Town looks to save, reinvigorate heritage
By: Cara Latham
UPPER FREEHOLD Township officials say they need to soon determine which direction to take the township, especially when working on the Master Plan, so that its core agriculture and equine industries won’t fail.
The township Economic Development Committee an advisory board on April 19 gave a presentation to the Township Committee of what it determines to be the "strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats" (SWOT) facing Upper Freehold.
Tom Frascella, EDC vice chairman, told Township Committee members that business owners in any industry, including the equine industry, who want to relocate to the township need to know that what they’re doing is welcome, encouraged and supported.
"If what they get out of investigating us is these people have no idea where they’re going or what they want or what they’re doing, and it’s a confused mess, then that’s not likely a place that the group is going to say, ‘I want to invest my time and money here,’" he said.
The first place that people look is the Master Plan, and the township needs to establish "what we want to be when we grow up, and let everybody know," so that there is some certainty, Mr. Frascella said.
Mr. Frascella said that as the EDC analyzed the township, its Master Plan and talked to businesses and members of the public, it came to understand the township’s agricultural and equine roots, and that residents are proud of that.
EDC members want to maintain the township’s core character but want to find ways to make it profitable for farmers and other members of the two industries so that those types of businesses are able to flourish and stay in the township, he said.
"The analysis was part of the basis of how to get to a profitability picture," Mr. Frascella said. "When we look at the equine industry, because it is already here and it is successful … we find ourselves in a very good geographic position for that industry."
The goal is to figure out ways to make it better. There already is a "wonderful facility" in the Horse Park of New Jersey, but its viability could be increased by adding certain aspects, such as nearby lodging so that people who come from outside the area to see shows there won’t have to go all the way to Hightstown or Bordentown, he said.
In addition, they should look at including a stipulation in the Master Plan for hospitals for large animals (including horses), as the current uses in the plan only allow for hospitals for small animals.
Ultimately, the goal is "to really promote not just a core industry, because we really think it’s more than that, but a core culture," he said.
Some of the township’s strengths include its close proximity to Trenton; that major roadways pass through it or are located nearby; that there is a core county road system; its close proximity to both New York and Philadelphia; that there are airports, shipping railroads and major cities located nearby; that it’s located close to some of the state’s core pharmaceutical industries and near the corridor for other major companies; and that it brings a diversity of people with a variety of skills to the region, Mr. Frascella said.
Further, the township has a major equine industry, which can be built upon, it is a comfortable and safe town desirable to others who might want to move here, it’s close to colleges and it has many recreational facilities, he added.
"Those are just general pluses to the area, all of which we say is part of why this is a good place to be," he said. For people who are in the world of equine breeding or racing, looking to locate, he said, "this is a positive area to locate in. It offers a lot."
But there are some weaknesses, including a lack of sewer and water facilities, that there are some soil types located in the township that are not suitable for farming much and there is not a fully developed road system.
There also are outsiders’ perceptions of the township.
"We are concerned about the way we are perceived," Mr. Frascella said. "There has, it seems, been a decline in civility. There are always going to be differences in every community, but the way we present those differences, the way we work through toward whatever the solutions or compromises or resolution is, is perceived by not just the community but the larger area as well."
Further, "if we’re going to attract and promote whatever were attracting and promoting, we should present ourselves … in a positive way," he said. ‘We need to be mindful, all of us, that we do ourselves harm by reputation."
Opportunities that the township has for economic development include improving on the equine industry, and creating an identity for itself, working harder to promote historical sites and clustering activities near each other in the Master Plan. For example, a law office should go near another professional office rather than in the middle of farmland, in order to create more synergy Mr. Frascella said.
Still, there are threats to the township’s growth, including a delicate ecosystem, a limited wastewater system, high taxes, high land values (which could cause difficulty in selling properties), and decisions by the state that could harm township plans, he said.
Mr. Frascella said that if the township doesn’t find a direction soon, it might lose the chance to bring in ratables because those businesses might move elsewhere.
"We’re running out of time, we’re running out of room, we’re running out of opportunities," he said. "If we don’t decide where we’re going, we’ll get there without deciding."
Township Committeeman Bill Miscoski commended the study.
"It’s great. This is a lot of good information, a lot of thought has gone into this. But as far as dialogue goes, we’ve tried and it never works."
Township Committeeman David Reed said one of the problems the township has had with a lot of the commercial properties that lay near the towns they are bordering, where a lot of those residents resist the ideas.
For example, there was a lot of resistance from residents in Allentown, Washington, and even Upper Freehold, on the Breza Road tract when The Rockefeller Group wanted to build a warehouse there, Mr. Reed said Tuesday. On the other hand, Upper Freehold residents were resistant when Washington was building the Matrix business park, he added.
"There’s certain locations that are obviously going to make it more difficult (for a buyer or developer) to do what it has to do," he said.
Mayor Steve Fleischacker said, "Whatever things you think we don’t have our act together on as a township, let us know what those things are."
"A lot of this is great framework, but the specifics that we as a township, you think, as our advisers, what we should be doing as a governing body specifically, let us know," he said.
The EDC planned to present its SWOT analysis in fuller detail to the Planning Board on Tuesday, after the Messenger-Press deadline.

