WW officials allay concerns on redevelopment bond cost

Assurances that developers will ultimately pay for it

By Greg Forester Staff Writer
   WEST WINDSOR — Concerns over the cost of a bond issue to continue redevelopment planning were aired by the Township Council this week but officials said the $200,000 expense can eventually be recouped from developers.
   The assurances were given by Business Administrator Christopher Marion and Township Attorney Michael Herbert at Monday’s introduction of the redevelopment project’s second major bond ordinance, which is expected to be voted on by the council in December.
   A $400,000 bond issue for the project was enacted last year.
   The new ordinance covers the expenses of Township Planner John Madden and traffic consultant Gary Davies, Planning Board Attorney Gerald Muller, a real estate and financial consultant, and the possible hiring of a redevelopment attorney requested by some Township Council members.
   None of the money goes to architectural and planning firm RMJM Hillier, which received $330,000 from the earlier bond issue for its services and still has about $165,000 to cover additional work. The remaining $70,000 from the 2006 bond issue was set aside for Planning Board review of an eventual Hillier plan.
   But the new bond issue will help Hillier as well as the township, officials said, by enabling overall planning for the project to go forward.
   ”I see the additional bond as an additional step we have added to help Hillier get consensus on the redevelopment plan,” Mr. Marion said.
   Some redevelopment costs will not be able to be recouped by the township at the conclusion of planning, when developers come in to build in the 350-acre redevelopment zone.
   The costs of holding additional public Planning Board and Township Council meetings could not be recouped in moneys charged to developers, township officials said.
   Neither could the costs of videotaping additional meetings — like the Planning Board’s — that are not traditionally recorded for broadcast on the township cable channel 27.
   Like many residents, council members Monday expressed a desire for the meetings to be taped and broadcast, to reach a wider section of the community.
   ”Not videotaping the meetings is bothersome to all of us,” said Council President Will Anklowitz. “It has to be done.”
   Township Council members voiced cautious support for the bond Monday.
   ”I see it as money well-spent,” said Councilman George Borek, who noted that all of the council members were also West Windsor taxpayers.
   Mr. Anklowitz said he supported the bond, although he wished to see other proposals from outside planning entities, to ensure that the costs of the new planning proposals were fair.
   ”In the interest of keeping it open and keeping it going, I support this,” Mr. Anklowitz said.
   ”The key to this bond ordinance is that the money can ultimately be recouped through redevelopment, through the redeveloper,” Mr. Marion said.
   Officials said the redevelopment was a process similar to that undergone by applicants before the township’s Planning Board, during which applicants working with the township put money in escrow accounts, for the payment to the township at a later date.
   ”They can be assessed a portion or all of the costs, in a very similar way to how John gets paid through the escrow accounts of applicants currently,” said Mr. Herbert. “That’s the whole theory behind the redevelopment statutes.”
   The original $400,000 bond should be able to be recouped entirely, Mr. Herbert said earlier this week, along with a portion of the new $200,000 bond.
   ”That can all be reimbursed, based upon negotiations, and what developers are willing to give,” Mr. Herbert said.
   Administration officials also took the time Monday to point out the new measure had been carefully crafted, based on proposals and estimated work.
   ”This is not a blank check,” said Mr. Marion on Monday. “It includes estimates and breakdowns.”