What Projects Should Freehold Borough Fund? Voting Now Open

FREEHOLD BOROUGH, NJ — Voting is now open for Freehold Borough’s annual Participatory Budgeting Contest, where residents and local business owners can vote on projects they want to see implemented around town.

Each year, the borough’s Participatory Budgeting Committee hosts this contest so residents and business owners alike can submit project ideas that meet local needs in the borough.

The process aims to empower community members through civic engagement and directly involve residents in the budgeting and city-building process.

For this year’s contest, the theme for project submissions is Art. Any borough resident 14 years or older or Freehold Borough business owner is welcome to vote for up to three projects in the contest.

The winning project(s) will then be included in funding for the borough’s annual budget. The budget is limited to $200,000.

This year’s project submissions include:

• Alleyway Arches ($130,000): Install decorative archways (made of iron or steel) at key visitor locations in Freehold.
• Signage Bike Racks ($10,000): Install bike racks that include design elements and text referring to historic buildings, local parks, etc.
• Baseball Murals ($60,000): Paint murals on the dugouts at the Little League fields that showcase the evolution of the league (from t-ball to the majors) through the decades.
• Musical Flowers ($12,000): Acquire eight musical flower instruments (sold by Adventure Playground Systems) and install four each at Lenoir and Veterans Parks.
• Life-Sized Statues ($200,000): Purchase and install two life-sized statues downtown: one of a Revolutionary-era patriot and his wife frozen mid-stroll near the old Monmouth Courthouse, and one of Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, and Langston Hughes sitting on a bench outside the town’s Carnegie Library.
• Statue of Lillian Hendry ($90,000): Commission of a life-sized bronze sculpture of Lillian Hendry (who used to teach at Court Street School) outside the Court Street School.
• Sidewalk Mosaics ($75,000): Commission one (or two) decorative sidewalk mosaics to go downtown. The mosaics will be of culturally significant people, places, symbols, or images.

Voting can be completed through an online form (English Version or Spanish Version) or printed out and turned in via paper form (English Version or Spanish Version) at Borough Hall. Voting is open until Oct. 3.

Once voting closes, the results of the contest will be announced at a public meeting, on social media, and posted in Borough Hall. Results will also be posted online here.

In 2024, winning projects for the borough’s participatory budgeting contest were:

• Lighting and Electricity in Lake Topanemus: Lighting for the bandshell and pavilion at Lake Topanemus would allow for the use of the park for special events such as evening concerts. The storage shed used for equipment storage has no power and would benefit from having the electricity extended to it and lighting installed to ensure the safety of the personnel who enter.
• Liberty Park Splash Pad: A small, accessible, freshwater splash pad would provide the children in the community with hours of outside fun and some relief during those hot summer days. Making it ADA-compliant will allow access to all residents and help grow the sense of community through inclusive play.
• Portable Outdoor Stage: A new, portable outdoor stage owned entirely by the Borough would give us more freedom in event planning. The stage would enhance many of the events the Borough currently runs — such as the annual reading of the “Declaration of Independence” — and would allow more kinds of large-scale events to be planned and put on in our wonderful town.

To learn more about the Participatory Budgeting Contest or how to cast your ballot, you can click here.

Previous Coverage

• Splash Pad, Outdoor Stage, Park Lighting Projects Win In Freehold Boro