By MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – The Planning Board will permit the owners of iPlay America, Schanck Road, to keep a tent on premises from April 1 through Oct. 31 without having to obtain a new permit every 30 days.
Attorney Bill Mehr and Gary Hipko, senior vice president, iPlay America, presented the application to the board during a recent meeting.
Mehr said the tent has been in use at the indoor amusement facility, but he said the owner is required to obtain approval for the structure each month the tent is in place.
Under questioning from Mehr, Hipko testified that the tent is a controlled area that is connected to the iPlay America building by a canopy. The tent cannot be accessed from the outside by the public.
There are tables and chairs in the tent to accommodate groups of children who are brought to the facility, for example as a camp outing. Hipko said there are no games or rides in the tent.
Although the tent takes some parking spaces away from iPlay America, Mehr, Hipko, board members and the township’s professionals agreed that with more than 920 parking spaces still available, the loss of some parking spaces was not considered to be a negative issue that precluded approval of the tent.
The Feb. 18 meeting was the final meeting for the board’s administrative officer Nancy Torre, who has retired after more than 26 years of service to Freehold Township. Danielle Sims has been named the board’s new administrative officer.
Board member Robert Shortmeyer told Torre that “we sincerely appreciate your efforts” and Township Committeeman Anthony Ammiano, who sits on the board, said “it has been an honor and a privilege working with you.”
Torre thanked the board members for their words of appreciation.
The administrative officer coordinates all the applications, plans and reports that are submitted for the board’s consideration, and handles the schedule for the applications that come before the board.