The West Windsor Township Council has unanimously approved a new contract with RMJM Hillier that calls for a complete redevelopment plan for the 350-acre Princeton Junction train station area by this November.##M:[more]##
The council had been waiting to meet with Hillier representatives to discuss the remaining work to be done by the firm with regard to its original contract for creating the redevelopment plan. Instead of continuing the former contract, approved in 2006, the council and the firm have agreed on a new contract for the remaining $50,”000 of work to be done, which was approved June 9 after a special meeting with Hillier representatives.
The resolution states that in June, 2007, Hillier billed the township for 50 percent of the total contract price — $165,”000 of the total $330,”000 contract — but had only done what amounted to $138,”521.50 of the work. In April, 2008, the township paid Hillier $115,”000 “in complete satisfaction of all the work done to date,” and the new contract is for $50,”000, which will cover the revised redevelopment plan.
According to Township Attorney Michael Herbert, Hillier had requested that the remaining work simply be considered as a new contract, with the old contract terminated. Much of the language is identical to the original agreement, and the new contract does not include any more money than the original agreement called for, he said.
There are still some changes, mainly deriving from the direction the project has headed over the past year since the election of three council members who had opposed the scale and scope of the original Hillier schemes. After the “political hot potato” of coming up with a redevelopment plan was passed back and forth between the council and planning board, members of the council in March found consensus on a list of items pertaining to the redevelopment, including that they wanted a mixed-use Main Street, as opposed to retail only, with living units about the retail.
Since then, Intercap Holdings CEO Steve Goldin has presented plans of his own (see story below) while township staff were negotiating with Hillier to hash out the remaining issues. During the meeting on June 9, where issues regarding timelines for the remainder of the work and billing procedures garnered the most attention.
The new agreement calls for Hillier to be paid an initial payment of $10,”000, with incremental payments for the remainder $40,”000. Business Administrator Chris Marion said that between the two bond ordinances for redevelopment, the unencumbered balance remaining in township coffers is around $194,”800, which the township will use to approve more consulting work with Davies and Madden, whose proposals will head to council on Monday, June 23.
The agreement also calls for Hillier to have a draft of the redevelopment plan completed by the end of August, with its first presentation to council in September, followed by a presentation at the Planning Board in October, and a final presentation back at council in November.
Councilwoman Heidi Kleinman had reservations when it came to the timeline. “In the original contract, you had felt that you had needed last summer to write the redevelopment plan,” she said to Hillier representatives. “I took that as you needed two or three months to do that. If you need two or three months to do something, the milestones and dates (in the agreement) don’t really reflect that. I know we’re trying to be efficient about that, but I would like the schedule to try to mirror reality.”
Marion told the council he had received an E-mail from Madden, who said that main factors council needed to decide included the date it wants Hillier to start working on the redevelopment plan, the date it wanted to meet with Madden and Davies to hear a review of the Intercap plan they had been reviewing — which Madden estimated would be three weeks from the date the council authorized the extension of the consultants’ contracts — and when the council wanted to hold a public hearing on the plan. “When I know these tentative end dates, I can create a timeline with Gary and prepare a whole timeline,” Madden stated in the e-mail.
Still, Kleinman said, the council had decided it wanted to engage the two consultants in reviewing the Intercap plan, and “John needs three weeks to come back to us to even hear what he has to say,” she said. She then asked the Hillier representatives how long it would take from that point after all information was gathered to create a redevelopment plan.
Brad Walters, of Hillier, said it would probably take about four weeks, but it could be shortened and it could be stretched.
Herbert reminded the council the degree of urgency it had in coming up with a plan, given that Intercap had already been coming up with its own plans.
“I think it’s important for the public to know that there is a separation between what Intercap is proposing and how this final redevelopment plan may look,” Councilwoman Linda Geevers said. “The public might be thinking that we’re now working with Intercap. We’re reviewing some of their professional reports, but I don’t want it to seem that they are equal to council. Council will come up with their own redevelopment plan based on consensus within the community.”
Walters said the next step would be for his firm to sit down with New Jersey Transit, the state Department of Transportation, Intercap, and the township professionals to come up with the circulation framework for the plan and “to look at these different options and hopefully build together the best pieces.”
Geevers also suggested the parking authority be brought to the table, since it has hired its own professionals with regard to suggestions for the location of a parking structure. The rest of council agreed.
Councilman Charles Morgan said he was concerned with regard to which work and which meetings are covered in the $50,”000 contract. He said council is anticipating there would be huge interest at these meetings, and issues pertaining to venue, how many meetings, and how many hours Hillier representatives would need to attend these meetings might arise.
Eric Jaffe, a principal at Hillier, said additional meetings out of the scope of the contract would be charged based on an hourly rate and depending on who from the firm would need to attend those meetings. Morgan suggested not having the representatives attend the meetings, but rather submitting to them a document containing the public’s comments and concerns for their review and reaction.
“To be honest, our fees are based on time,” Jaffe said. “If you submit something and ask us to respond, that’s still time that we would spend working for the township. There will be costs there as well.”
Morgan then asked how the council would know when Hillier representatives are on the clock and which meetings are out of the scope of the contract for additional fees. He said he didn’t want to be surprised with an invoice for something council had believed to be within the scope of work. “I just perceive a fair amount of ambiguity,” Morgan said. But Herbert said the agreement was sufficient as it was drafted.
Walters did say that whenever the draft of the redevelopment plan is put together, copies could be provided so that Madden and Davies, as well as the council, could review it ahead of time.
“This way, when we actually come to present to you, we’re presenting a document that you had an opportunity to study,” Walters said. “It’s more of an executive level summary as opposed to every line item,” and Hillier representatives could just be there for discussion and questions, as opposed to having to go through four hours of explaining.
Geevers asked whether Hillier has a good grasp of what council is looking for in terms of scope and scale, including the big issue of density.
“We’ve heard you — we heard you several times,” Walter said.
He also said that assuming the council adopts the redevelopment plan, the council will actually be able to control restrictions on things like the numbers of school children and the numbers and phasing of the housing. “We’re going to help you get to a land use plan, an idea of where things should be,” he said.
“Our goal would be to give you something you could use as a tool for the next step in working with developers,” Walters said. “We don’t see our plan as the be all, end all.”
Council President Will Anklowitz asked how Hillier was planning to deal with the ever-changing Council on Affordable Housing regulations. “It’s going to have to be flexible in the plan,” Walters said.
Morgan told the residents that a meeting between the key players, including the state agencies, Hillier, Intercap, township professionals, the mayor, and a council representative will be taking place “to collaborate on what Intercap is doing and facilitate a conversation around everything that’s happened since a year or two ago,” during which they will “take the best ideas out of various concepts and do another concept and present that for conversation.”
“The contract has a timeline that is aggressive and I think can be met,” Morgan added. “We’ve been pushing these things very hard. I think we’re on the verge of getting something created that we can all rally around.”
Councilman George Borek said the council was committed to moving redevelopment forward, and having a completed redevelopment plan by November “will be our Christmas gift to everyone here in West Windsor.”
Berrien City resident David Siegel said he hopes that “all of the proposed plans will be thoroughly and carefully reviewed by our township professionals.” He asked whether the contract includes Hillier handing over the information to the township regarding all the relevant date it has collected throughout the process so the public can review it, and Herbert confirmed that it would happen.
Resident Barbara McCarthy said she has been a big proponent of redevelopment and moved to West Windsor because of the train. “The most important thing is that we make something important happen for the town,” she said. “I think it’s very important for everyone to work together to make everything happen.”
Resident Ed O’Mara said that “if indeed you do come up with a complete redevelopment plan by November, you’re going to make me very happy. If we can get it to the state, and the state approves it to make it an official document, George — this will be a Christmas present.”
After the meeting, Anklowitz said he was concerned because Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh had not made any comment on the matter during the special session when Hillier representatives were present. “I’m worried about the leadership here,” Anklowitz said. “I hope this is not a problem that’s lurking behind scenes here.”
Hsueh says he didn’t feel it was necessary to add any more than what was already presented. “If council is all in agreement, I don’t have any problem with it,” he said. “I’m there to try to get the job done and make sure the meeting will not go on and on. If the presentation was right on target, and council is all in agreement, I’m happy to see that.”
Hsueh also said that when it comes to the redevelopment plan, the number of units doesn’t have to be decided specified yet in this phase because it is a land use plan, akin to a mini Master Plan, which also doesn’t specify numbers of units.
