Although no serious storms have hit West Windsor so far this fall, the flooding caused by Hurricane Irene more than two years ago is still a vivid memory. To avoid a repeat of such serious flooding, the township is conducting a flood hazard assessment for Little Bear Brook and a stormwater management analysis in the train station redevelopment area.
Representatives from the township’s consultants, Princeton Hydro and Storm Water Management Consulting in Ringoes, provided an overview of the projects at the September 16 council meeting.
For the Little Bear Brook assessment “we will be holding public meetings, and will be seeking information from the affected community as well as compiling and reviewing existing data,” said Joseph Skupien of Storm Water Management Consulting. “We will then complete a flood hazard assessment, analyze appropriate flood mitigation strategies, and come up with a workable action plan.”
“I cannot stress this enough — we are going to focus on what will work, engineering-wise, to mitigate flooding in the area. We will do the math and will identify engineering plans that will work, and then we will consider costs, time-frames, and options, and present them to the town,” said Skupien.
The first step of the second part of the project, the stormwater management plan, will also be public meetings and outreach, according to Mary Paist-Goldman of Princeton Hydro. The company will work with township engineer Francis Guzik to develop questionnaires for residents.
“We will then review aerial topographic mapping and map overlays and conduct a regional stormwater analysis of the redevelopment area. Because our geographic area overlaps Little Bear Brook, we will be looking at some flooding relief options as well. We expect the projects to take approximately five months,” Paist-Goldman said.
Said Council member Linda Geevers: “I am sure that our residents are feeling some optimism that the Township is doing something to alleviate the flooding problem.”
The issue of sidewalks for Cranbury Road was again on the agenda. Several residents spoke in favor of sidewalks and/or a bike path being built along the busy road to alleviate the many safety concerns that residents have expressed.
“It is necessary that we make the older parts of town completely safe, just as the newer parts of town are,” said Alison Miller. “Cranbury Road is a perfect example.”
Heather Buchanan said “please add my voice to support for sidewalks on Cranbury Road. There have been so many near-misses at the bus stop, and sidewalks are also needed to get to and from the train. Another suggestion I have — put left-turn only arrows at the Cranbury and Princeton-Hightstown roads intersection, which will help slow down and control traffic.”
Resident Scott Davis, who has become active in the Cranbury Safe Sidewalks group, thanked council for its support. In response to a question from council member Bryan Maher, Davis did concede that there are one or two Cranbury Road residents who are not in favor of the sidewalk project. Maher and council president George Borek both offered to speak with those residents and hear their concerns.
Council formalized its support by unanimously passing a resolution in favor of the project that recognized the unhealthy environment along Cranbury Road for bicyclists and pedestrians, and the need for a child-friendly way to travel along the road along with “traffic-calming” elements.
Jerry Foster, president of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, thanked council for passing the resolution and also thanked the township for the restriping of left-turn only lanes at the intersection of North Post and Clarksville roads. He asked for council to support a resolution asking PSE&G to support further trail development so that the Trolley Line Trail could be extended.
Resident Jason Barbow raised a separate safety issue regarding recent thefts in West Windsor. “I wish to thank Chief Joe Pica and the police for their timely response. There have been a string of thefts of cars and homes near the train station recently, and I think residents need to be more aware of these crimes. The police Nixle alerts are a great first step, but we need more police resources [to address this problem]. We need a night-time watch in the area of the train station and a shift of police resources to the area. We need to coordinate with the NJDOT police as well. I am happy to help out on behalf of the community to keep our town safe.”
In response Pica said “let me assure everyone that there is no ‘crime spree’ going on. There were several cars broken into on the same night along Berrien Avenue and Indian Run [which are near the train station]. All of the cars were unlocked. Unfortunately, one car was stolen. Both suspects were apprehended; one is still in custody, and the other is out on bail. A few weeks before that, there was a home burglary. The two events are unrelated.”
In addition to using common-sense security measures, Pica urged residents to be vigilant: “If you see anything or anyone that looks suspicious, call the police department. We are happy to check it out — it’s our job. It doesn’t matter what time of the day or night it is.”
Council member Maher reported on the Zoning Board’s consideration of the Ellsworth Center re-development proposal, which is expected to be completed at the next Zoning Board meeting on Thursday, October 3.
“The owner of the property at Ellsworth II [the blighted area adjacent to the Ellsworth center] was at the meeting as well,” Maher said. “Ellsworth is trying to work with him to redevelop the land, but it is not going well. The issue of eminent domain was raised. Normally I am not a big fan of eminent domain, but in this case I would support it. I think we should consider it — if nothing else, it might force the gentleman’s hand to do something with that unsightly area.”
Township attorney Michael Herbert noted that he is already working with a redevelopment lawyer on amending the Township Redevelopment Plan to include eminent domain language, which currently is not present in the plan. Eminent domain gives the township the right, under certain circumstances, to seize private property for public use.
Campaign Heats Up. Council candidate Debbie Hepler offered comments at the meeting as well. “I am making a political statement. I want to point out that voting for either Mayor Hsueh or mayoral candidate Hemant Marathe is like voting for two sides of the same coin. Mayor Hsueh allowed a Department of Public Works employee to steal from the township without prosecuting him; and Marathe, as school board president, allowed a district employee, who lost — through mismanagement or theft — $750,000 of district money, to resign without giving the money back.”
Later Hepler also accused Township attorney Herbert of racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Herbert stated that the majority of these legal fees were incurred in defending the township against lawsuits brought by Hepler herself. Hepler vehemently denied ever suing the town and called Herbert a “liar.” It was pointed out later that Hepler is listed as a plaintiff on two lawsuits against the town.
When asked later for a response to Hepler’s charges, both Hsueh and Marathe declined to comment.
Council also introduced an ordinance to prohibit parking anytime on Wheeler Way, which runs adjacent to Windsor Green shopping center. A public hearing on this ordinance will be held at the council meeting on Monday, September 30.
In other action Council granted a permit for fireworks at the Mercer County Italian American Festival on Saturday, September 28 (rain date September 29); and authorized a contract amendment for the Duck Pond Run sewer interceptor-phase II project with T&M Associates, at a cost of $15,000.
Council authorized the trade-in of five police vehicles, and the purchase of four new 2014 police cars. Councilman Maher noted that the vehicles being replaced are quite old, and the replacement vehicles have already been included in the approved budget.
Meeting Schedules: The West Windsor Zoning Board will meet Thursday, October 3, at 7:30 p.m. to continue its consideration of the Ellsworth Realty application to redevelop the existing retail strip center at Princeton-Hightstown and Cranbury roads into a mixed use village type development.
It will also hear an application from Susan Gordon for a variance at 36 Benford Drive for a small, 131-square-foot addition on the rear of the house to accommodate a new first-floor powder room. The addition is within the established setbacks for the property, but the variance is required for the floor area ratio. According to the zoning board description of the project, the proposed addition would not set any precedents on this street.
The Planning Board canceled its meetings of September 25, October 2, October 9, and October 16. The next scheduled meeting is Wednesday, October 23.
The Site Plan Review Advisory Board meeting scheduled for October 14 has been canceled. The next regularly scheduled meeting for SPRAB is Monday, October 28, at 7:30 p.m.
