The six candidates for West Windsor Council were asked to give a brief biography and provide answers to the questions below. Their responses are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
1.) Please summarize your background, career path, academic credentials, etc.
2.) What do you think should happen to the Wyeth/Howard Hughes land at Quakerbridge Road and Route 1? What steps would you recommend to achieve that result?
3.) A plan has been advanced to renovate the township office complex at a cost of several million dollars. What is your opinion of that expenditure?
4.) Several projects have been proposed to enhance the downtown area of West Windsor, including the pocket park next to the 7/11 and a proposal for landscaping the pond area in front of the Junction train station. Would you continue these efforts? Add other projects to the list? If so, how would they best be financed?
5.) What areas of township operations or infrastructure are most in need of immediate improvement?
6.) Do you anticipate a need to raise property taxes in the foreseeable future? Why or why not? Do you have a plan to lower taxes? How would you implement that?
7.) Long-term what are the biggest challenges facing West Windsor?
8.) Are there any other issues that you would like to raise?
9.) Is there a public figure or personal acquaintance you look up to as an inspiration or a role model?
1.) I hold a BA in Spanish/French and an MA in French. I have taught these languages at the high school level and have worked as bilingual executive secretary for Lancome in NYC. Since 1999 I have focused on raising my twins and community and school volunteer efforts, most recently serving on Grover Farmstead Restoration Committee.
2.) This property should stay commercially zoned, and West Windsor should actively seek to attract businesses that would benefit our residents and provide quality ratables to establish themselves there. This would bring in tax revenues that would benefit West Windsor while keeping the traffic in the Route 1-Quakerbridge area. What I don’t want to see is a rezoning of the property for mixed use, which would allow up to as many as 20,000 more residents. I fear that this kind of population increase would overcrowd the schools and bring even more traffic onto Clarksville Road and Routes 1 and 571. If this were to happen, quality of life for current residents would be adversely affected.
3.) I believe that tax dollars should first be allocated to things that would benefit all residents, not only a few. I would make sure that enough money is spent to ensure the safety of residents, such as sidewalks on Cranbury and Conover roads, managing the ever-increasing traffic flow, and a full-time animal control officer. The municipal center needs a few minor repairs but is generally in good condition. I would only spend a minimum amount on that renovation after the above mentioned issues have been addressed. This town suffers from too many issues that affect quality of life and public safety, so putting $5.5 million into the municipal building would be money ill spent.
4.) I will always support the beautification and clean up of common areas in the town, as this contributes to quality of life. I think the pocket park is a perfect location to plant some trees and put in benches since this would not only make our town more attractive, it would be a place for people to gather and give a sense of having a downtown. A veterans’ memorial park is something that I have suggested at council meetings for this location.
I also would be on board with cleaning up the pond in front of the train station. I believe that both of these areas could be cleared and maintained by our public works department and would not be too costly. These would be tax dollars well spent because they would benefit everyone, as these are much frequented parts of town. I would seek open space funds for the park and a minor project to clean up the train station would not expend a large amount of tax dollars if done in-house.
5.) An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Infrastructure maintenance and repair requires improved efforts by a collaboration between our Public Works and Engineering departments. We need to be proactive versus reactive in regard to our aging sewer lines in some of the developments. From what I understand, they could be fitted with “insitu-formed” liners, which are installed in place. This type of renovation has been proven effective and has saved thousands of dollars in replacement costs of deteriorating sewer lines for other municipalities in our area. If this issue is not addressed in the very near future we will suffer catastrophic failures, as we did on Wallace Road, that greatly impact quality of life for the residents of the affected developments.
I am also concerned about the continually deteriorating road surface on the roundabout on Wallace Road by the train station. The pavers on this roundabout have been left to deteriorate over the last two years, and it needs to be addressed. The pavers could be removed and replaced with more durable asphalt at less cost than replacing them.
6.) Absolutely not. Our ever-increasing tax burden — increases of 70 percent in the last 10 years — is becoming out of control and unnecessary. Better management and allocation of revenues would effectively stop the tax increases. Measures such as bringing in more business revenues and cutting wasteful spending could even result in lower taxes.
I would advocate for an actual budget as well as a projected annual budget. The current budgets consistently show underestimated income and overestimated expenses. The current administration has a bad habit of using budget money from two or three years past to fund current year projects. The fund balance of $7 million and the liquor license revenue of $2 million could also be used to reduce the tax burden instead of sitting in the bank. I intend to be a watchdog of the budget instead of the rubber stamp that the mayor gets now from most council members. It is very simple, stop wasting taxpayer money and have a transparent, logical accounting proceedure.
7.) Uncontrolled and poorly planned development, traffic control, and public safety.
8.) I think a full time animal control officer is essential for public safety and it is not a strain on the budget. Currently, valuable police time and talent is being wasted on answering animal control calls. Our police are handling 90 percent of animal calls, and this is not acceptable for a full-service community. I am convinced that if a qualified ACO were hired, we could re-establish our agreement with Plainsboro to share the cost.
9.) I am inspired by council member Kristina Samonte because she has integrity and her only agenda is serving the public with fairness and respect. She researches every question before voting, and I would emulate her if elected.
