Second public meeting adds energy conservation
By:Audrey Levine
A beginning plan was presented and the project took a step forward as the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute (NJSSI) unveiled prospective ideas for a Sustainable Hillsborough program at the initiative’s second public forum Tuesday.
About 50 residents gathered together to discuss decisions made at a previous forum in November, discussing the best goals and objectives to improve the community and adding their own perspectives on the issues of society, community and economy. In groups of about eight to 10 people, those in attendance reviewed the different goals and objectives, making changes and adding more ideas where they felt necessary.
"We want everyone to think about what they do everyday and where everything comes from," said Angela Clerico, project manager for Sustainable Hillsborough. "We want to know how these things impact your daily lives."
Sustainable Hillsborough is a program that looks at ways to improve the township for a better future for all residents. The program works in conjunction with the Stonybrook-Millstone Watershed Association and the NJSSI to develop goals and objectives for the community. In 2006, the project was given a $40,000 grant from the Municipal Land Use Center at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.
The NJSSI will take all the information gathered at the second forum and use it to develop a long-term plan for the initiative, which will be unveiled at a third forum. The date for the third forum has not yet been decided.
Also involved in making the changes will be the Township Committee-appointed Steering Committee, made up of township residents. The nine-member committee features agricultural representative Sam Conard, Frank Blandino from the Board of Education, Harold Skeele from the Hillsborough clergy, Saul Wendroff for economic development, Phil Ludvigsen from the Environmental Commission, local business representative Sue Clerico, Duke Farms representative Tim Taylor (or his designee), Planning Board member Frank Delcore and Committeeman Paul Drake. Wendy Michaelewsky and Jennifer Bryson were named as resident alternates in the committee.
"This Citizen Steering Committee will work with the grant partners and the township to incorporate the comments from tonight into our goals," said Jeff Perlman, zoning officer for Hillsborough. "They will draft a community plan."
According to Randy Solomon, director of the NJSSI, the purpose of the forum was to gather the opinions of the public as they continue to design a plan for the community.
"We want a long-term vision and action plan for this initiative," he said. "The emphasis is on this being an ongoing decision-making tool."
Mr. Solomon also stressed the importance of creating plans that can be carried out by residents and businesses through Hillsborough.
"We want to develop roles for individuals," he said. "And we want to see what businesses can do."
The forum began with a recap of all the information gathered at the first forum. According to Mr. Perlman, the goals previously decided on dealt with the improvement of community, quality of life, environment, mobility and economy.
One more goal was added, garnering a round of applause from the other four groups. Angela Clerico presented the idea for the goal of energy conservation, looking to preserve renewable resources, create sustainable buildings and improve facility infrastructure, among other objectives.
In breaking down the original goals, Mr. Perlman addressed several objectives for each, in addition to ways in which the community could measure improvements or setbacks. For community, he discussed the Town Center, community involvement and diversity among other factors, citing voter turnout, house prices and amount of visitors as ways to measure those objectives.
In quality of life, Mr. Perlman cited housing, medical availability and education as some of the objectives cited by residents in November, all of which could be measured by such indicators as student test scores and levels of violence in the community.
Environment dealt with protecting the wildlife and clean water; mobility looked at accessible transportation and maintenance of streets; and economy discussed local employment opportunities, sustainable businesses and diversity of retail.
As the different groups presented their thoughts on the objectives and goals, they seemed to focus a great deal on increasing cultural and performing arts opportunities; aiding tourism; preserving green space; and creating convenient transportation options for all ages, as well as other changes in wording and the addition of more objectives for the goals.
At the end of the forum, residents were invited to vote on the goals and objectives they felt were most important. Mr. Solomon said the Steering Committee and other officials will look at the votes and draw up a plan based on the opinions of the residents.
"We want to find out what’s important to you," he said to the assembled residents. "We want to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations."