While redevelopment certainly had the spotlight all year in West Windsor, Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh made it a point to focus on all the other things that occurred in West Windsor in 2007, saving any mention of the redevelopment project until the very end of his annual State of West Windsor Township address.##M:[more]##
During his speech to the council and more than 100 residents on February 25, Hsueh gave updates on various traffic and pedestrian safety improvement projects around the township, as well as initiatives and accomplishments in “financial planning and fiscal responsibility.” He made mention of the recreational opportunities offered by the township, and work accomplished by various boards and organizations.
The first mention of the Princeton Junction train station redevelopment project came just minutes before he concluded his speech, a possible surprise, he acknowledged.
“At this point, some of you are probably thinking to yourselves, ‘Hey, what happened? The mayor didn’t mention redevelopment once during his entire speech,’” Hsueh said. “Tonight I would just like to report that it appears that several redevelopment-related items are actually moving forward.”
He referred to Intercap CEO Steve Goldin’s appearance at several recent meetings (including just days before at the council’s special February 23 meeting) to present his development concepts to community groups and township officials. He also said he and the council are working together to address the funding issue for the Vaughn Drive Connector — an initiative council supported with a resolution later in the evening — and that the redevelopment finance committee was “getting up to speed” on various financial options and strategies.
“It is my hope that in the next month or so, the township will be able to give guidance and direction to Hillier Architecture so that they can complete a redevelopment plan,” he said. “The next few months, actually the next few years, should definitely be interesting.”
That was all that was said of the redevelopment project.
Hsueh began his speech by pointing out that in November, West Windsor became only one of six municipalities out of the state’s 566 to receive a Triple A bond rating from Standard & Poor’s rating service. He said that township financial professionals are working on a refunding bond issue, which he said is much like refinancing a mortgage, which is estimated to save the township approximately $700,”000.
Hsueh also recapped the selection of PNC Bank to provide municipal banking and depository services for the township, and pointed out that financial officials are also working on the implementation of an online tax payment system to allow residents to pay their municipal property taxes and sewer rent payments conveniently offsite for a “nominal” fee.
He also lauded the township’s long-term financial planning strategy, including the six-year capital budget. Ongoing capital programs include the annual road improvement, the bike lane extension, and the signage and striping programs, he said. And this year, Hsueh said, the administration will be recommending to the council that it include additional funding specifically for sanitary sewer system evaluation and related upgrades, which, “much like the annual road improvement program, will help us to prioritize sewer infrastructure needs over the next several years.” Hsueh pointed to the emergency sanitary sewer system repairs that the township needed to make last April during a Nor’easter that wiped out the system at Wallace and Alexander roads.
With regard to traffic and pedestrian projects, Hsueh said road improvements on North Post, Southfield, and Millstone roads, as well as South Lane were completed, as well as the bicycle and pedestrian pathway along the PSE&G right-of-way. A naming contest for the pathway and bridge yielded the names “Trolley Line Trail,” and “Pig Town Bridge,” respectively, he said.
“These names capture the original use of the right-of-way as a trolley line, and one of the stops near Community Park, ‘Pig Town,’” Hsueh explained. There were 34 entries in the contest.
Projects for the upcoming year include the analysis of intersection improvements for Alexander Road, a study of Canal Pointe Boulevard to determine the appropriate number of lanes and speeds on the road, a light at the intersection of Meadow Road and Canal Pointe Boulevard, and the Meadow Road realignment — phase 1 — which Hsueh said should begin this summer, as soon as the project is awarded. He said the Alexander Road “s-curve” will also be reconstructed, funded by a $190,”000 grant from the state Department of Transportation. A $200,”000 grant for Penn Lyle Road (phase 1) improvements was also received. Engineering and analysis on that project will begin this year.
Hsueh also mentioned the safety initiatives taken by the police department this year, which include the R.A.D. kids program, which teaches township children how to protect themselves against predators, and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The police department also achieved formal accreditation by the New Jersey Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission this year, Hsueh added.
With regard to recreation, the township partnered with the West Windsor Junior Football Club and Lightning Lacrosse to install two lighted practice fields in Community Park and finalized memoranda of understanding with the WW-P Soccer Association for use and sports-related improvements to the municipal parks.
The senior center was also reaccredited by the National Institute of Senior Centers this past fall, Hsueh reiterated, and several recommendations from the mayor’s senior transportation task force are proposed for this year’s budget, he said. And in the next two months, bids for the phased senior center expansion will be underway.
