New Secaucus Rec Center Is 'Definitely' Happening, Mayor Says

SECAUCUS, NJ — Yes, it's true: A new recreation center is being planned for the town of Secaucus.

Mayor Mike Gonnelli briefly mentioned it at the first town Council meeting of 2018, held Jan. 2, but today said: "It's definitely happening. This is something we're working towards," Gonnelli said.

A second rec center is necessary, he said. Secaucus' youth soccer program has exploded in popularity in recent years, with an estimated 500-600 kids signed up. Right now, the only place they have to practice is Shetik Field on County Avenue, which quickly books up, and there is nowhere to hold soccer practice when it rains.

The new rec center will be located on Millridge Road, not far from the existing rec center. It will be a pre-fabricated building that will enclose a large turf field for the town's soccer, football and baseball programs. There will be a separate mat section where the Secaucus wrestling and cheer teams can practice. In the winter, the Secaucus baseball teams can practice in there to warm up for spring. It will be large enough to accommodate several different teams practicing at once, Gonnelli said.

"It will have indoor bathrooms and all that, but don't expect it to look like the current existing rec center," said Mayor Gonnelli. "It won't be as nice as that. This is a pre-fab building that's basically just to give our kids more space to practice."

While Town Administrator Gary Jeffas originally told the Jersey Journal Secaucus would have to bond to pay for the center, Gonnelli said today he's going to try to pay for it without issuing a bond, which Secaucus taxpayers would be expected to pay back down the road.

"We're going to try to pay for this on our own," said the mayor. "We have hundreds of new ratables (taxable property) coming online this year and we have money from the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission."

The biggest cost will be not so much building the new center, but draining and elevating that area of Millridge, which is in a flood plain. Expect work to begin on the new rec center in late 2018, with it possibly opening in early 2019.