LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Nov. 15
Town-gown relations need to be addressed
To the editor:
On Nov. 9, Princeton Borough’s governing body approved on introduction by a 3-2 vote an ordinance to rezone the tax-exempt land in Princeton University’s Engineering Quadrangle (between Olden Street and Murray Place) so as to permit the university to develop 300,000 square feet there. The governing body did so without making any inquiry into the impact of the development on the community as a whole, including the tax impact on the borough generally.
The university, Murray Place neighbors, borough staff and Planning Board officials agreed to building standards designed to mitigate the traffic and environmental impact of the proposed development on Murray Place - and they deserve much credit for that hard work. But left unaddressed was the fiscal impact of the development on the larger Princeton community and that’s extremely unfortunate.
A development of 300,000 square feet (including and additional 100,000 square feet not previously authorized) necessarily presses the borough taxpayer into paying more for such municipal services as police, fire protection, engineering, etc. Nevertheless, in approving the ordinance on introduction (final hearing is scheduled for Dec. 13), the governing body did not require the university to address, or limit, the number of persons who will use the proposed development, nor did the governing body ask how the university will help defray the cost of such use.
Clearly, it is the borough taxpayer who will pick up the tab in providing services to persons in the university’ss new development
The situation calls attention to a yet more important issue: There is no meaningful negotiation between the university and the borough concerning the university’s contribution to the annual operating budget of the borough.
The late Mayor Joe O’Neill believed he had an agreement with the university to increase its contribution to the annual operating budget of the borough. He indicated that the agreement dealt with the fiscal impact on the borough of, among other things, the rezoning of the Engineering Quadrangle. Now Joe is gone. There exists no institutional body representing the borough to carry on whatever discussions he may have had with the university.
There should be such an institutional body.
Traditionally, borough/university relations have depended on the personal interaction of the mayor with particular university officials. Today, borough/university relations are too important to rely on such informal, non-transparent and individual personal relationships.
Mayor and council should create a municipal commission, comprised of members of the university and the larger borough community, to identify the issues that divide town and gown and to make recommendations concerning their resolution. The commission should become a permanent advisory group to deal with what clearly will be an ongoing issue between the university and the borough: Does the university pay its fair share of the impact of its development in the borough?
This issue arises time and again. On Nov. 9, the governing body introduced an ordinance of huge benefit to the university without answering, or even addressing, the question of fiscal fairness to the municipality. There should be an institutional body to do so on a continuing basis.
Roger Martindell
Member
Princeton Borough Council
Prospect Avenue
Princeton
Borough Democrats thank the voters
To the editor:
We are deeply grateful to those who supported us in the recent campaign. We will do our best to maintain your confidence in our work on behalf of all the residents of Princeton Borough.
Mildred T. Trotman
Witherspoon Street
David A. Goldfarb
Charlton Street
Princeton
Many earn thanks for successful campaign
To the editor:
Thank you, Princeton Township voters, for choosing Bernie Miller and me to represent you on Township Committee.
I am honored that you selected me to represent you. As in the campaign, I will continue to listen to you and to pay attention to all your interests.
Thanks, also, to all who shared your concerns with us as we walked door-to-door or came to the coffees so generously hosted by your neighbors. Thank you to the hosts and organizers of the coffees who made sure we heard from a wide spectrum of township residents with many viewpoints and thoughts to share. Thanks to everyone who phoned and sent e-mails to friends, promoting our candidacy and asking for support.
Our appreciation goes also to the get-out-the vote workers who walked and phoned tirelessly on Election Day.
Major thanks go to the organizers and hosts of the Oct. 16 reception, to our congressman, Rush Holt, for coming to the reception, and for the consistent help provided by him and his staff. His reminder that "all voters count" energized everyone.
Special thanks to the campaign committee members who brought their expertise and doggedness that buoyed us every day through the months of campaigning.
Finally, I couldn’t wouldn’t have embarked on this campaign without the complete commitment of my loving and beloved husband, Dick Bergman, who was also campaign manager for Bernie and me.
Victoria Bergman
Leabrook Lane
Princeton
Voters dissatisfied with clubby in-crowd
To the editor:
Now that our neighbors have spoken, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our opponents in the Princeton Township Committee race, Bernie Miller and Vicki Bergman. I wish for these good people all good things as they take their seats on the committee for the next three years.
I also heartily thank all our own supporters. Their dedication and passion have been enormously energizing. I have been honored to campaign for their concerns. And I also salute my running mate, Gordon Bryant, a good friend, good man and faithful citizen servant.
Analyzing the township’s voting results, the other races were 68-32 for the Democrats. In our race, it was 55-45. This occurred in a year where, in Princeton, the Republican gubernatorial candidate wasn’t exactly scintillating and the national Republicans to many seem positively sinister. Gordon Bryant and I thus moved the needle 13 points off the mean. For a town that is at least 3-to-1 Democratic, that’s huge. It is the largest Republican margin of difference between the committee race and the other races in over 10 years. What does this signify?
It means that 45 percent of our citizens, about twice the normal amount and nearly half our voting neighbors, are dissatisfied with our Township Committee. Over what?
The committee increasing our local taxes at rates three times the rate of inflation.
The committee cutting basic services while undertaking expensive pet projects.
The committee’s imperious tone, which inhibits many, intimidates some and puts off most. (Consider relocating your meetings to the more personable Community Room.)
The committee’s apparent disingenuousness, such as promising just two weeks ago to engage public discussion before cutting police, then just last week cutting police without public discussion.
The township administration’s passive "our hands are tied, there’s not much we can do" attitude, instead of a vigorous "we’re with the people, we’ll do what it takes" spirit.
The committee too much cutting ribbons and too little cutting expenses.
Nearly half the voters have now stated their desire for more openness, balance, transparency and efficiency on Township Committee. They want more fiscal responsibility and less burdensome taxation. They want more solidarity of the Township Committee with the citizens it represents.
Now let’s see how the cozy and clubby in-crowd that has retained its unilateral "grip" on Township Committee will respond.
Thomas H. Pyle
Balsam Lane
Princeton
Courageous citizens speak out for change
To the editor:
Tom Pyle and I were candidates for Princeton Township Committee in the Nov. 8 election. This election provided an opportunity to be heard for citizens concerned about our community’s future. Over 2,300 township residents sought positive change in Princeton government. Independent voters joined voters affiliated with both of the two major parties ignoring petty political labels in voting for change.
Courageous citizens, many of whom crossed political party lines, have spoken out for change. They wrote powerful and persuasive letters to the press. For those letters, Tom Pyle and I are grateful. Many volunteers walked door-to-door, in rain and in sunshine, speaking with voters, while other volunteers distributed campaign information. For these volunteers, we are grateful.
I am sorry to have let down these citizens and the many other citizens who deeply want positive change in Princeton Township government. I sincerely appreciate your support and encouragement during this campaign. Thanks to those who offered condolences afterwards.
We can and will bring positive change in the Princeton Township government. We have a powerful momentum for political change, a force rarely seen before in this township. Let’s work together to build a township government that respects its citizens and values their opinions, a township government that provides timely, easily-understood financial information, a township government that serves as a wise financial steward, a township government that never acts in imperious arrogance toward its citizens.
Gordon Bryant
Ettl Circle
Princeton
Vacation placed burden on parents and students
To the editor:
The following letter was sent to the Princeton Regional Board of Education:
We have concerns regarding the recent school vacation, Nov. 7-11. A more reasonable option may have been having the Thanksgiving week off. We sincerely hope the experiment with the second week in November’s vacation will not be replicated in the years to come.
The week served no purpose for the continuity of education. With all of the great minds in the school system, a better and more effective way to in-service our educators will be found, and not at the expense of students and their families.
Just when the rust developed during summer vacation has come off, our students lose their momentum with a week’s vacation, several half days and then the Thanksgiving break. How many of these children spent the week studying, going to museums and watching educational television programs? Many parents were unable to take vacation time, fall sports needed to practice and those of us who were in town saw no benefit to anyone except for those families who could take the time and afford to go on vacation. For some families, it was a hardship and children were left to entertain themselves. Our socioeconomic partisanship was clearly evident with this decision.
We look forward to the Board of Education changing the November calendar for 2006-2007 and placing less of a burden on parents and students.
Jeanine Hearne-Barsamian
Ernest Barsamian
Prospect Avenue
Princeton
High school newspaper endorses referendum
To the editor:
The following editorial appeared in the West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South student newspaper, The Pirate’s Eye:
Since the air-conditioning broke last year and High School South students were granted a week of half-days as a result, nothing has been so invigorating as to make us shout for joy until now. Say hello to High School South’s new pending referendum, which, if passed, will give future juniors less of a chance to be pummeled for taking a parking spot, rid the hallways of classrooms that take up so much room that walking to the next class is similar to an episode of "Survivor," and give study halls more room to breathe, enabling students to finally have blood circulate through their legs.
Why wouldn’t we want the opportunity to make High School South’s halls that much more beautiful? Nothing beats the original, but whoever said original had to mean cramped, stuffy and disheveled? Each year, the freshman class grows bigger and bigger, making the issue of space an increasing threat. The maximum capacity this building can hold is 1,610 students, and with our current student body at 1,604 and Principal Charles Rudnick predicting a student body of 1,650 to 1,700 students in coming years, High School South’s space problem is graver than a few cramped classrooms.
This, more than anything, is why High School South needs this referendum to be passed. This new plan will not only turn the auxiliary gym into four new classrooms, but it will also add a new gym, an auditorium, and renovate the arts and music area, all facets that High School South desperately needs to keep up with the needs students bring every year.
If the referendum is approved, we’ll still have the ratty old charm High School South is known for, but with a few perks. We will still be wall-less and the bubble will still be existent (but brand new), but our rear ends will be more comfortable in the new auditorium seats and we won’t risk getting a black eye from an elbow walking through the halls. This referendum will reshape the lives of students currently attending High School South and the lives of those to come.
The advantages of this referendum far outweigh the possible undiscovered disadvantages. Most of the student population is underage, but those who aren’t are urged to vote to pass this referendum. High School South has the potential to be even better than it already is and it starts with this referendum.
Kiran Samuel
Editorial Writer
Jackie Blumenfeld
Emily Laermer
Editors
The Pirate’s Eye
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South
West Windsor
Article on audit distorts the news
To the editor:
Why does The Packet continue to waste valuable resources trees, ink, etc. when it reports on the affairs of Montgomery Township? Do the editors of The Packet believe that if they distort the news of the township long enough and hard enough, they can make truths out of straight falsehoods?
The Packet’s reporting of the Nov. 8 meeting of the Board of Education involving the audit report of the school district finances could not have been any farther from the truth. Those who attended the meeting already know the truth.
The article published (The Packet, Nov. 11) does not reflect what actually took place at the Nov. 8 meeting. In fact, there is a request already in place before the New Jersey Department of Education to halt any approval of the audit report until thorough investigation of the school district finances is done by an independent third party.
Packet readers who want to get the truth about the workings of the school district and the Board of Education of Montgomery Township ought to read the blog, "A Day in the Life of Montgomery People," that I post daily. The posting about the 59th Challenge tells it all about what really went on in the meeting Nov. 8 about the audit report.
Mohamed H. Kilany
Spring Hill Road
Montgomery
Long wait for help from State Police
To the editor:
Last Friday afternoon, we were rear-ended on Route 295 South in Lawrence, just before the exit for Route 1. At 5:15 p.m., it was dark and the traffic trying to merge into the right-hand lane for exiting was heavy.
Fortunately, no one appeared to be injured. We sustained some damage to the rear bumper but were able to pull on to the shoulder. The other driver was not so fortunate. She came to a stop in the right lane with airbags deployed and unable easily to open either door of her car. With traffic speeding around both sides of her car, including onto the shoulder of the road, we were able to assist her out of her car.
We called 911 immediately and then again later, at which time we were told that the State Police, who had jurisdiction over the highway, had been diverted to another case. At 6:45 p.m., one hour and 30 minutes after the accident, the first and only State Police officer arrived, stating she had gotten the call about five minutes earlier.
We’d like to thank and commend the volunteer firefighter from Lawrence Road who stopped to assist us on his way to dinner with his family. He contacted his dispatcher and was able to get Lawrence Township Police Officer Lampley on the scene. She parked her vehicle with lights flashing behind the damaged car and set flares, thereby finally affording us some safety while alerting oncoming traffic to the accident. Since it was not her jurisdiction, she could do no more than stay with us until the State Police arrived. Thanks also to the state Department of Transportation employees who also stopped to help divert traffic and eventually get the disabled car off the road.
Thank goodness for Good Samaritans while we waited for the State Police.
Ann N. Laughlin
Madison Street
Princeton
Susan Anderson
Sharon Road
Washington Township

