Picatinny Frog Falls Aquatic Park celebrates 10 years

By Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation OfficeSeptember 14, 2009

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - Lt. Col. John P. Stack, Picatinny's Garrison Commander (center in uniform) presents Mayor Louis S. Sceusi of Rockaway Township with a framed photo of the Picatinny Frog Falls Aquatic Park during its 10-year anniversary celeb...
PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - Lt. Col. John P. Stack, Picatinny's Garrison Commander (center in uniform) presents Mayor Louis S. Sceusi of Rockaway Township with a framed photo of the Picatinny Frog Falls Aquatic Park during its 10-year anniversary celeb... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - More than 400 Picatinny Arsenal and Rockaway Township officials and residents gathered here at sunset the evening of Aug. 24 to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the installation's "Frog Falls" water park.

Park members were treated to games, activities, door prizes and food in appreciation of their patronage.

The aquatic park is a partnered community recreational pool. It is co-operated by Picatinny and Rockaway Township, according to Lee Moreau, director of the installation's Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation directorate.

Moreau said that the park opened on time and within budget over the 2000 Memorial Day weekend.

The water park represented an unprecedented historical commitment by the Army to "share" resources, land and customers for the betterment of two communities, one military and the other civilian.

It cost $3.9 million dollars to build.

The new park had to be self-sustaining to qualify for Army and municipal funding, Moreau said. One of the requirements for building the new park was to jointly develop with Rockaway Township a business plan that would assure the necessary cash flow to operate the amenity on a self-sustaining basis.

"That vision became a reality when Picatinny delivered on that promise," he said.

"When my family arrived at Picatinny Arsenal, we were thrilled and surprised to see that an aquatic park (not a pool) was here. We didn't expect a "big Army" amenity at a place like Picatinny Arsenal. The Frog Falls Aquatic Park certainly makes Picatinny a better place to live for Military Families," Lt. Col. John P. Stack, the installation's Garrison Commander, said.

Moreau said approximately 460 individuals attended the anniversary celebration including Stack and Rockaway Township Mayor Louis S. Sceusi.

"The aquatic park has been an outstanding and long-enduring example of shared services long before it became a "buzz word," Sceusi said. "The park provides both communities an opportunity to interact with each other in ways that would not have been possible without that mutual cooperation that still exists today between Picatinny Arsenal and Rockaway Township."

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