Setting the Agenda: Big to-do list for 2008

Roads, Community Center among main priorities

By Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
   The Township Council has a full plate in the coming year.
   Mayor Frank Gambatese says that several road improvement projects will be high priorities for him in 2008.
   These include the extension of Route 522, an additional jug handle where Route 522 meets Route 1 on the northbound side, and the widening of Route 1 to three lanes in several areas.
   ”The Route 522 deal needs to be completed in the next year. The township needs this to move forward,” Mayor Gambatese said.
   The township has been working for several years on the design and getting approvals for the Route 522 extension, which it hopes will help keep truck traffic off local roads. Route 522 connects Route 27 to Route 130. The expansion would bring it just west of the N.J. Turnpike overpass on Ridge Road, which is designated as Route 522 by the county east of Route 130. The project has been awaiting approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection because of wetlands.
   ”We are making good headway with the DEP,” Mayor Gambatese said.
   He also says that improving the community and senior centers, as well as keeping the municipal budget low and taxes stable will be high priorities moving forward.
   ”We have to make sure that we maintain our services, but that we also don’t price residents out of the township,” Mayor Gambatese said.
   Councilwoman Carol Barrett also cited the budget and tax stability as goals, as well as widening Route 1. Ms. Barrett also says that she hopes to get the township’s proposed South Brunswick Municipal Area Residential Transit shuttle bus system operational in 2008.
   Plans call for the SMART buses to pick up residents along four separate routes. Three of these routes would end at the Jersey Avenue train station in New Brunswick, with a fourth going to the Park and Ride near N.J. Turnpike Exit 8A.
   Ms. Barrett says she will also continue to fight the proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex County Rail Line. NJ transit has proposed the line and is currently considering three possible routes for it to travel.
   One possible route goes from Lakehurst to Red Bank, another goes from Lakehurst to Matawan, and a third travels from Lakehurst to South Brunswick though Freehold, Jamesburg, and Monroe.
   A recent NJ transit study showed that the third line would have the highest levels of ridership should it come through South Brunswick. However, the validity of this study has been questioned by local officials in South Brunswick, as well as Jamesburg and Monroe.
   ”We will have some goals this year, and some fights,” Ms. Barrett said.
   Councilman Joseph Camarota says improvements to the community center are also a goal for him.
   Mr. Camarota says that the project will include the creation of a full-sized gym in the center, as well as improvements to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. He says the project should go out to bid shortly, and he hopes it will be complete by October.
   Mr. Camarota says that he also hopes to strengthen relationships between the municipal government and local businesses.
   The councilman lists widening Route 1 as a roadwork goal, as well as adding a turning lane to the intersection of Beekman Road and Route 27.
   He also says he will work to keep the municipal budget and taxes stable.
   ”We need to make thoughtful and modest cuts where we can,” Mr. Camarota said.
   Councilman Charlie Carley also emphasized fiscal responsibility for 2008.
   ”Given the flat economic conditions, my big thing is keeping the municipal slice of the tax pie as small as possible,” Mr. Carley said. “I think folks can reasonably expect good news next year when it comes to municipal taxes.”
   Mr. Carley also listed revitalizing the community center as a priority, as well as preserving open space in South Brunswick. He says he and the council will continue to work with Middlesex County on obtaining the Van Dyke farm on Davidsons Mill Road for open-space preservation.
   ”The county as been a good partner on these issues,” Mr. Carley said. “I think we will be able to make a good swing at this property.”
   Councilman Chris Killmurray also set preserving the Van Dyke farm as a top priority in 2008, as well as renovations in the senior center.
   He also lists the widening of Route 1 as an important goal in the coming year.
   ”It is a bottleneck that everyone knows exists,” Mr. Killmurray said.
   Mr. Killmurray says he will continue to fight the MOM line coming through South Brunswick, and calls studies done showing the South Brunswick line having the most ridership “nonsense.”
   ”These studies have no credibility, and they defy common sense,” Mr. Killmurray said. “If you have a proposal that makes no sense, it can stay alive somehow. That is going to be a big goal of mine this year, to see common sense prevail.”