The Manville Borough Council plans to get an appraisal on
the plot of land next to the library with the intention of using it for an age-restricted housing project.
By:Laura Pelner
Council President Stanley Jasiak was absent from the
Borough Council meeting Monday, though all other council members unanimously
passed the resolution to seek the appraisal.
They did so despite comments from residents who are
against the housing plan, which, according to the resolution, would put 60
condominium units on "block 104, lots 16 through 55" of the land.
Council members said that if it’s built, the housing
development would probably be three stories high and house only people 55
and older.
Representatives from the library board attended the
council meeting to ask the borough to reconsider the idea.
William Poch, who spoke on behalf of the board, said the
library would like to keep that land open so it could someday expand. Mr.
Poch said education is at the forefront for the borough and the library
helps that cause.
"We’ve become automated and our patrons have increased,"
he said. "Somewhere down the line, we may have to expand our facilities."
Mr. Poch said some portion of the tract should be retained
for the library or for the community center "the council has mentioned so
frequently this year" and many other residents agreed.
Anne Marie Kralovich told the council she thought the land
next the library was always intended for a community center. She asked where
else such a center could be put. "I don’t think the valley is a place to put
any center," she said.
Councilman Martin Wierzba said the council never planned
to put a center in the valley and Mayor Angelo Corradino said council
members would consult with the Recreation Committee and that in the meantime
borough residents could use the Veterans for Foreign Wars building if they
needed to.
Dr. Kralovich also asked how much of the plot next to the
library belonged to the Green Acres Program, which requires that some land
be left open in the borough. She was told only two small lots belonged to
the program and that they would probably be used as buffers between the
housing development and other buildings.
If these housing units are to be built next to the
library, the land would have to be rezoned first. Mayor Corradino said the
property, which is 60,000 to 70,000 square feet, would be rezoned before the
land is sold. "We’d change the zoning so everyone knows what they’re bidding
on," he said.
Changing the zoning might also increase the property
value, he added.
Borough resident Joe Utasi was upset the borough seems to
be postponing the community center.
"I’m very discouraged that you’re going to try and sell
this land," he said. "For 20 years we’ve tried to get a community center."
Councilman Wierzba said, though, that this housing
development may make the community center more feasible. "The purpose behind
this is to possibly get ratables and possibly get money for a center," he
said.
Mayor Corradino said the council would take all of these
concerns into consideration.
As the situation stands now, appraiser Frank J. Betts of
Plainfield proposed to determine the value of the land for $2,750 and the
borough accepted. After the appraisal is complete, the Borough Council will
decide the future of the parcel.