The Township Council needs to pass the rental inspection ordinance, fund the Human Intervention Trust Fund, make a decision on the Van Dyke Farm, decide what to do about the community center, and get serious about the Grange Building.
Here are five items we believe the Township Council needs to address in 2006:
1. Pass the rental inspection ordinance. Tenants at Deans Apartments have been complaining for most of 2005 about poor conditions at their rental complex, but the council has had few tools at its disposal to address their concerns or complaints that could arise at any time at any of the township’s other rental complexes.
That’s why we advocate a rental code that requires inspections of all units when there is a change of tenancy to ensure they are clean and inhabitable and that all appliances, windows and other amenities are in working order. The code also would give tenants a place to turn if they have complaints and allow the township to step in to investigate.
2. Fund the township’s Human Intervention Trust Fund, which is administered by the Department of Social Services, out of the township budget.
Local residents and businesses have been generous in the past donating about $25,000 per year for the fund. The money is used to pay rent, utilities and other bills, buy food and cover the kind of expenses that most of us take for granted.
But donor fatigue likely brought on by a series of national and international emergencies the 2004 tsunami, the autumn hurricanes, the earthquake in Pakistan have slowed donations to a trickle and only $10,000 has been raised so far this year. This is especially troubling in a year when heating and gas prices have increased.
Protecting the health and welfare of local residents should be the council’s first concern and Social Services should not need to go to the community, hat in hand, hoping to raise money from private residents.
3. Make a decision on the Van Dyke farm. The residents of what is called the East Village which includes the area in and around Davidsons Mill and Deans Rhode Hall roads are pushing the township to preserve the 220-acre farm. We think this is a good idea, given its size, location and historic character. We know it will be expensive (estimates have placed the price tag at between $25 and $30 million), but allowing houses or warehouses to be built on it can only worsen the already bad traffic situation on Davidsons Mill Road.
4. Make a decision on whether to renovate and expand or build a new community center. Either way, it is clear that the current building in Woodlot Park cannot provide the kind of recreational program the township requires.
The building opened in the mid-1970s, when the township had 15,000 residents. It has no air conditioning, an undersized indoor basketball court, just two classrooms and floors and walls that look every bit of the building’s 27 years. The township needs to bring the building into the 21st century, especially given that the demand for activities far outstrips what the Department of Recreation, the South Brunswick Family YMCA and the school district can offer.
The council has had some discussions about what to do next, but nothing has been decided. It’s time to make this a priority.
5. This brings us to the Grange Building in Dayton. The council needs to get serious about the historic building, which Pioneer Grange No. 1 is interested in selling. A sale assuming the price is right could makes sense for both sides. As we said, the community center is too small and there is a need for a recreational building east of Route 1, where most of the population growth has come in recent years. In addition, the Grange is a tangible piece of township history at the center of Dayton, a village that has made preserving its history a priority in recent years.

