Bordentown committee opposes 200-foot-high tower
Susan Van Dongen
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — Mayor Joseph Foster said the Township Committee will back resident opposition to the 200-foot public safety tower that Burlington County’s Department of Emergency Management wants to construct in the Groveville section of the township.
“We do embrace your concerns and we are moving on this,” Mayor Foster told a group of citizens from the anti-tower task force who spoke at Tuesday’s committee meeting.
“We agree with you and we’re taking positive action,” he said.
Asked by one citizen to “step up to the plate” to support them, the mayor said, “You’ve got Mark McGwire here.”
Officials said the county has, in fact, postponed the April 13 use variance hearing (the first step in getting the tower site approved) with the township’s zoning board.
“Their application will not be heard on April 13,” said Community Development Director Richard Smith. “The county is backing off.”
Mayor Foster said no new date had been set yet. However, citizens affected by the proposed tower would be informed by letter when the county resumes its application process.
“We’ll communicate with the citizens as things develop,” said Mayor Foster.
Craig Hutton, one of the spokespersons for the task force, said that the group had received immediate support from Assemblyman Joseph R. Malone (R-30) upon stating their concerns about the tower, but he wondered why the mayor hadn’t returned phone calls sooner.
Mayor Foster explained he had been out of state until Monday, and upon his return had been apprised of the situation by Township Administrator John Mason.
“Mr. Mason told me there had been some inquiries on this situation, and that the municipality had taken action to contact the county,” said Mayor Foster. “I can legitimately understand your concerns about having the tower placed in a residential area. My own question was why, since our police force is part of that public safety network, the county hadn’t considered our municipal complex as a site?”
Officials said they were going to talk to the county and see if the placement at the municipal complex might be a more viable option.
The mayor said Mr. Mason had spoken to the county’s representatives, whom he quoted as saying that if there was opposition, they would be more than willing to look at alternative sites.
Officials explained that the delay in communication from the committee also may have been due to the fact that the tower application process was a zoning board concern, and that the board and the committee are separate entities.
“We don’t control their actions,” said Mayor Foster.
The mayor admitted the committee had been in the dark about the county’s site selection for the proposed tower, as much as the affected community had been.
“The county and the state don’t always tell us what’s going on,” he said. As evidence, he pointed to the controversial plans for the expansion of the juvenile prison facilities, and the communication problems township officials had with the state.
Mr. Hutton said he and other members of the task force disseminated information about the county’s plans, and had gained the support of about 200 families.
“These are voting families who will state their public opposition to a 200-foot tower in our neighborhood that would dwarf our two-story homes,” said Mr. Hutton. “If we have that tower in our backyards, next time we vote, we’re going to take that into serious consideration.”
Township resident Bob Gutkowski, a Realtor, addressed the issue of property values should the tower be built in Groveville section.
“They will definitely go down,” said Mr. Gutkowski. “They can usually diminish in value 5 to 10 present, but could decline as much as twenty percent. People don’t even want to look at a house if they see a tower nearby.”
Jeff Mezzaros, another task force member, said that he had researched the county’s master plan concerning the tower network, and had discovered that the county had originally wanted the structure to be situated atop the water tower adjacent to the Derby Fire House on Route 528.
“This is what their engineer recommended,” said Mr. Mezzaros. “According to the master plan, this would be considerably cheaper than building a tower from the ground up.”
Mr. Mezzaros and the others wondered when and how the change in the proposed site happened.
“Why aren’t they following their own recommendations?” asked resident Chuck Sheppard, who is also a law enforcement officer.
“We’re on your side, and we’re moving as quickly as possible,” said Mayor Foster. “I feel confident that the tower won’t be (in your neighborhood); it will be placed at some other location where it won’t be a hindrance.”
Mr. Sheppard said the community understands how important communications are to police and other emergency personnel.
“We want the police to have the best, most up-to-date equipment,” he said.
One resident wanted to know if either the municipality or the county were hoping to build these towers to make money from commercial use in the future.
Officials said they could not speak for the county, but that this was not the township’s plan at all.
“Our primary concern would be for your safety and health,” said Deputy Mayor Garth Raymond.
Committeewoman Carol de Groot said she was gratified to see residents throw themselves into a cause.
“But I invite you to come out and hear what else is going on in the township,” said Ms. de Groot, and added that she hoped they wouldn’t disappear after their current issues were settled.
“Through a lot of collective effort we made our voices heard,” said Mr. Hutton. “Our advocacy led to the postponement of the county’s hearing with the zoning board, and it’s nice that the committee is joining us in support.
“However, this is going to continue. We don’t know what the county’s recommendations will be, but we vow to stay involved until an appropriate site in a commercially zoned area is approved. Our community is in it for the long haul. We’re going to see this through,” Mr. Hutton said.