After raising safety concerns about the entrance ramp into the West Windsor Arts Council’s new facility in the former firehouse on Alexander Road, the West Windsor Township Council voted on a contract that would begin to correct the issue.
The council approved a $1,000 contract with architect James B. Foran, who will oversee the installation of guardrails along the ramp to provide a safer route up the ramp for visitors to and from the arts building.
Members of the council first raised concerns in October, and asked the administration to look into providing a railing along the pathway to the newly opened building.
The elevated, handicapped accessible path, features a gradual incline toward the building but has no railing, and some council members were worried that people could risk falling off the raised portion of the pathway, especially during icy conditions in the winter.
The contract with Foran will cover the entire length of the project, the council’s resolution states.
The West Windsor Arts Council celebrated the opening of its new home in September. The 75-year-old former Princeton Junction firehouse on Alexander Road was transformed to include a 125-seat performance space, an education space for classes, and a community meeting room-lobby-cafe, with Wi-Fi access.
Under the 10-year agreement with the township approved by the council in the fall, the Arts Council will pay the township $250 a month in rent for the first two years. In the third year and successive years, the rent will be $500 and increase by 10 percent each year. So, in the fourth year, the arts council will pay $550 a month and so on.
According to Arts Council officials, the organization has contributed $300,000 to the renovation of the building itself — a building it does not own — as well as years of work from its volunteers, and would have been using the money it has raised to establish its programming.
West Windsor Township provided $800,000 in funding to bring the building up to code.
