Toms River Field Of Dreams Gets Helping Hand In Murphy's Budget

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Field of Dreams may be getting a helping hand from the state, as Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed 2021 budget includes $400,000 for the special needs recreational facility.

A year ago, Christian Kane was counting the days until construction was to begin on the RWJ Barnabas Health Toms River Field of Dreams, but as it has with so many things, the pandemic disrupted those plans.

“We were supposed to start construction in March 2020,” Kane said during a recent telephone call. But the effects of the pandemic caused two major construction companies, which had planned to donate time and labor to the project, to pull out.

It left Kane with a $900,000 hole in the project’s budget that had been settled months earlier through fundraising. A new company has stepped up and offered to donate its time and services to help, filling a large chunk of the hole, but Kane has been working to fundraise to fill the remainder.

Toms River Councilman Terrance Turnbach on Tuesday evening said township officials reached out to Murphy’s office, seeking the state’s support for the project, which will create a facility that allows those with special needs to participate in sports and other activities.

The line in Tuesday’s budget is a hope-filled development, Turnbach said, and he urged area legislators to support it.

"This is something that is going to be great for our town, but more importantly for individuals who just want the chance to participate in activities and sports that don’t get that every day," Turnbach said.

The state Assembly and Senate have to take up Murphy’s proposed budget, which inevitably undergoes changes before it is finalized. A final budget must be approved by July 1.

The donation from NJ Site & Utility Contractors of Jackson to do the Phase 2 work at the complex — grading, gas and water lines, concrete and crushed stone where it’s needed, “the underbelly of the site,” Kane said — will get the project moving. Nj Site & Utilities also did the initial clearing of the site.

Kane said he anticipates the Phase 2 work should be finished by early April. Once that’s complete, Marturano Recreation (also known as MRC), which is based in Sea Girt, will build the recreation complex.

Kane said they are planning the grand opening for Oct. 2.

The Field of Dreams is four years in the making. Kane set out in May 2017 to create a place where his son, Gavin, and other children with special needs could have fun. Initial plans were modest: a baseball field that was accessible for wheelchairs for two-inning games. A snack stand. A playground and some miniature golf.

When it opens in October, it will include those items and much more: a walking path with rehabilitative stations; courts for bocce, basketball and shuffleboard; a quiet corner for people to sit and relax, and a temperature-controlled pavilion.

A recent addition, courtesy of a $20,800 grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, will be two ziplines that will allow those of limited physical ability or permanently disabled to enjoy that experience.

“It’s a hard grant to get,” Kane said of the Reeve Foundation. This was their fourth application. “They reached out and said what you’re doing is great.”

Also added to the complex is a bronze statue by Brian Hanlon, a world-renowned sculptor from Toms River whose works include a statue at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and several versions of an Angel in Anguish, which he created after the Sept. 11 attacks. In Toms River, his work graces the entrance to the township in the Ferris wheel welcome statute at the corner of Routes 37 and 166, and is the backbone of the township's memorial to all wars at Bey Lea Park.

The Field of Dreams complex, on North Bay Avenue next to the town's youth center, is designed to provide full-inclusion fun for all members of the community.

"It's for everyone to feel typical," Kane said in a video about the project in May 2017, as fundraising efforts were just getting started. Whether it's children recovering from cancer treatments, adults with cerebral palsy who want to take part in fun activities, or people who are looking for a place to relax, it's for everyone "to play, to be a part of the community."

Kane, who is a math teacher at Toms River North, was inspired to try to create a place that offers special needs children a unique experience after watching his older son playing Little League baseball and realizing Toms River did not have a baseball field for special needs children like his son, Gavin.

Gavin suffered a head injury in a July 2012 crash on Bey Lea Road. Kane was driving a van with Gavin in a child safety seat in the back seat when they were rear-ended by a delivery truck.

"Our hope is to increase awareness of our special needs community and provide an inclusive environment in which all can play and interact together," the Field of Dreams website says.

Kane said that dream has been realized, too, as they have received inquiries from a number of organizations about the complex.

“More and more people have been asking about it,” he said, including the Ocean County Health Department and Ladicin Network, an organization that provides supports for those with special needs.

Fundraising will continue, to support maintenance of the facility. And the family of former mayor Tom Kelaher, who was a huge supporter of the project and died Saturday, has urged donations to the facility in his memory.

Kane and his wife, Mary, called Kelaher “a pivotal figure since the inception of the special needs community complex,” and are naming the community garden in his honor.

“When Tom left the office of mayor he continued to remain a passionate supporter of the project,” the Kanes said. “Although Tom will not be able to be there physically, we are deeply comforted in the thought that his spirit will remain there every day.”

Information on making donations in Kelaher’s memory is on the Toms River Field of Dreams website.

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