377409314b36ea61f18afbb9ed62f5b9.jpg

ROBBINSVILLE: Mayor talks up economic growth in annual address

By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — Mayor Dave Fried touted recent economic development in the township and the new ratables coming to Route 130, Town Center and the warehouse park area in a speech to business leaders on Tuesday.
   In his annual State of Robbinsville Township speech to the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce at the Grainger distribution center off West Mayor Way, Mayor Fried described Robbinsville’s economic health as “extremely strong.”
   The township budget recently unveiled to the Township Council contains no increase in the municipal tax rate, and Robbinsville is looking forward to continuing economic growth and new ratables this year, Mayor Fried said.
   The new sewer line along Route 130 between the firehouse and Gordon Road is serving as a catalyst for development on Route 130, he said. The Township Council is moving forward with plans to select a redeveloper for the Town Center South project on Route 33 after recently holding a public hearing on the issue.
   In addition, Ritchie & Page is relocating to a new 150,000-square-foot facility office/warehouse distribution facility on the Matrix property off New Canton Way in the fall and a brand new 46,000-square foot state-of-the-art veterinarian hospital, NorthStar VETS, is opening on Robbinsville-Allentown Road near West Manor Way later this spring, Mayor Fried said. Sharbell also is opening two new retail/commercial buildings with condos above on the north side of Route 33.
   At the warehouse park, the San Mar clothing company will be moving into a 400,000-square-foot building this year and another “European company,” which he said he could not yet identify, also has shown interest in locating there.
   ”It’s a well-known name and will be a great addition to Robbinsville,” Mayor Fried said.
   There also are a number of improvements planned to township recreational facilities, Mayor Fried said. Residents can look forward to new playground equipment for both Pond Road Middle School and Tantum Park between fields T-3 and T-4 by this summer, he said. In addition, the parking lot between fields T-3 and T-4 will be paved and more parking will be added to the existing lot.
   At Community Park off West Manor Way, there will be a new two-story building constructed that will have a concession stand, bathrooms, a storage area and upstairs meeting rooms for use by all the athletic leagues, Mayor Fried said.
   Township Administrator Tim McGough said after the meeting that the township has approximately $750,000 on hand for the various recreation facility improvements that the mayor spoke about, including county recreational grants and money from the NJ Turnpike Authority, which purchased land from the township near the soccer fields that was needed for the highway widening project.
   Mayor Fried also announced to the business group that the township received a $1.2 million check from the NJ Turnpike Authority this week for the purchase of 2,300 trees for phase one of the reforestation of public lands that is required because of the highway widening.
   The township is going out to bid for the purchase of those first 2,300 trees, which will include flowering Japanese cherry blossom trees that will be planted around the lake in Town Center so that Robbinsville can one day have its own Cherry Blossom Festival, Mayor Fried said.
   Another 1,800 trees will be planted in phase two this fall, Mayor Fried said. The township will plant as many trees as possible on public land near areas impacted by the ongoing NJ Turnpike construction, he said. But this effort needs to be coordinated with the Turnpike Authority’s own reforestation plan for its properties near the highway, and that has not yet been finalized, he said.
   The mayor also touched on a number of road and infrastructure improvement projects planned for 2011. The township has a $250,000 state grant for improvements to Spring Garden Road and has an agreement with the county for the installation of a long-awaited traffic signal at the intersection of Robbinsville-Edinburg Road (Route 526), Pond Road, and Beechwood Drive.
   A “public-private partnership” also is planned to install sewer lines and connect homes on Buckley Lane and Robbinsville-Edinburgh Road that have failing septic systems, the mayor said. The roughly $1.6 million project would be paid for out of the sewer budget and enable the 50 or so homeowners with failing septic systems to repay the township for the cost over time, township officials said.