Engineer reports on project that will allow borough to receive drinking water from New Jersey American Water, a utility company.
By Francis Mahoney
The effort to correct the borough’s water problems is well under way.
Borough Engineer Dennis O’Neal, in his report to the Hopewell Borough Council at its Nov. 9 meeting, gave an update on the progress of the "interconnection" project for the borough’s water supply.
The project involves installing equipment that will allow the borough to receive drinking water from New Jersey American Water, a utility company.
Currently, the borough gets water from its three active wells. But due to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) standards on radionuclides, the borough needs to shut down two of the wells (Wells 2 and 5).
According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency Web site, radionuclides occur naturally in some water sources and give off radiation when they decay. Radionuclides can cause cancer through long-term exposure.
Mr. O’Neal said designs for the interconnection are 40 percent complete and could be finished within a month. He also explained that NJDEP has given the borough an extension on the May 2005 deadline it faces to come into compliance.
"We’re about where we’re supposed to be," he said. "I think we’ll be done ahead of time."
A bond ordinance providing funds for the interconnection project was introduced by the council later in the evening. The ordinance calls for a total of $325,000 in bonds or notes. A public hearing on the ordinance is planned for the council’s December meeting.
Councilman David Mackie reported that council is looking into a state program that provides low interest loans. The loans would help pay for the project and reimburse the borough for the bonds.
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In the continuing debate over Hopewell Borough’s proposed municipal complex, the council asked Chris Elden, of HACBM Architects in Princeton, to examine the possibility of "better utilizing the existing municipal building," Borough Hall, by adding on to it.
He presented his findings to the council and residents at the Nov. 9 meeting.
"The real purpose of this report," Mr. Elden said, "is to give the borough another tool" in the process of considering its options for resolving its space issues.
Stressing that the plan was "just a concept" and a "provisional survey," Mr. Elden detailed the ideas he had to add space to Borough Hall. He said that second floors could be built on the East and West wings of the building, above the existing fire department and emergency response garage bays. Also, without impinging on the parking lot behind the building, an addition on the rear also could be built.
While the Hopewell Fire Department stood to gain the most space from the proposed additions, the survey had been done without knowing exactly "what the fire department needs." Mr. Elden said he was "looking strictly at how much space could be added."
Also, "in this scenario," Mr. Elden said, "the library’s needs have not been addressed." The Hopewell Borough Public Library faces some of the same space and accessibility issues the municipal administration and the fire department face.
As it is Borough Hall has 10,500 square feet of space. With all of the additions, the building swells to 17,500 square feet. This gives the municipal administration 5,500 square feet of total space. The council did not indicate whether this would be enough to meet their needs.
The total cost for these additions would be $3.7 million. For the expansion of the municipal portion alone, the cost would be $1.5 million.
Councilman Sky Morehouse pointed out that the total cost of $3.7 million dollars is "actually higher" than building a new municipal complex.
At a meeting in June, the Borough Council heard a proposal for building a 10,000-square- foot municipal complex, which could cost as much as $2.6 million dollars. One of the reasons given for the new complex was the need to come into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A group of concerned borough residents, believing the building of the complex to be imminent, got together to seek alternatives to the plan and held a controversial meeting in September a meeting that nearly 100 residents attended.
In response to the issues brought up during the citizens group forum, the council decided to hold its Nov. 9 meeting in Hopewell Elementary’s cafeteria, an accessible location, rather than in Borough Hall its usual meeting place.
The meeting drew around 20 residents on the cold Tuesday evening.
"It’s a harsh night," said resident Jean Harrington, who uses a wheelchair and attended the meeting. "This was a real challenge for me to come out, but I thought I’d come to show we don’t need a new complex."
Ms. Harrington’s suggestion to the council, though, was to show the meetings on public access television. "We need a live broadcast. Until then, please tape every meeting."
At the meeting, the Council members Sky Morehouse, Alice Hustion and David Mackie sat with Mayor David Nettles behind a child-sized school lunch table. Residents who attended also sat on benches usually intended for use by elementary school children. A dented microphone was provided for the presenters, but council members did not have a microphone and at times were difficult to hear.
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Also at the meeting, a representative from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Becky Taylor, presented information about a intercommunity bike trail that the company is developing.
Called the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, a brochure handed out at the meeting describes it as a "20-mile biking and walking trail that runs through corporate campuses, parks, school grounds, historic villages, fields and woodlands and along existing streets."
The trail, proposed to be 10-foot wide in most places, will be made of pervious pavement.
Some of the major sponsors listed on the brochure include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Educational Testing Service (ETS), Hopewell Township, Mercer County, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association (SB-MWA) and the State of New Jersey.
The proposed trail will pass through portions of land of nearly all of the companies and organizations listed.
Bristol-Myers Squibb has three facilities in the area. "We thought," Ms. Taylor said, "wouldn’t it be cool to connect all three and make a trail so people could ride between them."
The provisional outline of the trail begins at the Lawrenceville School, heads north through a series of municipal parks including Rosedale Park and into Pennington Borough. The trail then moves up Pennington-Rocky Hill Road to connect with the SB-MWA area and pass on into Hopewell Township. Continuing through the campus of ETS, it passes through Bristol-Myers Squibb in Lawrenceville. The loop finishes down the Princeton Pike at the third Bristol-Myers Squibb facility.
Although Bristol-Myers Squibb and its partners have been working on the trail for a few years already, only about three miles of the trail have been completed.
"The average time to build a trail," Ms. Taylor said, "is 11 years." She sees the project carrying on until at least 2006.
Councilwoman Alice Huston thanked Ms. Taylor for coming and for her company’s efforts. She thought it was a great idea to provide a place for "families to recreate off the roads." Ms. Huston asked that an effort be made to connect the trail to Hopewell Borough.
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In other business, a sign ordinance amendment was introduced by the council. The amendment stipulates that a business "may display a single portable, sidewalk sign." A sign can only be placed directly in front of a business and "shall not obstruct pedestrian traffic." Also a sign cannot be more than 8 square feet on one side; it "shall not be illuminated;" and a sign cannot stay out past hours of operation. There will be a public hearing on the ordinance amendment at the council’s December meeting.
Borough Administrator Michele Hovan is looking for feedback about the community’s new Web site. She urged residents to "please log on" and take a look. The Web site’s address is www.hopewellboro-nj.us.
Ms. Hovan also reported to the council that on election day the borough’s voter turnout was 78 percent. "Our poll workers did a great job," she said. The council joined her in thanking them for their work.
Reports by the Director of Public Works and the Director of Water and Sewers were also heard by the council.