The Hopewell Valley Democratic Club

HOPEWELL VALLEY NEWS - 07/07/2011: Officials OK tax settlement pact - Attorney hired to handle bridge issues

By John Tredrea

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP - A settlement agreement of a tax dispute with Capital Health System was approved by the Hopewell Township Committee on Monday night.

Capital Health is building a new hospital, due to open later this year, in the southern section of the township near I-95 and Scotch Road.

The committee’s vote authorizes submission of the settlement agreement to the state tax court.

Township officials say — now that an agreement with the hospital has been reached — the township will collect $4 million in taxes from Capital once the settlement has cleared the court.

The $4 million amount was calculated from the value of the hospital building while under construction for the past three years.

Those values are $14,774,000 in 2009, $63,220,000 in 2010 and $107,162,000 this year. Once the hospital is operating, it will be tax-exempt under state law, because it will be a nonprofit entity.

However, a 300,000-square-foot office building adjacent to the hospital will continue to be taxed after that building is opened along with the hospital, officials said.

The settlement ends a tax dispute that lasted about two years.

ALSO at Monday night’s meeting, the committee voted to hire Willingboro-based attorney William John Kearns to represent the township on matters pertaining to the Jacobs Creek bridge. He can be paid a maximum of $3,500 for those services under a contract approved by the committee.

Asked why officials had decided to hire Mr. Kearns, Mayor Jim Burd said Wednesday, “If we need any legal counsel on the Jacobs Creek bridge, this is the attorney that will be at our disposal.”

The mayor said no decision has been made yet for such use.

Mercer County closed Jacobs Creek bridge, in the western section of the township, in September 2009, citing safety concerns.

Several months ago, the county freeholders voted to spend more than $700,000 on a replacement bridge.

That county plan has been vigorously opposed by township residents, who say it will unacceptably affect the “Victory Trail” George Washington and the Continental Army followed on the way to the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.

In a companion measure, the committee voted to reduce, by the same $3,500 it will pay Mr. Kearns, the annual salary of Township Attorney Steve Goodell. That brings his annual salary to $115,000. Mr. Goodell said he cannot represent the township on the bridge due to a conflict of interest.

Deputy Mayor Michael Markulec and other committee members praised township Chief Financial Officer Elaine Cruikshank Borges for her job performance after noting no corrective recommendations were made in the latest independent annual audit of the township’s finances.  [Congratulations, Ms. Borges, for your fine work on behalf of Hopewell Township. Well done! ED]

Under state law, every municipality in New Jersey must be audited annually by a firm independent of that municipality. Many of those audits make recommendations for corrective action.

Garnering an audit that makes no such recommendations is “a great accomplishment,” Mr. Markulec said.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, the committee voted to adopt a $109,000 bond ordinance that will fund repairs to municipal buildings, including mold remediation, elevator repairs, window replacement, roof repairs, improved accessibility for the handicapped and other work.

TRENTON TIMES - 07/07/2011: Capital Health agrees to pay $4M in taxes to Hopewell during construction of new hospital complex

By Lisa Coryell

 

Capital Health Medical Center, Hopewell, under construction off Scotch Road on Thursday, December 9, 2010. The 237-bed, 924,000-square-foot hospital is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011. The new hospital, situated on 165 acres, will cost $530 million.

 

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — A controversial agreement to waive tax liability on the new Capital Health hospital for nearly 20 years has been scrapped under a new agreement requiring the health facility to pay its fair share of taxes.

The new deal, revealed Monday night by the township committee, calls for Capital Health to pay $4 million in taxes while the Scotch Road medical complex is under construction and to pay for all taxable portions of the complex when it becomes occupied in 2012.

“Given the controversy over the first agreement we decided it made good sense for Hopewell Township to review and renegotiate its settlement with Capital Health,” said Committeewoman Vanessa Sandom.

“What’s taxable on Capital Health’s campus will be taxed and we’ll have a world-class health facility in Hopewell Township,” said Deputy Mayor Michael Markulec.

Capital Health officials did not return a call seeking comment on the settlement, which is subject to the approval of a tax court judge.

The new deal replaces a settlement that allowed a 20-year tax exempt status for the entire hospital campus — not just the nonprofit parts — in exchange for annual payments of $813,000 to $1.6 million that would have gone directly to the township in lieu of taxes.

That deal was roundly criticized by the Mercer County Board of Taxation and Hopewell and Pennington boroughs because it denied the county and the Hopewell Valley Regional School District, which includes the boroughs, their fair share of the taxes collected from the hospital.

County Tax Administrator Marty Guhl, who called the former agreement illegal, said the new agreement is fundamentally fair.

“At least they’re following the law,” Guhl said. “They’re paying taxes as they should be.”

Guhl said the new deal has a much better shot at getting approved by a judge than the old one.

“I think all the parties realized that the judge would never have accepted that agreement because it was illegal,” Guhl added. “So they decided to negotiate a new one.”

The original settlement was negotiated to end a dispute between the town and Capital Health over tax issues surrounding the $530 million hospital project that got under way in 2008. The major issue was whether the entire hospital campus would be subject to property taxes for the years before it became operational. Capital Health maintained that treating the hospital as commercial taxable property while it was under construction was not permitted under New Jersey law while Hopewell officials claimed that such treatment is permissible.

Under the first settlement, Capital Health agreed to pay almost $1 million for three years’ worth of rollback taxes on land that has been taken out of the tax-discounted farmland assessment to allow for development of the new health care facility. But it also provided for a tax-exempt status for 20 years that exempted Capital Health from paying taxes for the commercial space it leased within the 165.5 acre campus, most notably a 150,000-square foot medical office building that will be leased, at least in part, to doctors.

Markulec said the new deal allows for the proper apportionment of Capital Health’s tax revenues.

“We’re satisfied that the settlement protects the interests of the county and the two boroughs,” he said.

TRENTON TIMES - 07/05/2011: Hopewell Township objects to state plan that would raze dam, drain large lake

By Lisa Coryell

 

Hopewell Township resident John Maguire looks out from his backyard over Honey Lake.

 

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — News that the state and federal government are planning to pull the plug on scenic Honey Lake, even as the township and area homeowners work to save it, has elected officials here issuing an edict: Leave the dam thing alone!

In a resolution adopted by the township committee last week, members formally objected to plans to decommission the lake’s dam, which has been deemed hazardous by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The vast water body is home to plants and animals, improves local property values and helps recharge area wells, the committee said.

“We want the state to know that we, as well as the homeowners around Honey Lake, are very sincere about not wanting this lake to be decommissioned,” said Mayor Jim Burd. “We think the funds they’re planning to use to decommission the dam should be used instead to restore it.”

A hydrologist report solicited by the township recently asserted that losing the lake could cause big problems for the local aquifer and the wells that tap into it.

“We can’t afford to take any risks with that lake,” said Committeewoman Vanessa Sandom. “We really need to do what we can to preserve the dam and the lake.”

Township Administrator Paul Pogorzelski says the resolution is designed to send a frank message to the DEP and the federal National Resource Conservation Service, which oversees funding for such projects.

“We want them to stop them from considering a removal of the dam because that’s the path they’re on now,” he said. “We’re working with the neighbors to find a way to restore the dam and save the lake and they keep saying ‘Decommission the dam, decommission the dam, decommission the dam’ and it’s frustrating.”

Honey Lake dam, built in 1964, is one of six small dams on Stony Brook constructed to halt the flow of silt into Carnegie Lake in Princeton. While the dam is in no imminent danger of collapsing, it recently was designated a “high hazard dam” by the state Department of Environmental Protection due to construction of homes in its downstream flood plain in the decades since it was built.

An original sponsor of the dam was the Mercer County Soil Conservation District, but that sponsorship is set to expire in 2013, leaving the dam orphaned.

Last winter the state told the township that if the dam isn’t shored up soon, the state will decommission it and drain the lake, leaving the once beautiful lake a running brook amid marshland. The cost has been estimated at between $2 million and $4 million.

Since then the town and the homeowners have been trying to figure out a way to fund the project. Months ago they were told that federal funds were available if a public entity like the township or the county would take ownership of the dam. But last month the township was told that Honey Lake no longer qualifies for funding to restore the dam, only to decommission it. The state told the township months ago that it had $1 million to put toward the project but that amount has since been reduced to $500,000 Pogorzelski said.

“Every time we start talking about a potential solution we’re told there’s no money or less money than we believed,” he said. “They indicate that they’re seeking to decommission the dam and take it down in the next fiscal year. We’re working toward finding a way to keep the lake with the homeowners funding it and these guys keep throwing hurdles in our way.”

ROCKETS RED GLARE - The 2011 Independence Day Celebration at Alliger Park

For those of you who missed the spectacular Independence Day fireworks display at Alliger Park this year, click on the video clip below . . . and prepare to be amazed. 

For more information about the Valley’s Parks and Recreation facilities, click here.

 

TRENTON TIMES - 07/03/2011: Hospital's redevelopment flatlining — Efforts are coming up empty so far to find new uses for Capital Health’s 16-acre Bellevue Avenue site

By Joshua Rosenau

TRENTON — Capital Health announced almost five years ago that it would move the services of its Mercer Campus to a new facility in Hopewell Township, but with just a few months left until the Bellevue Avenue hospital is closed, redevelopment efforts have yet to yield any new uses for the site.

“We have engaged an individual for the past two years who has reached out to and toured a couple of dozen interested parties through the Mercer County Regional Campus, looking at redevelopment,” Capital Health vice president Dennis Dooley said last week.

“Unfortunately, none of those in this current economic climate really panned out to be financially sustainable unto themselves. We quickly came to the conclusion some months back that this was clearly a property that required far more than just a single redeveloper,” he said.

Still, efforts to find a new use for the 16-acre site continue. Capital Health is paying for a redevelopment zone study to determine “what uses of the building will fit zoning requirements and meet community needs,” as well as which surrounding areas could be part of the zone, Dooley said.

A redevelopment zone designation would allow the city to borrow money and receive grants to fund redevelopment or housing projects.

The city has contracted with the Trenton architecture and development firm Clark Caton Hintz to provide planning services. The firm held a meeting last week where it fielded suggestions from residents.

Octavia Sutphin, a property owner in the area who co-founded the Rutherford Heights Revitalization Group, noted that the new study follows an earlier round of planning for the site.

“When the first planners started, they did a comprehensive plan, and we thought of low to moderate and workforce housing,” she recalled. “Then we thought it would be better if we could find a tenant such as part of Rutgers, or some entity part of higher education. It would really bring the community up.”

Sutphin said she and Ed Hill of the Rutherford Heights Civic Association have tried to voice the concerns of residents near the Mercer Campus who are bracing for the loss of jobs and commercial traffic provided by the hospital. Hill said he is pushing for Capital Health to help market the area.

“One of the things we believe will help get developers in is a façade program done in and around the neighborhood to increase the value,” Hill said.

Capital Health has indicated it would support such a program, he said. Hill also supported the idea of having a college or university such as Rutgers take over the property eventually.

“We are still waiting for them to finish their study and to decide on the designation, and then to market the site to see who would be interested,” Hill said.

The redevelopment plan should be completed within six months, though actual redevelopment will depend “on numerous variables,” said Tamaria Green, a city planning staffer.

Dooley said the Mercer Campus’ acute care services and most outpatient services will move to Hopewell, but a satellite emergency department will remain and parts of the building will be used for office space.

Capital Health is awaiting final approval from the state to transfer its operating license to the new hospital on a 165-acre parcel of property on the east side of Scotch Road in Hopewell Township, between the Interstate 95 interchange and the Merrill Lynch complex.

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services required Capital Health to maintain the satellite emergency after the agency assessed the community’s health care needs.

Capital Health expects to receive approval of the transfer this summer and open the Hopewell facility in the fall, Dooley said.

TRENTON TIMES - 07/01/2011: Hopewell authorizes $250,000 in funding to develop Pennytown site

By Lisa Coryell & Martin Griff

Part of the Pennytown Shopping Center in Hopewell Township on Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

 

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — The township this week introduced an ordinance authorizing up to $250,000 to explore further an ambitious proposal to transform the former Pennytown site and surrounding area into a walkable village and community hub.

The township committee voted unanimously to move forward with plans to fund the next steps in the redevelopment process, which include hiring consultants to create ordinances, conduct more specific testing of soils for wastewater disposal, evaluate the water supply and do legal work.

“We need these services done to make an educated decision whether to go ahead with the Marshall’s Corner/Pennytown redevelopment plan,” said Mayor Jim Burd.

On Monday night the Marshall’s Corner-Pennytown Task Force gave the committee its final recommendations for what should be included in the redevelopment of the 105-acre site on Route 31 — a main street suitable for parades, a community center, lots of green space and affordable and market-rate housing intermixed with retail space.

The project would be the first of its kind in the township — a joint effort between the municipality, which owns the 25-acre former Pennytown site, and Kooltronic Inc., which owns an adjacent 80-acre site. One developer would likely be hired to build the project.

The task force told the committee that the professionals who volunteered to serve on the panel had taken the planning as far as they could and moving the project forward was now up to the township.

In another act that affects the Marshall’s Corner area, the committee approved the sale of the Marshall’s Corner School House, which sits just outside the redevelopment area. Under the ordinance adopted on Monday, anyone buying the historic one-room building must abide by a deed restriction that requires the outside of the building to remain historically intact.

Paul Pogorzelski, township administrator, said the township will put together specs for the project, including a minimum bid amount, and solicit bids from the public within the next couple of weeks. The sealed bids will then be opened and the highest bidder will get the property, he said. Interested parties have already contacted the township to say they’re interested in participating in the bidding process, he said.

TRENTON TIMES - 07/01/2011: Debate over Jacobs Creek Bridge in Hopewell stirs support for Mercer County Executive candidate Jonathan Savage

By Carmen Cusido

 

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — Beth Kerr is a lifelong Democrat who once supported Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, but she said she will vote for Jonathan Savage, the Republican candidate for the county executive office, because of his views on Jacobs Creek Bridge.

Kerr, who has led efforts to protect the existing bridge on Bear Tavern Road, drew applause from the more than two dozen residents gathered at the bridge yesterday when she told Savage at his press conference: “I hope you continue to listen to the people,” Kerr said, adding that for two years since the county closed the bridge, she and other residents have felt Hughes hasn’t listened to them.

The Jacobs Creek Bridge site, which features a late 19th century iron bridge, is [thought to be] the site where Gen. George Washington led his troops across the creek en route to the Battle of Trenton in 1776.

Hughes and the county freeholder board are moving ahead with a bridge replacement and road realignment project that, opponents say, would cut into the historic vista. In May, the Jacobs Creek bridge site in Hopewell Township and the Petty’s Run archeological dig near the capital were named to Preservation New Jersey’s list of 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in New Jersey.

[It is estimated that George Washington crossed tens of thousands of creeks throughout the thirteen colonies and Canada during his tenure as General. Indeed, there is no definitive evidence that Washington crossed Jacobs Creek in the location of the modern Jacobs Creek Bridge on his way to the Battle of Trenton. ED]

“Due to a lack of leadership and indecision, the current county executive has kept the current bridge closed for almost two years, hurting local businesses and increasing traffic in neighborhoods along the detour route,” Savage said yesterday.

The county has proposed moving the bridge to a park and replacing it with a new structure, but some township residents and officials have said the township should take ownership of the bridge so it can be preserved and upgraded.

“The county purchased the right of way to accommodate the new bridge alignment in 1966, when Brian Hughes was 10 years old. In 2009 the state of New Jersey’s bridge inspection consultant gave the bridge the worst sufficiency rating in the entire County,” said Elizabeth Maher Muoio, the county’s Democratic chair, in an e-mail message. She added that there have been numerous public meetings and hearings held on this subject over the several decades.

Savage said the more than $700,000 spent for the design project could be spent on other structurally deficient bridges in the county.

Yesterday’s press conference at the bridge kicked off a Summer Leadership Tour that Savage, a former Ewing school board member, is planning. He will visit seven other places throughout the county that have yet to be determined.

Savage said he is running for county executive because he wants to work to create jobs and reduce county debt and taxes.

An unaffiliated voter in past years, Savage registered as a Republican this year. He has described himself as a fiscal conservative and a political centrist. He said he has heard residents say taxes are too high and jobs aren’t being created.

HOPEWELL VALLEY NEWS - 06/30/2011: Pennytown plan funding ordinance introduced

By John Tredrea

 

A proposed $250,000 bond ordinance — which would pay for planners, architects, lawyers, wastewater engineers and fiscal consultants — was introduced by the Hopewell Township Committee Monday night.

The funding, if OK’d, would allow these people to devise a formal proposal for a new village centered around the 25-acre Pennytown tract.

Voting in favor of the measure were Mayor Jim Burd and Committee members Vanessa Sandom and John Murphy. Deputy Mayor Michael Markulec and Committeewoman Kim Johnson were absent.

The township purchased the Pennytown tract two years ago. The purchase was paid for with affordable housing fees paid over the years by developers, not with tax revenues.

The proposed bond measure is scheduled for an adoption vote at the committee’s July 25 meeting. A public hearing will precede the adoption vote.

Talking with township officials Monday night were members of the committee-appointed Pennytown Task Force, which has proposed creating a new village on the Pennytown tract and two nearby tracts of land — 100 vacant acres owned by Kooltronic, across Route 654 from Pennytown, and the township-owned Else tract, about 70 acres in size and just south of the Kooltronic land. The Else tract also is vacant, having been a farm until the township bought it a number of years ago.

The task force believes a small, mixed-use village, about a half-mile wide, would be the best use of the three parcels of land. The village also could include retail outlets, small parks, a senior center and teen center.

The township already has adopted an ordinance designating the three tracts a redevelopment zone. Under state law, noted township bond counsel, Ed McManimon, and township administrator, Paul Pogorzelski, that gives the township much more flexibility in dealing with prospective developers of the land than the township would have otherwise. “There’s tremendous value in the place,” Mr. McManimon has said of the area proposed for the new village. He has confidently predicted that, if the township proceeded with a redevelopment plan for the village, it would recoup all the money it spent on consultants needed to get the project off the ground as well as significantly replenishing its affordable housing funds.

Noting that the township owns both Pennytown and the Esle tract, Mr. McManimon said: “The township has all the leverage because the property is in its possession.” He added that Kooltronic has indicated it is amenable to proceeding with the redevelopment plan. “Several developers have already expressed interest” in participating in the construction of the proposed village, Mr. Pogorzelski said recently.

If the township decides to move ahead with the venture, the “first shovel could go in the ground” by 2013, according to Mr. Pogorzelski.

HOPEWELL VALLEY NEWS - 06/30/2011: Murphy opts out, Sandom is back

By Ruth Luse

 

Following the recent announcement that Hopewell Township Committeeman John Murphy had decided not to seek re-election in November, the Hopewell Township Democratic Committee endorsed Vanessa Sandom, committeewoman and former mayor, to run in his place.

Had he chosen to remain on the ballot, Mr. Murphy would have been seeking his third term.

Explaining the reason for his decision, Mr. Murphy, in an e-mail message, said: “Despite my deep desire to seek another term and continue to serve the residents of Hopewell Township, the travel demands of my other job require me to withdraw my candidacy. It was a personally difficult decision to make, but you cannot run a successful campaign long distance.”

Mr. Murphy has served on the Township Committee since 2006, including two years as deputy mayor. He will serve out his current term, which expires at the end of 2011.

“Serving the residents of Hopewell Township has been an honor and a humbling experience,” said Mr. Murphy. “It is a special town with special people who care deeply about their community and have the talent and determination to preserve and enhance that which is best about Hopewell; our history, our natural resources and our sense of community. It was the works of other residents that inspired me to first run for the Township Committee and their enduring efforts while I have been in office have continued to inspire me.”

 Committeewoman Sandom — who had decided prior to the April primary election filing deadline not to seek re-election — has served on the Township Committee for nearly a decade, since September 2001. She now will run again — this time on the ticket with Allen Cannon, of Titusville.

“It’s been a great privilege and pleasure to have worked with John on the Township Committee for these past six years. I know how strong his dedication and commitment is to our community. We will all miss his vision and keen insights, and most importantly his terrific sense of humor, which have proven invaluable when working on the many difficult issues before us,” Ms. Sandom said last week.

“We wish John success in his career and are grateful for his inspired leadership as member of the committee over the last five and a half years, including as deputy mayor,” said Carol Kleis, chairwoman of the Hopewell Township Democratic Party.

TRENTON TIMES - 06/26/2011: Historic schoolhouse to be sold to save it

By Lisa Coryell

The Marshalls Corner School House at 95 Pennington-Hopewell Road in Hopewell Township. Now local officials are considering selling the historic site to a private buyer as the only way to save it.  Once the den of the local Lion's Club, the one-room structure went on to serve as the headquarters for the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association before being vacated and falling into disrepair. Now, local preservationists say selling the township-owned historic site to a private buyer is the only financially feasible way to save it from further dilapidation.

 

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — It’s been more than 80 years since the Marshalls Corner School House functioned as a learning hub for local students, but its value to the Hopewell Valley community has endured.

Once the den of the local Lion’s Club, the one-room structure went on to serve as the headquarters for the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association before being vacated and falling into disrepair.

Now, local preservationists say selling the township-owned historic site to a private buyer is the only financially feasible way to save it from further dilapidation.

“It’s a historic structure that represents the history of the township,” said Betsy Ackerman, co-chair of the township Historic Preservation Commission. “And it’s in really bad shape. We want to see this building saved, and right now the township doesn’t have the funds to do it.”

She said selling it to a private owner with funds to restore it would “bring it back to life and protect its purpose and integrity.”

With urging from the preservation commission, the township committee has taken the first step toward putting the building on the market. An ordinance introduced by the committee this month would authorize the sale by public bidding.

“That school house is very historic and very near and dear to everyone’s heart,” said Mayor Jim Burd. “But it’s fallen into great disrepair. It would be more beneficial to the building as well as the general area for it to be sold. Otherwise, we’ll have a completely dilapidated building because we don’t have the money to fix it.”

Under the terms of the proposal, the building would be sold with a deed restriction designed to preserve the historic character of the outside. The inside, which includes a large open area and a small foyer with a bathroom, could be renovated for home or office space, Ackerman said.

“It’s a very pure and simple form,” Ackerman said. “It wouldn’t take a lot of money to bring it back. It would make a wonderful law office or private library.”

Built in 1825, the building sits in a residential zone, but zoning variances could be sought, especially if someone were willing to protect its historic integrity, she said.

“The zoning board looks favorably on that type of commitment to restoration and it helps with the variance process,” she said.

Ackerman says the historic commission isn’t anxious for the township to let go of a piece of history but the alternatives are even worse. The building is now threatened by a leaking roof and a rotting foundation. It will come to worse if nothing is done, she said.

“We couldn’t even afford to mothball it at this point,” she said. “It’s with great reluctance that we came to the conclusion to sell but that’s where we are at this point.”

The township committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed sale next month.

 

 

TRENTON TIMES - 06/22/2011: Vanessa Sandom to replace John Murphy in Hopewell's general election race after his withdrawal

By Lisa Coryell

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP - Democratic Committeeman John Murphy announced yesterday that he is withdrawing from the general election race, citing the increasing demands of his job.

The Hopewell Township Democratic Committee has unanimously endorsed Vanessa Sandom to run in his place.

“John expressed his regret that the increasing time and travel demands of his job force him to withdraw from the coming election,” said Carol Kleis, chairwoman of the local Democrats. “We wish John success in his career and are grateful for his inspired leadership as member of the Committee and past deputy mayor.”

Sandom, who earlier this year announced she would not seek re-election to a fourth term, will join Democrat Allen Cannon on the November ticket.

“I had planned on taking a hiatus from local government but John’s withdrawal from the race would have left the Democrats without a seasoned voice on the committee,” Sandom said.

“I felt it was my duty to continue the good work the Democrats have done for the township and I look forward to working with Allen next year.”

Murphy has served on the township committee since 2006, including two years as deputy mayor. He will serve out his current term, which expires in December.