 25 years beyond the grant award, or other instruments extending for substantially 25 years beyond the grant award where a third party governmental entity is also a party. In all cases the site must be under the control of the applicant municipality. When project sites are not owned in fee simple by the Municipality, additional agreements or covenants may be required. Fees for use of funded facilities are permissible. Applications for projects that diversify or expand recreation opportunities will be favored over applications that replace aged or substandard facilities or address issues of maintenance. Degree of public access will also be considered.
A deed of open space easement restricting the use of the project site to parks and recreation purposes will be required as a condition of award.
https://co.monmouth.nj.us/documents/127/MOSGP_master_deed_of_open_space_easement.pdf The Program is administered by the Monmouth County Park System on behalf of the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Questions and correspondence should be addressed to the Monmouth County Park System, Acquisition and Design Office, Attn: Open Space Grant Program, 805 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, NJ 07738. For additional information, please call 732-609-4751 or email
brockwellsolutions@gmail.comGrant Manual Available at:
https://www.co.monmouth.nj.us/documents/132/MOSGP_Manual_2020_FINAL.pdfGrant FAQs Available at:
https://www.co.monmouth.nj.us/documents/132/2020_MUNICIPAL_OPEN_SPACE_GRANT_PROGRAM_FAQ_SHEET.pdfAll sections of this application must be completed and submitted for the application to be accepted. Submissions lacking an authorizing resolution will be deemed ineligible. Only complete applications will be considered for funding. Applicants are encouraged to schedule a pre-application meeting with the Program Administrator to identify any deficiencies or issues of eligibility.
PLEASE NOTE: This application software is limited in its ability to save partially completed applications. It is our recommendation that applicants have all application components completed and ready for submission prior to beginning the application submission process. There is limited ability to edit applications after submission.
