logo
Google Play App Store
Log In subscribe and/or renew Eeditions
  • Home
  • E-Edition
    • This Week Newspaper
    • Archives
    • Local Shops
    • This is Westfield
    • Search the Archives
  • News
  • Opinions
  • Sports
  • Community
    • Life Events
    • Community Calendar
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Obituaries
    • Submit an Obituary
  • Classified
  • Legals
  • Advertise
    • Advertorial
    • Paid Political
    • Sponsored Content
  • subscribe and/or renew
  • Contact
    • Home
    • E-Edition
      • This Week Newspaper
      • Archives
      • Local Shops
      • This is Westfield
      • Search the Archives
    • News
    • Opinions
    • Sports
    • Community
      • Life Events
      • Community Calendar
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Obituaries
      • Submit an Obituary
    • Classified
    • Legals
    • Advertise
      • Advertorial
      • Paid Political
      • Sponsored Content
    • subscribe and/or renew
    • Contact
  • Home
  • E-Edition
    • This Week Newspaper
    • Archives
    • Local Shops
    • This is Westfield
    • Search the Archives
  • News
  • Opinions
  • Sports
  • Community
    • Life Events
    • Community Calendar
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Obituaries
    • Submit an Obituary
  • Classified
  • Legals
  • Advertise
    • Advertorial
    • Paid Political
    • Sponsored Content
  • subscribe and/or renew
  • Contact
    • Home
    • E-Edition
      • This Week Newspaper
      • Archives
      • Local Shops
      • This is Westfield
      • Search the Archives
    • News
    • Opinions
    • Sports
    • Community
      • Life Events
      • Community Calendar
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Obituaries
      • Submit an Obituary
    • Classified
    • Legals
    • Advertise
      • Advertorial
      • Paid Political
      • Sponsored Content
    • subscribe and/or renew
    • Contact
Effort to Force Public Vote On Brookside Turf Moving Forward
News
FRED T. ROSSI on
May 10, 2023
Effort to Force Public Vote On Brookside Turf Moving Forward

SCOTCH PLAINS – Organizers of a petition drive to force a referendum on the Brookside Park artificial turf question are expressing confidence they will be successful in their efforts to give township voters a say on whether to install synthetic turf at the park’s baseball field.

In April, after months of public input on the turf question—most of it in opposition—the township council approved a $3.8 million bond ordinance to finance the turf project along with a host of other upgrades and improvements to the 23-acre park. At an April 18 meeting of the council, one resident living near the park, Shawnee Path homeowner Fran Wagner, warned the governing body that neighbors opposed to the turf proposal were “prepared to take steps to force a referendum so everyone can vote.”

With the deadline approaching to garner enough signatures—20 days after the ordinance’s actual publication on April 27 in Union County HAWK—one of the main organizers of the petition effort, Woodside Road resident Nancy Coker, told HAWK that it is “going very well.” She said backers of the petition, which seeks a referendum to repeal the $3.8 million ordinance, have received “a lot of responses from all parts of town. It’s not just a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) issue. This is resonating.”

Mayor Joshua Losardo said last month that he was “not a believer in referendums. The people elected us to make hard decisions” such as the one on the Brookside field, he said.

Ms. Coker said that a little more than 1,400 verified signatures are needed to compel the town to hold a referendum. The exact number needed, based on a state formula, is equal to 15 percent of the number of township voters who cast a ballot in the 2021 General Assembly election. She said Friends of Brookside Park, which is coordinating the effort, hopes to deliver the petition to the township clerk’s office before the May 17 deadline.

ePaper
coogle_play
app_store
ePaper
coogle_play
app_store
Most Read
Fanwood Residents Plan Legal Action Against South Ave. Development
Main, News
Fanwood Residents Plan Legal Action Against South Ave. Development
By KATIE MOEN and FRED T.ROSSI 
Thursday, September 4, 2025
FANWOOD — A group of Fanwood residents concerned with overdevelopment are banding together in hopes of securing the necessary legal funds to challenge...
this is a test
Westfield’s Forgotten History: Remembering Columbus Elementary
News, Opinions
Westfield’s Forgotten History: Remembering Columbus Elementary
By Loganathan Hargreaves WHS Class of ?28 
Thursday, September 4, 2025
I am an upcoming 10th grader at Westfield High School, and I was fortunate to attend the Vanishing Westfield Neighborhoods: The African American Exper...
this is a test
Ice Rink Plans Face Environmental Opposition
Main, News
Ice Rink Plans Face Environmental Opposition
By KATIE MOEN 
Thursday, August 28, 2025
COUNTY — Environmentalists from across the area are pushing back against Union County’s plans to remove approximately 60 mature oak trees from Warinan...
this is a test
BOE Completes Training Following HIB Concerns
Main, News
BOE Completes Training Following HIB Concerns
By MADOLYN LAURINE 
Thursday, August 28, 2025
WESTFIELD — The Westfield Board of Education met Tuesday to complete a board training from the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA), and to re...
this is a test
Nancy Lynn Lau
Obituaries
Nancy Lynn Lau
Thursday, September 4, 2025
Nancy Lynn Lau, Longtime Westfield Resident Nancy Lynn Lau (nee Bogenes), 80, passed away on Monday, August 18, 2025. She was born in Oak Park, Illino...
this is a test
This site complies with ADA requirements

© Copyright The The Westfield Leader

  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Policy
This site complies with ADA requirements

© Copyright The The Westfield Leader