Letters to the Editor, Aug. 31, 2006

Double the tax!
To the editor:
   
Nicholas Tuz, in his recent letter to the editor ("Zap it to zero"), has it exactly wrong. Hopewell Township should be doubling its open space tax, not cutting it in half.
   The reason is simple economics. Every property purchased with tax proceeds is on property that will never be developed into tiny lots with McMansions stuffed with school-attending, tax-escalating children.
   A compelling case can even be made that it would be in the long-term best interests of today’s property-owning taxpayers if the township were to float a bond issue large enough to buy up the development rights to all remaining undeveloped land in the township and retire it from the tax rolls forever. (Unfeasible politically, I’m afraid.)
Philip Collins
Hopewell Township
Be extra cautious!
To the editor:
   
With the opening of Hopewell Valley schools on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, the Hopewell Township Police Department would like to take this opportunity to remind drivers to be extra cautious in the morning and afternoon children will be walking and bicycling along our roadways going to and from school.
   This year, with changes to some school bus routes and the elimination of others, it is especially important for motorists to be alert and to use caution. Children will be walking along roads in Brandon Farms, as well as other residential areas, where they previously did not walk. Caution must also be exercised at and around schools where we expect additional pedestrians, more bicyclists, and more cars.
   The Hopewell Township Police Department would like to offer the following suggestions to help keep all school children safe:
   — Always observe the 25-mph speed limit in school zones and residential areas.
   — Always stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
   — Be extra alert near schools and near bus stop locations.
   — Be extra cautious during adverse weather conditions.
   — Use caution near, and follow the directions of crossing guards.
   — Be alert for children near parked cars.
   — Always stop for school buses that are loading and unloading students.
   — Allow some additional time for your morning commute.
   The safety of our children is everyone’s responsibility.
George C. Meyer
Hopewell Township
chief of police
Consolidation would not

have significant impact
To the editor:
   
The Hopewell Township Committee’s claim that major property tax savings may be realized via consolidation of the three Hopewell Valley municipalities is not accurate. An examination of the three municipalities tax bills shows the approximate averages as follows: the county tax is 24 percent. The school tax is 57 percent. The fire district and open space tax is 4 percent and the municipal tax, 15 percent. The county tax would not be affected by consolidation; the schools are already regionalized; the open space and fire district tax would not be reduced; and that leaves only the 15 percent municipal tax.
   Consolidation of the three municipal governments into one would not save the individual homeowner significant dollars. For example, consolidation of the maintenance operations would not cut those expenses by two thirds. Most equipment and personnel would have to be retained, and it is unlikely that Hopewell Township’s maintenance facility would house all of the combined personnel and equipment. A larger staff would reduce the maintenance leaders to one, but require at least one more assistant supervisor. We might save minor money in the tax assessment function. Hopewell Township and Pennington presently share an assessor; Hopewell has its own. Little savings would be realized by combining office staff since a larger operation would require some staff be added to the township’s current staff, and Hopewell and Pennington have small staffs as it is.
   There may be some savings potential in combining police forces, but that would be better worked out via a shared services agreement between Pennington and Hopewell Township. However, Hopewell Township and Hopewell Borough already share police services, and there has been difficulty agreeing on allocation of cost.
   In addition, it must be recognized that services vary between the three communities. If Hopewell Township provided the same level of services that Pennington provides, its costs would be even higher. Unless Pennington residents are willing to settle for less, the potential for savings is further reduced.
   Each of the three communities presently elects its own officials, and each community’s electorate can impact municipal costs by voting appropriately at annual elections for municipal officials.
   The real problem in Hopewell Valley and in New Jersey is with the property tax itself. It is an inequitable tax. Two homeowners with significantly different incomes but with similar homes pay the same tax. Property ownership is no longer, if it ever was, reflective of one’s ability to to pay. New Jersey needs to follow the lead of most other states and shift more to the municipal, school and county tax burden from property to income.
   The Hopewell Township’s efforts to "think outside the box" requires a reality check.
Murray Peyton
Pennington Borough
Playing politics
To the editor:
   
I was quite surprised to see the Hopewell Valley school board playing politics with the safety of our children. I understand the tremendous financial pressure exerted by the cuts in state funding, the mandated contractual raises in salary, and the lack of discretionary income to cut. While canceling bus service might save some money and in some cases might be reasonable, I think doing so in the case of the Willow Creek development demonstrates a tremendous lack of concern for the safety of our children by the coard and puts our children in harm’s way.
   In the case of Willow Creek, children will be forced to walk over a mile to the Titus Mill Road intersection because the buses will not enter our development. The road in question, Willow Creek Drive, is nearly a mile long, very curvy, void of any homes and has no sidewalks. Because the road is rated 25 mph, the police have deemed it safe for kindergartners through 12th-graders to walk this stretch. This is not true. Willow Creek Drive is a rural road through a farm field and 25 mph is not a speed that is generally driven. Even if every driver obeyed the 25-mph speed limit, I am concerned about putting 20 children on the nearly one-mile trek along the shoulder of this road. Furthermore, there is no shelter at the busy Titus Mill Road intersection where the children will wait for the bus which also raises safety and comfort concerns.
   The real question is: how much is being saved by not sending the bus to the much safer intersection of Willow Creek Drive and Lake Baldwin drive? The savings, if any, are minimal and are they worth the safety of our children? We do not expect door-to-door service as stated in HVN. We would be happy to have our children walk the half-mile to the intersection of Willow Creek Drive and Lake Baldwin. It is a much safer walk and wait area, cars do drive 25 mph. There are houses along the road if an emergency arose, and the walk would do them good. When you add the nearly one mile trek to the 0.5 mile distance, it appears that the school board is trying to punish its citizens because we did not vote for the budget.
   Our children should not be used as pawns and their safety should not be compromised.
Kenneth G. Miller Sr.
Pennington
Art of cost-shifting
To the editor:
   
The recent letter from school board President Kim Newport is misleading. The board initiated bus cuts to keep equality, according to board newsletters and public discussions, never to save money.
   The "pennies" it will save may in fact, cost the taxpayers thousands. According to their own safety study, costly construction is needed to safely accommodate the additional traffic at Stony Brook Elementary School. This reconstruction and required additional crossing guards will cost us, the taxpayers, more in the end.
   The school board has perfected the art of cost-shifting. Cost-shifting in their case means that instead of the cost coming from the school budget they throw it to the municipality’s budget. You have already seen this with the Back Timberlane project ($200K) and with the letter to the township asking to take over the busing costs. Guess who will pay for the construction costs needed? And additional police time will be required to control traffic at new bus stop intersections. Taxpayers should revolt. With $57,000,000 in their coffers, is $100,000 too much to keep our children off dangerous streets without sidewalks.
   Futhermore, the police chief has misled the public in the Hopewell Valley News’ recent article. Cul-de-sac busing did not pick up kids "at home." My children walked the equivalent of two football fields to the bus stop last year. That was a pleasure. Now for 28 children in our neighborhood to walk for a mile in a street with blind curves is any parent’s nightmare.
   I am surprised that the chief of police, whose motto is to "serve and protect," would allow this dangerous situation for our young children. This is police work not at its finest.
Rhona Wulf
[email protected]
Titusville
Stony Brook hazards
To the editor:
   
The following has been e-mailed to Hopewell Valley school officials, Hopewell Township officials, the Hopewell Township Police Department, school board members and the HVN:
   
With the elimination of courtesy busing taking effect in one week, the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, what will be done to solve the hazardous traffic conditions this will create at Stony Brook Elementary School?
   State law may allow the Hopewell Valley Regional School District to eliminate courtesy busing for those living up to 2 miles from Stony Brook Elementary School, but the Stony Brook Elementary School itself, as it now stands, will not allow the safe accommodation of the 150 to 200 more cars that this busing elimination produces.
   At its May 15, 2006, meeting, as reported in the Hopewell Valley News, the school board was advised by Traffic Engineer Douglas Freundenrich of Shopshire Associates, hired by the school district to prepare a Traffic Impact Study, of recommendations to accommodate the 150 to 200 additional cars that will be present at Stony Brook due to the elimination of courtesy busing, wherein he stated, "Perhaps the school’s south parking lot could be connected to its north parking lot" to provide more curbside. The Executive Summary provided by Shropshire Associates, available through the superintendent’s office, regarding Stony Brook included:
   1. Upgrading the parking lots to accommodate an increase in vehicular activity during the PM peak period; and
   2. Modifying the southern parking lot driveway location to reduce vehicle conflicts with students crossing Stephenson Road.
   It is clear from the school district’s traffic engineer, Stony Brook Elementary School was not built to accommodate an extra 150 to 200 cars on top of the congestion already existing.
   None of the district’s consultant’s recommendations have been implemented and Sept. 7 is one week away. Beware of Stony Brook Elementary School at 3:30 p.m., especially on any rainy day!
   Who is responsible for correcting this hazard and when will this hazard be addressed by those responsible?
Liz Gambino
Hopewell Township