Doing More • • • With Less

In 2000, Mayor Jason Varano Said “Wouldn’t It Be Great If We Had A New Amphitheater For Our Summer Concert Series At Veterans Park”

Summer Concert Series 2003 Will Be Held In New Outdoor Theater: First Concert Will Be The Infernos On July 1, Followed By A Pre-Independence Day Fireworks Display

Two Year Project Should Be Completed Early In June; Was Planned And Constructed Almost Entirely In-House By Public Works, Parks & Beach Employees

Berkeley Township: Mayor Jason Varano gives all of the credit to the Public Works and Parks and Beach employees who planned and built it, but everybody acknowledges the new amphitheater was his idea.

It took a little more than two years, but the new outdoor theater will be completed in early June, and will be available for the township’s Summer Concert Series.

Most of the actual construction work was done in-house by public works department employees and parks and beach employees (the most substantial exceptions are the prefabricated dance floor, where some of the expense was billed to the township, and the hookup with the electric company). The bulk of the funding for materials and services (valued as much as $150,000) was donated by local businesses and organizations in the community.

Mayor Varano and Steven Seilar, Public Works Director, estimated that the structure would have cost “four or five times as much if we went out for bid and did the project with a private contractor.”

“Closer Together As A Community”

“This will do a lot to bring us closer together as a community”, Mayor Varano said, adding the new outdoor theater will “allow us to enrich our cultural program in a beautiful new setting.”

Seilar and Varano said the project was a “team effort”. They said the five township employees who did the bulk of the work on the amphitheater have indicated they are not looking for recognition, but we are going to find some way of recognizing their hard work in behalf of the community.”

A Lot Of Coordination Needed

The two officials noted there was “a lot of coordination needed to make sure the project went along smoothly.”

“Before we could start putting in footings, we needed to do a variety of soil borings to make sure we were in solid territory. Getting the electric in right depended on close coordination with the electric company, which was another of very few outside expenses”, they said.

Summer Concert Series A Big Hit With Berkeley Residents

The summer concert series has become a popular mainstay of the Berkeley community. The first group to appear will be The Infernos on July 1, a Tuesday, and the performance will be followed by a pre-Independence Day Fireworks display.

Another summer concert will be held on July 8th, and every other Tuesday for the summer. The summer concert series schedule will be carried by OceanCountyPolitics. Look for it.

© Copyright 2003-2007 Ocean County Politics .com. All Rights Reserved.
Questions & Comments: gvgeditor@aol.com