The Township of Brick and the Brick Township Public Schools celebrated the opening of the new playground and park at Midstreams Elementary School on Friday, November 19.  The park was created through a partnership between the Township and the Schools and is the third community park to be renovated in the past two years.

“This is a great moment for the Township, our schools, and the Midstreams community,” said
Mayor Stephen Acropolis.  “The new playground and park at Midstreams School will provide students of the school and the families of Brick Township with a safe, modern place to play, relax and enjoy together for years to come.”

“The school community is very grateful for this shared service partnership which made the Midstreams Elementary School playground renovation possible”, said Superintendent of Schools, Walter Hrycenko. “We invite all residents to enjoy the new playground with their family after school hours.”

The Township of Brick awarded a contract to Down to Earth Landscaping of Jackson Township for the improvement of Midstreams Elementary School’s park and playground in the amount of $926,038.00.

The Midstreams Elementary School improvement project included improvements to landscaping including lighting and fencing, a basketball court, fitness stations, outdoor classrooms, decorative pavers, and an irrigation system.  The playground is equipped with security cameras to better protect the investment.  The playground is ADA compliant and has a rubber bond play surface.

The Township used tree planning grant money through the New Jersey Forestry No Net Loss program to offset the landscaping costs of the project.  The Midstreams PTO has raised funds through their “Leave a Legacy” program in which they sold personalized brick pavers to be placed in the playground.

The groundbreaking for the playground was held in June along with the groundbreaking for a new playground and community park at Emma Havens Young School.  That project is expected to be completed in the near future.

“This beautiful new playground is a great example of what happens when everyone joins together to reach a common goal,” said Board of Education President Kim Terebush. “This playground is not only made possible because of the shared service agreement between the Board of Education and Township, but also because of the parents and students who continuously fundraise and donate to improve our schools.  We sincerely thank everyone for all of their efforts.”

“The new park at Midstreams School and the nearly finished one at Emma Havens Young Elementary School are great examples of how important it is for a municipal government and a town’s schools to work together to improve a community,” said Council President Anthony Matthews.  “The Council is going to continue look to work with our schools and other agencies to make Brick Township a better place.”

These are the latest parks to be slated for improvements as part of Mayor Acropolis’ and the Township Council’s efforts to create safer and cleaner neighborhood parks.  Last year, they unveiled the improvements to Arrowhead Park and Frede Park.