According to Council President Bryan Maher and township land use administrator Sam Surtees, the West Windsor Town Council had been expected to introduce, at the July 14 council meeting, an ordinance addressing the purchase of the Thompson tract by the township, as part of its open space preservation program. Maher had said, “Members of the public and council members will have time to review it and potentially make comments or express concerns before we vote on it (WW-P News, July 11).
Nonetheless, instead of introducing the ordinance and then entertaining residents’ comments at the subsequent public hearing, Maher announced at the July 14 meeting that, because of safety concerns raised by the gun club (known officially as Citizens’ Rifle and Revolver Club or CRRC), he would not be introducing the ordinance after all.
“I cannot, in good conscience, introduce the ordinance in light of the safety issues that have been brought to my attention. We need to re-work the ordinance to include some safety language because the property is adjacent to the gun club. Time is of the essence here, because we have obtained a significant amount of county open space money and funds from Friends Of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS) to use towards the purchase of the property, so I am directing the administration to burn the midnight oil and work out compromise language. We need to get this done in two to three days, not two to three weeks.”
“But, if we cannot reach a compromise, that is OK, too. We have many properties on our list that the township is interested in buying, so if we cannot purchase the Thompson tract, we will look into purchasing another piece of land,” Maher added.
Later in the week Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh issued a press release indicating that after reviewing the safety concerns brought to the administration’s attention by the gun club, he agreed with Maher that there were too many safety concerns, and that the township would not seek to acquire the Thompson tract after all.
Hsueh later stated that even though the town would not be purchasing the Thompson property after all, approximately 2/3 of the more than 35 acres of the tract would still be preserved open space because of the presence of wetlands on the property. And he reiterated that the township would aggressively seek to purchase other open space within the time constraints.
#b#Other Business: MOU For Cricket Gets Approved#/b#
Council President Maher started the public portion of the July 14 Council meeting by announcing that he was temporarily pulling the memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding the development of a cricket field from the agenda.
Maher made it clear that he was not opposed to the issue at all, and was very much in favor of building the fields. “But the language of the contract needs some fine tuning,” he said. “I am hoping we can get it done tonight.”
Former council president Kamal Khanna spoke on behalf of the West Windsor cricket association. “We have been working on the MOU for the cricket field for 12 months. It is a standard MOU, which has been used by the township for all of the sports organizations. It has been signed by administration members Marlena Schmidt, Ken Jacobs, Pat Ward, Francis Guzik, and myself on behalf of the cricket committee. If we make changes tonight, we will have to go back to the cricket committee. Three-thousand people are waiting for this. I have been told that if it were signed right away, like yesterday, then we can have the cricket field done in spring, 2015. I ask that you approve the MOU as it is written.”
Maher responded, “Any business person — and you are one — would see open language in the MOU between the administration and the cricket association that needs to be amended. Just because something has been done before doesn’t mean it can’t be corrected or done better.
“Plus, let me remind you that it was this council, during budget discussions, that decided to amend the capital budget so that you could have the fields in 2015. The administration had slated it for 2016. So we should get some credit for this. We are not opposed to this at all, and I think we can get it done tonight. Worst case scenario is that it goes to August 4 meeting, or sooner if we have a special council meeting for the Thompson tract.”
Resident Pete Weale also commented: “Who wrote this, who put it together? It is lacking financial data, and the who what where when and why. I personally worked on the fundraising for WW Little League for eight years. We did not receive payment from the township — we raised all of our own funds.”
Vineet Anand also spoke on behalf of the cricket association. “We appreciate whatever the council has done so far. We would definitely like to understand what questions or comments you need in making the language tighter. We are looking at this activity as a community-building exercise for many generations to come. In considering what you are demanding of us, please remember that this is not our day job. We will do whatever you ask of us.”
Maher said, “We are in favor of this. We are huge supporters, but the contract needs to be tightened up. The only ones who benefit are guys like Mr. Herbert (the township attorney) and we don’t want to pay guys like Mr. Herbert any more than we have to.”
The council and cricket association members discussed the changes to be made. The parties agreed that the term of the MOU would be five years, with the possibility of five-year extensions at the agreement of both parties. The cricket association also indicated that it was not seeking any “termination fees,” since the township was providing the funding for the fields, so reference to termination fees was removed as well. Finally, the parties agreed to specify the size of the proposed storage shed as 10 x 15 x 8 feet. Once the parties agreed on the language changes, the council voted 5 to 0 to approve the MOU.
Brush Ordinance. The council continued its discussions on the proposed brush and debris ordinance, originally drafted by Council members George Borek and Kristina Samonte.
Said Maher, “Before we vote on it, I want to hear comments that anyone has heard from the community. So that’s why I put it on the work session. Also, it will be posted on the township website for 30 days to allow residents to read it and provide comments.”
Council members agreed to lessen the amount of time residents would have to comply from 10 days to 5 days, and also added language addressing penalties for anyone who is found illegally dumping yard debris.
Maher explained: “Persons found dumping yard waste will be assessed a $250 fine; second offense and thereafter $500, because they know what they are doing is wrong.”
The issues of concern related to the size and weight of tree limbs and logs that can be placed for pick-up, and the size of the piles that can left, as well.
Director of Public Works Alex Drummond advised that it was very possible that they would be entering into a removal contract with a private firm that utilizes a weight-based system because the majority of companies now charge fees in that manner.
“If so,” he said, “the costs of removal will be through the roof, so we need to limit size of tree limbs.”
The council agreed that the township would be responsible for picking up limbs that are 6 inches in girth and 18 in length; anything else is the responsibility of the homeowner. Maher and Geevers disagreed about the allowable size of debris piles. Said Maher, “the proposed ordinance recommends 4 feet by 4 feet by 15 feet. I’ve had people contact me about this. This size might be OK for the little ranch homes or the Toll Bros. apartments, but for people who live on two-acre lots, like myself, that small of an amount is a joke. Maybe I should recuse myself, but I would like to see 5x5x15.
Geevers responded, “No. A pile that size goes into the road. That is not safe. It is a safety issue.”
“We are going to get hate mail if we leave it at 4 by 4,” said Maher.
Finally, after consulting with Drummond, the council agreed to limit the pile size to 4 feet by 4 feet by 20 feet. “At least that is a little safer,” Geevers acknowledged.
Municipal Complex. Discussion about renovations to the municipal complex continued as well. Resident Kathy Brennan thanked the mayor for giving a presentation on the issue, but noted that the buildings in the schematics provided were still not to scale, “which is quite baffling. I also think there should be an option D, which would allow the EMS building to be right across from Twin W,” she added.
Said Maher, “In all fairness to the administration, they threw this together at the last minute in response to people’s opposition to option A.”
Maher went on to explain that he prefers options B or C but wanted to see the costs associated with these options, as well as schematics. Borek agreed, noting that “I will make my determination once the administration comes back with prices on all three options.”
Business administrator Marlena Schmid advised that she was not sure how quickly the administration would be able to finalize the cost analysis because this is a very busy time of year for engineering because they are mobilizing the contractors for the road projects. Schmid added that the analyses are being done in-house to keep the costs down.
In other news, while the Council unanimously approved a contract with Lucas Brothers, Inc., for the annual road improvement program in the amount of $1,805,555, Borek raised an ancillary issue that sparked yet another debate.
“I have no problem with the contract, but I would like to point out — Ms. Geevers is now an active licensed realtor in this town. We know that when you sell a home, street improvements add value to the home, so if she votes on this, she may theoretically benefit if she buys or sells a home on one of those streets. This may give the appearance of impropriety,” he said. Geevers responded, “I have been up here [as a council member] for nine years and have always had a real estate license. I have always been up front about that.”
Maher added, “I think that is a bit of a stretch. Then you should need to recuse yourself for every vote on a contract because you are a union member. Ms. Geevers, I am not going to ask you to recuse yourself.”
The roadwork will occur on Quaker Road, Wood Hollow Road, Lake Shore Drive, Galston Drive, and Huntley Drive.
Another bond ordinance would authorize $50,000 in general capital improvements to the Waterworks swimming pool complex, to be funded by the issuance of $47,500 in bonds. The Council voted unanimously to introduce the ordinance, but not without discussion.
“I think that Waterworks is gouging the residents,” said Maher. “They charge too much. I had the opportunity to go to the Princeton pool to watch a swim meet, and that is a seriously nice pool as well, just as ours is. But Princeton charges residents and non-residents a fraction of the cost that our pool charges. Our fees should not be that high.”
Borek agreed. “Over the years, I have raised the idea of a twilight pass at a reduced rate; because many parents don’t want to have to pay the full $500 for membership when their kids are in summer camp all day and the only time they go to the pool is in the evenings after they get home from work. I think if they offered such a pass, we might get more participation with the pool, and get more revenue in for the pool as well.”
In addition, the council introduced an ordinance providing for various capital improvements in the amount of $550,000, as well as a bond ordinance providing for various capital improvements in the amount of $3,756,900 to be funded by the issuance of $3,578,000 in bonds. A full list of contemplated projects can be found on the township website at www.westwindsornj.org.
An ordinance relating to fees and other issues regarding taxis and vehicles for hire was also introduced.
Public hearing for all of the introduced ordinances will be held at the next council meeting on Monday, August 4, at 7 p.m.
In addition to the Thompson tract and the cricket fields, the council discussed several other issues, including some that have been percolating for some time.
The ‘Asian Park.’ The now-infamous 1.3 acre pocket park was once again derided by Council President Bryan Maher. Apparently referring to work done at the park as part of an Eagle Scout project, Maher stated, “Someone has already fulfilled part of the [design] plan, when we haven’t had the input from the community and the governing body.”
Vice President Linda Geevers noted concerns over policy issues regarding donations and naming rights. “It’s time to move forward in a more expedient manner to develop the park. I would like at a future council meeting to finalize the plans, the donations policy, and what is this park going to be all about.”
Added Maher: “There are two ways to go about this. We can use totally private donations, [to fund the park] and then the Mayor can do whatever he wants, but then he runs the risk of having a future administration undo everything that he has done.”
“Or we can understand that the theme of this park is not something everyone sees eye to eye on. So they are sitting back and waiting to see what happens. I think that the administration should work with the council, to come up with a theme that is acceptable to everyone. There is more than enough money in the 2016 budget to give some to that park, which I am sure that the council is willing to do, but that assumes then that we get some say in the matter. But Mayor Hsueh wants to do things his way, so we are at loggerheads at the moment.”
Prior to the council meeting, Maher had requested information from the township administration on how Eagle Scout and Girl Scout projects were decided upon and approved, and commented that he believed all scout projects should be brought to the attention of the Council before being approved.
RFP For Auditing Firms. Geevers raised another long-standing issue, one that she has been suggesting for some time, to send out a request for proposals (RFP) for auditing firms, similar to the RFP that was sent out for the position of township attorney. Said Geevers, “We should consider an RFP for the auditor for next year. It has been many, many years since we have used any other firm, and, as part of our plan to adopt ‘best practices,’ I think we should look into an RFP.”
Township business administrator Marlena Schmid confirmed that the administration was in agreement, noting that “it will happen, probably in September. After going through the RFP process, we will make recommendations to council regarding auditing firms.” Schmid also noted that the 2013 annual audit has been completed as of June and is being processed.
The Mayor’s Absence. Schmid also commented on the Mayor’s future participation at council meetings (Mayor Hsueh was not present at the July 14 meeting).
“The mayor has advised me that he will no longer be attending council meetings. Instead, he will be holding regularly scheduled office hours for residents to come and speak with him directly. He will also be holding additional town hall meetings, which are open to the public.”
In a subsequent conversation, the mayor clarified these comments. “Generally speaking, I will not be attending council meetings. However, if there is a need for me to be there, to explain the administration’s position on something, or if Ms. Schmid or the Council president request for me to attend, then of course I will attend. But I think my time is better spent talking to residents one-on-one or in small groups, which is why I am going to begin holding office hours.”
Parking Authority. Council member Kristina Samonte briefly reported on news from the West Windsor Parking Authority. “As the parking liaison, I want to let you know that the authority is looking into a rate increase.”
This comment led Maher to exclaim, “I am adamantly opposed to a rate increase, especially at the Wallace lot, where the waiting period is nine years. The parking rates have increased 60 percent in the last few years, and the users have received nothing for it. To the parking authority, I say ‘You go ahead and approve that rate increase, but remember that we [the council] appoint the members of the parking authority, and if you raise the rates, I will not reappoint you. Do what you want to do, but remember who appoints you.’”
In a follow-up interview, Parking Authority secretary Alison Miller explained, “The authority is looking into our projections for both revenue and expenses with our financial advisors, and we will wait until that report is final before we undertake any discussion of possible parking increases.”
Howard Hughes Land. As liaison to the WW-P school board, council member Peter Mendonez advised that the Hughes Corporation has reached out to the school board and school officials to discuss issues related to its proposed development on the American Cyanamid property, much as they had done previously with members of the community.
Mendonez advised that he will be meeting with the school board separately on this topic to learn what has been discussed with Howard Hughes representatives.
