Peter Cantu began the new decade with a milestone — his 30th year as mayor in Plainsboro.
As he took his seat at the dais during the reorganization meeting on January 4, which also marks his 36th year as a member of the Township Committee, he recalled ongoing construction projects and financial accomplishments that occurred during 2009.
He also pointed to the overall progress he has seen Plainsboro make since 1977, his first year as mayor, “at the beginning of a growth cycle that would see Plainsboro be the fastest growing municipality in the state of New Jersey.”
Over the years, the planning has allowed for a “balanced housing opportunity,” with planned economic growth and over 50 percent of the township’s land to be preserved.
“I’m proud of the community and proud of the things we have been able to accomplish collectively,” he said.
In 2009, the library project (see following story), which began in late 2007, “advanced but not quickly enough,” Cantu said. “It’s a beautiful facility. I hope it’s worth waiting for — I think it is.”
Also in 2009, the township was able to successfully reduce its staff by two people in the social services department. It moved most of its social services responsibilities — including administering cash grants — to Middlesex County and dissolved its Local Assistance Board. The remaining social services responsibilities at the township level were given to Joanne Lupica, Recreation Department director.
The township also secured a shared dispatch grant in 2009 and is now working with four other communities. In addition, it has continued as the lead agency in a joint-purchasing venture and has completed its 11th successful year with a joint court services operation with Cranbury, the mayor recalled.
The township has also been able to maintain one of the lowest municipal purpose taxes in the county and has again achieved one of the highest tax collection rates, with a 99.6 percentage of taxes collection. “This helps us because the bonding companies look at these factors,” Cantu said. Plainsboro also self-initiated tax appeals in 2009 and was able to add $1.2 million to its revenue for 2009, he added.
Various departments in the township were able to obtain outside funding, despite the tough economic year. The Recreation Department obtained over $121,000 in grants toward programs for its senior citizen and disabled population.
In addition, the township received a $15,000 grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb for its America: New Home program initiated in 2004 to serve the immigrant population. Initially, the program focused on senior citizens, with the goal of addressing the isolation they felt as they moved here from their native countries.
Over the past year, the program has evolved to focus more on working adults, including offering English as a Second Language classes. And this past summer, officials offered the first full ESL minicamp program — after it was initiated as a pilot program the year prior. West Windsor-Plainsboro’s own residents, already an ethnically diverse group, volunteered to interact with their peers who had come to America from all corners of the globe, in an effort to help their non-native peers transition to American life.
The Department of Public Works had a busy year in 2009, completing the George Davison Road project, during which the road was milled, curbed, and paved on the stretch from Cranbury Neck to Plainsboro roads.
It also completed the first phase of the Plainsboro Road reconstruction project. The first phase entailed the rebuilding of the road between the Dey Road intersection and Enterprise Drive.
The township also received certification for its third-round Council on Affordable Housing obligations. In the area of transportation, Plainsboro enlisted the help of the state Department of Transportation to conduct a transit survey to gain an understanding of unmet local transit needs within Plainsboro. The survey is still being analyzed.
Also with regard to transportation, the township was also instrumental in advocating for a local shuttle route. This past year, Middlesex County obtained a grant to start a new shuttle from Jamesburg, through Cranbury and Plainsboro, and to the train station, and back. The new shuttle route, which will supplement the county’s 600 bus, will begin sometime in the spring and will cost Plainsboro residents less than $1.
It will run every hour from 6 a.m. to about 6 p.m., with a route that takes passengers from Veterans Park in Jamesburg, down through Gatzmer Avenue, Forsgate Drive, and Perrineville Road, through Prospect Plains Road, to Cranbury-Half Acre Road, up Route 130, to Old Trenton Road, then down North Main Street, through Cranbury, and then to Plainsboro Road. From there, it will come down around Scudders Mill Road onto Schalks Crossing, and then onto Enterprise Drive.
It will make a route around the Village Center and the municipal complex, head to Maple Avenue, and then to Grovers Mill Road, where it will end at the Princeton Junction train station. From there, it will turn around and head back along the route.
In the area of sustainability, code enforcement officials have initiated Plainsboro’s participation in the Sustainable New Jersey program, and have begun sustainable practices, including the conducting of energy audits at the municipal building and Wicoff house.
Looking forward to 2010, Cantu said the township’s highest priority is maintaining stable taxes, even though “we do not anticipate it’s going to be a tremendous year for state aid.”
Aside from the anticipation of the new library’s completion and opening, Cantu said Plainsboro officials have two major construction projects on the agenda — the Plainsboro Road bicycle path project, the Plainsboro Road traffic calming project, and the Mapleton Road flood control and drainage project, which will also bring bike lanes to that area.
Plans for Mapleton Road include resurfacing and draining improvements, re-striping, and signage. The matter was already reviewed by the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission, which had to review the plans because the road and the project improvements fell within 100 feet of the Delaware & Raritan Canal.
Officials will also be working on the conversion of the current library facility into the offices of the township’s recreation department, which will be relocated from its current small space on the bottom floor of the municipal building. The current library will also be used to expand the department’s programs as well as open up more meeting space.
Other business. During the reorganization meeting, committee members Nuran Nabi and Neil Lewis took their oaths of office. They were re-elected in November.
Lewis was first elected to the Township Committee in 1995 and has been deputy mayor since 1998. He was again selected by his committee colleagues to that role. Nabi was appointed by the Township Committee in November, 2007, to fill the committee seat vacated by Ginger Gold Schnitzer. He has since been re-elected to fill the remainder of that term and for the new term of his own.
“I want to continue to work with this team and improve this township,” Nabi said, referring to the collaboration with his colleagues on the committee. A news crew from the ATN Bangla digital cable television channel was on hand to videotape Nabi as he was sworn into office. Nabi was a freedom fighter of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 and is the author of various liberation war books. The channel is transmitted in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America.
Other committee members all pointed to the work of the township employees in working diligently to help operations run smoothly.
Appointments. In other business during the re-organization meeting, the Plainsboro Township Committee made its routine appointments and approved professional services contracts.
There were three changes this year, however. The township’s longtime auditor is retiring and township officials decided to hire David Kaplan to take his place.
The second change comes from the pending retirement of township prosecutor Daniel J. Graziano, of the Graziano, Sumners & Young firm based in Trenton. Appointed was Renee Lamarre-Sumners, also of Graziano’s firm, as the new prosecutor.
The biggest change, however, comes in the appointment of the township’s bond counsel. After having dealt with Ed McManimon as the redevelopment attorney for the University Medical Center at Princeton hospital project, Plainsboro officials were so impressed, they decided to appoint his firm as the new bond counsel.
Township Administrator Robert Sheehan and Mayor Peter Cantu, however, emphasized that the decision does not imply that John Hudak, the former bond counsel, did a poor job. “It’s more related to the fact that McManimon’s firm is highly reputed,” Sheehan said, adding that McManimon’s “depth does exceed John Hudak’s.”
Said Cantu: “It’s more a reflection in that we’ve had the opportunity to work with McManimon with regard to the hospital.” He added that township officials were looking to “combine that expertise with ongoing bond counsel work.”
The township also approved a contract with former township attorney Joseph Stonaker for consulting work on pending legal matters. They hired Graziano as a consultant to help with the transition as he prepares to retire.
