By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — Redevelopment was not the main course as Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh served up the annual State of the Township address Monday, a move the mayor said probably surprised many in the standing-room only crowd at the Municipal Building.
”Some of you in the audience are probably thinking to yourselves, ‘Hey, what happened? The mayor didn’t mention redevelopment once during his entire speech,’” Mayor Hsueh said.
Redevelopment certainly dominated last year’s speech, but in the 2008 version, the controversial issue only took up a few minutes’ worth of time toward the end of the address.
The reason: cautious optimism over a process that seems to be gaining momentum, through the renewed efforts of stakeholders that have sometimes been at odds in the past, according to Mayor Hsueh.
He cited a recent town meeting held by local landowner Steve Goldin that was attended by hundreds of residents, and his own teamwork with Township Council in working toward restoring state funding for the Vaughn Drive Connector road.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation recently removed a $19 million appropriation for the roadway — which Mayor Hsueh maintains is crucial to township redevelopment plans — from a draft 10-year capital program.
”The Township Council and I are working together to address the funding issue for the Vaughn Drive Connector, and a related resolution should be passed later tonight,” Mayor Hsueh said. The council later approved it, 4-0.
Major themes of the address were financial planning and efficiency, traffic improvements and bicycle and pedestrian safety, and excellence in the township’s departments and institutions.
Early in the address Mayor Hsueh spoke of the township receiving the highest bond rating possible by Standard & Poor’s — an AAA rating — which should save the township significant dollars in lower interest rates on debt issues. The mayor noted the township had already saved $115,000 on a recent bond issue.
Mayor Hsueh also cited advances in traffic safety improvements during the past year, including construction of a bicycle and pedestrian pathway along the Public Service Electric & Gas Co. right-of-way through the township, and the “Trolley Line Trail” name chosen for it in a naming contest.
”I personally liked the name ‘Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh Pathway’” he said, jokingly, “but most of the entries that submitted were much more creative and reflective of the history of the area.”
The mayor predicted further improvements, including a re-tuning of the timing of traffic lights on the Route 1 overpass at Alexander Road, and safety work on the infamous “S-curve” stretch of the roadway between Route 1 and the Delaware & Raritan Canal. He said the township had received $190,000 in grant moneys for the curve improvements.
He also cited national accreditation’s received by the township’s Police Department and Senior Center this year, saying that they reflected high standards and professionalism on the part of both institutions.
The Senior Center expansion project is moving forward, the mayor said, although he expressed some disappointment that the original project had to be cancelled and conducted in phases because of bids that came in consistently over budget.
”While we were disappointed that the original project design and related bids came in over budget, we are expecting that the first phase of the Senior Center expansion project will provide needed classrooms and program space,” said Mayor Hsueh. “This is a top priority.”
Following the speech, the mayor conducted a question and answer session in another section of the Municipal Building for over an hour.
