The Essex County liaison to the Verona Town Council announced at last night’s Council meeting that the County will not proceed with a plan to build a 52-spot parking lot inside Verona Park. The County unbundled the lot from a plan to also resurface the park tennis courts and put the court work out for a new bid this morning.
The change comes in the wake of the Council’s decision at its last meeting to pass a resolution asking the County to abandon its lot plans, which were part of $2 million in improvements to Verona Park. Mayor Kevin Ryan and Councilmen Alex Roman and Jack McEvoy voted for the resolution, and Councilman Ted Giblin voted against it. (Councilman Michael Nochimson was away on business.)
The parking lot plans had drawn concerns from several residents of Manor Road, a small street on the east side of the park, and after a group of residents met with Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., he tweeted that the County was “holding off” on building the lot. Late last week, several residents received a letter from Britnee N. Timberlake, president of the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, which said that it had been advised that the parking lot had been withdrawn.
Though located in Verona, Verona Park is part of the Essex County parks system.
