To the Editor:
Junction Condition Hurts Real Estate
The following is a letter to Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh and West Windsor Council.
The Mercer County Association of Realtors is greatly concerned about the recent superior court ruling that questions the validity of West Windsor’s designation of the 350-acres surrounding the Princeton Junction Train Station as an “area in need of redevelopment.” MCAR, which represents more than 2,250 real estate professionals in Mercer County, has long been a supporter of redevelopment of the train station and the stretch of Route 571 that runs through Princeton Junction.
While the Association understands the complexity of moving forward with significant redevelopment projects, particularly in today’s economy, MCAR members have been frustrated with the wasted potential of this key geographical area. Our members are worried that the court’s ruling will drag out the process even longer, making an already bad situation in Princeton Junction even worse.
The deteriorating condition of Princeton Junction is hurting an already fragile real estate market in West Windsor. Countless realtor members have told us that potential buyers have been turned off to West Windsor after seeing the state of the train station and so-called downtown area. For the first time, West Windsor’s award-winning school system, prime access to transport, and excellent recreational facilities are being overshadowed by its unattractive downtown. This is something none of us can afford.
MCAR members would like to be able to tell potential buyers about West Windsor’s plans for improvements with tangible timelines and details. But these specifics seem to be slipping away once again with the Township facing another potential lawsuit. Let’s not relive the Toll Brother’s lawsuit of 10 years ago, but instead move forward and finally achieve West Windsor’s full potential through meaningful redevelopment. Much of the groundwork has been laid, now it’s time for some real action! MCAR looks forward to supporting and working with the Mayor and Council in any way we can to make this happen.
Ellen Affel
President, MCAR
School Budget Woes Show Inconsistencies
The Board of Education here in West Windsor-Plainsboro has spent the last couple of months sending the residents of this community mixed messages. At one point, the Board claims to maintain nothing less than the utmost in fiscal responsibility, but at the same time, claim it cannot meet its financial obligations for next year. As Shakespeare would say, “Methinks thou doth protest too much.”
Here is why neither claim has merit: First, when developing budgets, we all know you take the current year’s budget amount and see what increase is needed to meet financial obligations, including employee salaries, benefits, operating costs, and curriculum needs for the following year. Thus, when the Board developed the current budget, it already knew its financial obligations for subsequent years and made adjustments accordingly. It is unclear why it suddenly feigns surprise and insists that it did not realize the extent of its commitments and their impact on the 2010-’11 school budget.
Moreover, if the Board truly has a budget problem and now must count its pennies, why did it give healthy salary increases to the central office administration and the central office employees but lament that other school employees need to be fired? Is that in the best interests of the children, or is it really just in the best interests of the people at the top? Perhaps we need to question the judgment of how a “fiscally responsible” Board can work itself into such a situation.
At some point, the Board will have to make up its mind on which claim it chooses to stand behind and stop throwing out manufactured statements to justify its desire to privatize school employees.
Sue Levine
President, West Windsor-Plainsboro Service Association
The Board Responds
This is in response to a letter from Sue Levine, president of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Service Association. We fully understand the frustration of those who have worked without a new contract for the last two years. As volunteers who serve on the school board, we are equally frustrated with the lack of progress over the last two years. As members of the board negotiation team, we would like to tell the “rest of the story.”
The board began negotiations with the service association in April 2008. The service association came to the bargaining table with 66 proposals, most of them non-financial in nature. Over the last two years, we have met in face-to-face negotiations for at least 84.5 hours through November of last year.
As the economic situation worsened around us, the service association negotiation team continued to focus negotiation sessions on non-financial issues. The service association team knew full well that while they continued to delay settlement on a new contract, its members were enjoying full benefits under the old contract. The Board requested reasonable reductions in paid leave time and cost containment in health insurance expenses in exchange for salary increases. Throughout the negotiation process, including lengthy mediation sessions, the union focused on issues that were not related to these core issues, maintaining demands for excessive salary increases in addition to resisting even minor concessions on paid leave time and health insurance cost containment.
On January 29 the service association president indicated that they would like to meet before the first fact-finding session to see if we could come to an agreement. We were led to believe the association would present a proposal that acknowledged the severity of current economic conditions and the expectations of local taxpayers while also providing an alternative to outsourcing buildings and grounds operations. We met on February 8 and the association proposed a compounded salary increase of 19 percent over a four-year contract period, no significant cost savings in healthcare expenses, and minimal reductions in paid leave. The association indicated that its aim was not to save jobs, but to get the contract settled for the employees whose jobs would not be contracted out.
The board is very much interested in settling the contract on terms that are fair to association members and taxpayers. The contract terms should reflect the current economic conditions, that the school board has lost the opportunity to save on benefit costs over the past two years, and provide a path to significant and sustainable savings.
The first fact-finding session with the service association is scheduled on Wednesday, February 24. We will continue our efforts during that session.
Randall Tucker
Anthony Fleres
Robert Johnson
Members of the WW-P Board of Education negotiation team
Voyage to Nowhere!
Our economic situation in this country and around the world is not any one political party, employer, investment broker or individual’s fault alone. Most everyone in every position has contributed their share of effort to causing the problem.
Organized labor started its existence to correct abuse of our workforce. It was very successful until greed and corruption infiltrated the leadership thus destroying their positive accomplishments. This drove employers to leave this country with their businesses to regain profits.
Then greed and corruption set in, and they broke the perfect economic circle. Our government helped achieve this deed. They too benefited personally from greed and corruption. The investment world followed suit.
The only solution is for everyone involved to contribute to the solution from his or her vantage point. Our elected leaders should become leaders instead of running for re-election from the first day in office. Our public work force should wake up from their cocoon and see what is going on around them. The large unemployment or underpaid employment is bankrupting everyone. Everyone sitting with an enormous pot of gold hidden away will soon lose it or not be able to use it for anything as there will not be anything left to use it for.
Everyone’s mindset for many years has brought us to this Voyage to Nowhere! If our economic engine, the work force of our country, is not corrected soon, our freedom as we know it and our economic success is in total jeopardy. No one is exempt from harm.
In the perfect economic circle every part is dependent on the other. When you remove any part, it is all in jeopardy. Our economic circle in this country and the world is out of balance and like a flat tire. If we all don’t wake up and take charge, enjoy your trip to the bottom of the ocean or the quicksand we are all standing on! The more we learn, the less wisdom and common sense we display.
Bon Voyage!
Richard A. Harbourt
182 Conover Road, West Windsor
Brown/Holder for Fire Commissioner
On February 20, from 2 to 9 p.m. at the Plainsboro Firehouse, the taxpayers of Plainsboro will have the opportunity to select two Fire Commissioners to serve the people of Plainsboro for the next three years. It is our hope that the taxpayers of Plainsboro will come out and support us, Ken Brown and Michele Holder, in our bid for re-election.
Over the past four years that we have had the honor of holding this elected office, we have kept the fire district tax rate stable. That’s right –– there has been less than a one cent increase to the fire district tax assessment rate. And yet within these financial constraints, we have worked to replace four old, out-of-date pieces of fire apparatus with brand-new pieces of apparatus, two of which are already in service here in Plainsboro and two of which have been ordered and are expected to arrive this fall. We have also increased our daytime staffing levels and provided our firefighters with all required training and new up-to-date gear that meets all local, state, and OSHA-mandated requirements –– and all of this was done while keeping the fire district tax rate stable since 2006.
If you would like to see this continued level of fiscal responsibility and dedication to the community, we encourage you to come out to the Plainsboro Firehouse on Saturday, February 20 and vote to re-elect Ken Brown and Michele Holder as Fire Commissioners.
Ken Brown
Michele Holder
Linden Lane
Plainsboro
Deliverers Are Snow Day Heroes
My hero is a person I’ve never met but who has made my life more bearable during the recent snowstorms. Stores were closed, classes canceled, cars buried in snow, but my New York Times and Star Ledger miraculously appeared on the path of my town home. I had to go out in knee high boots and retrieve them one day and on another the snow shovelers found the papers buried under a mountain of snow — but my papers were there.
I called the delivery service, PCF in Princeton Junction, and learned that about 150 people of all ages work for them and that almost everyone was on the job during the storms. Pat in that office told me that the staff is about half women and of all ages, students to seniors.
We should all be thankful to these conscientious men and women we don’t see and don’t know who do their job despite the weather and make our days more enjoyable.
Phyllis Spiegel
Plainsboro
Prom Success
I want to thank you for the wonderful article you wrote about our Parents Prom. Everybody in town has been talking about it. The prom was a great success.
I can’t believe all the E-mails I received from people saying they had a great time. We were able to raise about $2,500 and provide a great night out for many people. I think it will be a much bigger event next year. Alice Donohue
An event organizer
