Council was in midseason form at its August 24 meeting, handling matters relating to yard waste, volunteer EMTs, and even a developer inquiry. Council member George Borek was out of town.
Council introduced an ordinance establishing a Volunteer Emergency Medical Services Unit that will replace the disbanded Twin W Volunteer Rescue Squad. There will be a public hearing on the ordinance at the Council meeting on Monday, September 14.
The proposed ordinance amends the section of township code pertaining to the organization of the Department of Public Safety. A Volunteer EMS Unit under the supervision of the Division of Fire and Emergency Services, which is managed by Jim Yates, will be established. The ordinance abolishes the Volunteer EMS Division, which consisted of Twin W.
Paid township EMTs and volunteer EMTs will bill insurers for service, which Council President Bryan Maher says will balance the costs of hiring three additional paid EMTs to cover the duties previously held by Twin W.
“This will allow volunteers to work along with professionals and to retain employees,” Council member Hemant Marathe said.
The ordinance also establishes an unpaid Civilian Emergency Response Team (CERT), also under the supervision of the Division of Fire and Emergency Services. Also codified are employee titles: the division will include fire lieutenants and firefighters, as well as per diem members and volunteer EMTs.
Council member Peter Mendonez asked for a timeline on the implementation of the volunteer unit, and Yates said his division will reach out to interested volunteers sometime in October.
#b#Council to disgruntled developers: come to us!#/b#
An attorney representing a company that owns the triangular parcel of land across from McCaffrey’s requested commercial rezoning and received encouragement from the four Council members present.
Attorney David Kenny of Hamilton-based Kenny, Chase & Costa represented Scokim Properties. Kenny is also a Hamilton township Council member. Scokim is owned by Bud Etchels of Pennington, and his five-acre parcel of land fronts Route 571 and is bounded by Southfield Road and McGetrick Lane.
The property is currently zoned for professional offices and a small amount of retail, and Kenny’s client is requesting retail rezoning. The company envisions a “planned neighborhood center” with speciality small businesses, but Kenny said the township administration has not been responsive.
“We have no interest in having residential development on that property,” Kenny said. “We think it is a prime commercial piece.”
According to township land use manager Sam Surtees, the Planning Board has previously declined to recommend the developer’s retail rezoning request. From 2006 to 2008 the Planning Board held multiple meetings to discuss the property.
“The developer wanted to fit too much square footage on the property than what the board felt was reasonable,” Surtees says. “There was also vacant retail space on two corners on that intersection, occupied by McCaffrey’s and CVS now, and the board felt it would hurt existing retail. The site also has frontages to three roads. The requested size of the retail stores would push parking to the front yard setback, which is not what the code requires.”
Maher and the rest of Council noted the state of the property, which currently has several unoccupied single family homes, and supported the prospect of adding commercial properties onto the tax roll.
“I have seen a schematic of what your client initially wants to propose,” Maher said. “I find it to be reasonably attractive. The feedback that I got from the administration is that there is a residential component, and they didn’t want residential there. To the extent you are not proposing residential and it is right now quite frankly a blighted site, I would personally highly encourage the administration to work with you.”
Added Mendonez: “I just want to thank you for coming to this Council. You’re not the first developer who has posed that situation to us where they weren’t getting anything from the administration, so they escalated to the Council. So tell your developer friends.”
#b#Hamilton Ecological Facility Rescues Township Brush.#/b# The township’s brush will now be disposed at Hamilton Township’s ecological facility as part of a $100,000 shared services agreement through 2016.
For years the township disposed yard waste free of charge at Britton Industries, located on Bakers Basin Road, but since Hurricane Sandy the company has made steep cost increases. This past year the township paid Britton nearly $150,000 to dispose 30,000 cubic yards of yard waste, but there is no disposal limit under the new agreement with Hamilton.
Last year the township passed a yard waste ordinance to reduce total brush volume and limit disposal costs. The ordinance was also in response to yard waste abuse, particularly contractors who are supposed to dispose of trees they have removed.
Business administrator Marlena Schmid said the township will seek bids for yard waste disposal in case Hamilton’s facility exceeds capacity.
Compliance with the yard waste ordinance passed last October has been an ongoing issue, and Schmid asked for resident assistance in maintaining the town’s curb appeal: “If you observe someone in your zone that has put out material after the crews have been through the area, please give my office a call.”
#b#Affordable Housing Budget Too Small?#/b# The township’s affordable housing committee has discussed the need for a part-time social worker to assist the township’s affordable housing residents. Marathe is Council liaison to the committee, and he says the Senior Center has sought a social worker.
Council member Peter Mendonez inquired on the township’s plans, and Schmid said that due to the increase in hours for bus drivers, there are no funds in 2015 for a part-time social worker.
The budget allocation for affordable housing attorney Gerry Muller and township planner John Madden are also running out. They have been working on the township’s housing plans, which are due in court by early November as part of the town’s participation in the state’s court mediated affordable housing process.
Schmid said the township is looking for spare funds in operation allocations. Maher suggested gas expenditures as a source of money, in light of cheap fuel prices, to which Schmid agreed.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh has previously criticized Council’s budget approach, which he says underestimates expenses and overestimates revenue.
When the town budget was being finalized earlier in the year, Maher said he would be willing to pass an emergency appropriation in the event litigation fees exceed the budget allocation.
#b#Pedestrian safety.#/b# Council approved the township’s endorsement of Mercer County’s mid-block crosswalk and beacon installation on Clarksville Road, near Princeton Terrace and the Windsor Athletic Club.
Before the vote, West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance (WWBPA) officer Alison Miller, who is also running for Council, commended the installations.
She also asked for an update on the proposed crosswalk and beacon on Clarksville Road near Maurice Hawk School, which both Council and Mercer County have already approved.
Schmid later said the project is in the works, and that the County has proceeded with having a purchase order processed.
#b#Political Season Heating Up.#/b# Two other Council candidates also made public comments. Virginia Manzari questioned the proposed Canal Pointe Boulevard road diet that would reduce the four-lane roadway to two vehicle lanes and two bicycle lanes, one each way.
“Traffic is going to get backed up,” Manzari said. “It would be more difficult to get onto Canal Pointe Boulevard during rush hour.”
Manzari also questioned the proposed center turning lanes, and suggested reducing speed limits and installing rumble strips. “I think the road diet that is being proposed might trade one safety issue for potentially another safety issue.”
The candidate also spoke on affordable housing and opportunistic developers.
“I just want to urge Council not to be intimidated by developers who want to profit at our expense,” Manzari said.
Gerald Halloran, who is running alongside Manzari and Council member Hemant Marathe, also commented, commending the township’s National Night Out event.
Council members Maher and Mendonez also raised the issue of political sign placement.
Mendonez has noticed the first political sign pop up in the township, a sign in support of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Maher said the township’s political sign ordinance “couldn’t be more cut and dried,” and that better enforcement was needed.
#b#Noise on South Post Road.#/b# Both Council vice president Linda Geevers and Marathe reported that noise from Mercer County Park concerts is affecting South Post Road residents. Both were in the neighborhood during performances.
“I can tell you it’s awful,” Marathe said. “If I can hear it without my hearing aid, it’s loud.”
Geevers called the concert noise “quite intrusive,” and she said while she understands the county needs to recoup the cost of the stage, the county’s concert programming was coming at a cost to residents. “We have to continue telling the county that there is a negative impact to our residents.”
Schmid said the township is in dialogue with the county. Township health officer Jill Swanson also had a staff member monitor noise at the August 20 concert.
#b#No to Donation Bins.#/b# Opposing the placement of clothing donation bins in town, Maher pulled a resolution that would have authorized the zoning officer to issue permits for bin placement.
Recalling the “big ugly bins” previously located in the Acme Center, Maher saw no need for the donation bins. Those interested in donating, he said, could call programs that provide pick-up service.
Miller also opposed the bins, commenting that placement in the township is currently illegal.
#b#Duck Pond Run Sewer Pipe.#/b# The township contracted with Lawrence-based engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff for $43,630 to evaluate the stalled Duck Pond Run Sewer Interceptor sewer pipe installation.
Outside bids for the second phase of the project have been over budget, and the township is seeking Parsons’ expertise to modify the project specifications. The township is currently in contract arbitration with T&M Associates, the firm previously contracted to complete the project.
In other news, Council approved snow removal services with Scheideler Excavating for $70,000; the purchase of three 2016 Ford police vehicles for $63,250; the purchase of two Savin Digital photocopiers for $24,916; and a $42,228 contract extension with Aquatic Service for maintenance of the West Windsor Aquatic Complex.
#b#Planning Board Approves Subdivision#/b#
The West Windsor Planning Board approved a Priory Road residential subdivision at its September 2 meeting.
The 1.5 acre lot owned by Jeff and Jill Friedman is now subdivided into two 0.75 acre lots. The Friedmans live in an existing house on one lot. The subdivision application conformed to the township code and no variance was required.
The property previously relied on septic systems for sewerage, and poor soil percolation necessitated a larger plot to meet septic requirements. The area is now connected to sewerage lines.
