With a short agenda but plenty of budget talk remaining at the March 7 meeting, Council also fielded plenty of public comments on a few township issues. Council is expected to introduce its budget at the Monday, March 21, meeting.
Several Cranbury Road residents requested updates on the sidewalk project, expressing frustration at the slow pace. Council members agreed with their sentiments and said the project is in the hands of the administration.
The segment of Cranbury Road between the Ellsworth Center and Sunnydale Way is the first stretch slated for sidewalk construction, but two property owners have declined to respond to the township’s easement requests despite multiple mailed inquiries.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh emphasized that Cranbury Road is a county road. He added the township engineering department has been in dialogue with the county engineer to explore construction alternatives in the event easements cannot be procured, and that the township must await the county’s response.
Condemning property is one way to obtain the easements, and the township needs to accumulate records of attempted negotiation before taking this legal action. However, the administration wants to avoid this option if possible.
Speaking generally, township attorney Michael Herbert said, “We’ve gone down the path of condemnation before and we have 30 years of litigation for it. It’s not something we want to pursue.”
Cranbury Road resident Samirah Akhlaq said it has been three years since residents began advocating for a sidewalk and her sons continue to bike along the dangerous roadway.
Neighbor Donald Watrous suggested starting construction along a stretch with more property owner support, and he urged the administration to provide more updates.
Multiple Canal Pointe residents also urged the township to repave Canal Pointe Boulevard. Council president Linda Geevers said the township is looking to re-purpose $900,000 of this year’s budget for the project and hoped for completion by the end of the year.
Business administrator Marlena Schmid estimated a repaving completion date would be in spring, 2017. The March 21 Council meeting will be followed by a workshop to discuss Canal Pointe Boulevard roadway improvements, which in addition to repaving include a controversial proposal to add bike lanes and reduce the roadway from four car lanes to three.
Resident Pete Weale said the former Penns Neck Community Center on Mather Avenue has yet to be demolished despite a demolition permit issued in 1990. Neighbor Rosita Orellana, who lives next to the building, agreed with Weale, adding drug users frequent the building.
“I’m tired with the building,” Orellana said. “The building brings too many rats, snakes, too many poisons for me. This is the last house on Mather Avenue, a cul-de-sac.”
Resident Debbie Hepler spoke on the recent animal control officer program ruling against the township (The News, March 4), and called Herbert’s legal advice to appeal the judgment “self-serving.”
“Four towns sharing one full-time and two part-time ACOs: there is not adequate coverage,” Hepler said. “Who is overseeing and verifying that the township is doing what they are claiming they are doing?”
At the end of the public commenting period, Council member Ayesha Hamilton asked for civility and respect. “My concern is you may be raising valid points but you’re losing that message in the vitriol,” Hamilton said.
In other news, Council approved temporary budget appropriations for 2016 and also expressed support for reducing the speed limit on the stretch of Village Road East between Edinburg and Southfield roads. The county recommends lowering the speed limit from 45 mph to 40 mph, as well as establishing a school speed limit of 25 mph in the area of Village Elementary School.
Council also approved three appointments: Kathleen Girandola as an adviser to the Shade Tree Commission; Jennifer Schaffel to the Human Relations Council; and Sue Roy to the Affordable Housing Committee as an Alternate I member.
#b#Trouble in the Grand Old Party?#/b#
Republicans at the national level aren’t the only ones squabbling. An E-mail from Marshall Lerner of the West Windsor Republican Club, titled “The Geevers Marathe Tax Hike,” blasted Council president Linda Geevers and Council vice president Hemant Marathe for not opposing municipal tax increases. (The municipal tax levy accounts for 15 percent of one’s property tax bill.)
“The annual budget is up for their approval and a tax increase is being promoted — what we will now name the Geevers-Marathe Tax Hike since they are controlling the process,” Lerner wrote. “There’s no real justification for it and it’s something every reasonable taxpayer should oppose.”
Council is officially nonpartisan, though Council members past and present have been affiliated with the Republican or Democratic party. Geevers is listed on the Mercer County Republican website, while Marathe received support from Lerner in the election last fall.
“That E-mail is full of misinformation and it is politically motivated,” said Geevers, who noted that she is an at-large elected official who represents residents regardless of political affiliation. “We’re not raising people’s taxes by $1,000.”
Added Geevers: “There is no West Windsor Republican Club. It’s not up and running. He should not be signing E-mails with that. If people have any questions they should contact me.”
Marathe said Lerner is a friend, and he has told him the facts are incorrect.
“We may not agree on the exact amount of increase, some people want more, some want less, but we need to hear full discussion on the budget,” Marathe said. “I’ve always said I will move and act based on what is in the best interest in the long term.”
Marathe points out that the main expense increases in the municipal budget are rising healthcare premiums and affordable housing litigation, two issues outside the control of the township.
“The dollar amount increase for healthcare premiums exceeds [the increase in] salary and wages, and affordable housing has not been addressed by the state legislature or the governor,” Marathe said. “That whole thing about New Jersey overtaxing people, that’s a conversation that needs to be held at levels higher than the municipal level.”
Under former Council president Bryan Maher, Council did not raise the municipal tax levy in 2014 or 2015.
Republicans at the national level aren’t the only ones squabbling. An E-mail from Marshall Lerner of the West Windsor Republican Club, titled “The Geevers Marathe Tax Hike,” blasted Council president Linda Geevers and Council vice president Hemant Marathe for not opposing municipal tax increases. (The municipal tax levy accounts for 15 percent of one’s property tax bill.)
“The annual budget is up for their approval and a tax increase is being promoted — what we will now name the Geevers-Marathe Tax Hike since they are controlling the process,” Lerner wrote. “There’s no real justification for it and it’s something every reasonable taxpayer should oppose.”
Council is officially nonpartisan, though Council members past and present have been affiliated with the Republican or Democratic party. Geevers is listed on the Mercer County Republican website, while Marathe received support from Lerner in the election last fall.
“That E-mail is full of misinformation and it is politically motivated,” said Geevers, who noted that she is an at-large elected official who represents residents regardless of political affiliation. “We’re not raising people’s taxes by $1,000.”
Added Geevers: “There is no West Windsor Republican Club. It’s not up and running. He should not be signing E-mails with that. If people have any questions they should contact me.”
Marathe said Lerner is a friend, and he has told him the facts are incorrect.
“We may not agree on the exact amount of increase, some people want more, some want less, but we need to hear full discussion on the budget,” Marathe said. “I’ve always said I will move and act based on what is in the best interest in the long term.”
Marathe points out that the main expense increases in the municipal budget are rising healthcare premiums and affordable housing litigation, two issues outside the control of the township.
“The dollar amount increase for healthcare premiums exceeds [the increase in] salary and wages, and affordable housing has not been addressed by the state legislature or the governor,” Marathe said. “That whole thing about New Jersey overtaxing people, that’s a conversation that needs to be held at levels higher than the municipal level.”
Under former Council president Bryan Maher, Council did not raise the municipal tax levy in 2014 or 2015.
