Where is the vision? Clearly not with the Borough Council in Freehold Borough. The recent council decision to permit a 7-Eleven at the old Exxon station on East Main Street shows their lack of vision for a better, more vibrant downtown Freehold.
The decision is bad for many reasons, least of which is that a 7-Eleven fails to fit within the “vision study” recently endorsed by the council.
It’s also bad because that intersection already has the worst traffic in town, causing backups and delays throughout the day because it is next to the first aid squad, which is already hampered by the heavy traffic at that intersection, because it is another “convenience” store to add to the myriad that already exist, making us the convenience store capital of New Jersey, because it’s the gateway to our town and do we really want a 7-Eleven to be what greets everyone?
Last but not least, Councilman George Schnurr met privately with the owners of this property in an effort to speed up the process, continuing the tradition of backroom politics in the borough.
This decision shows that the council’s vision for Freehold is an urban identity rather than the small-town, “homey” and historic ideal that people move here for, and why families remain here for generations. I fear that this decision for the 7-Eleven reverses the trend of the gains that the refurbished American Hotel, work by the Historic Preservation Commission, Freehold Center Partnership and newly formed Freehold Borough Arts Council have brought to Freehold, the same gains the “vision study” was intended to bring and is now being ignored.
The “vision plan” calls for the revitalization of Freehold Center in part by providing a range of local and regional retail needs. The idea is to add retail shops to Freehold, which will bring people here to shop and keep them here to dine, and vice versa, creating a true vibrant downtown, delivering ratables and generating jobs.
Councilman Schnurr’s reasoning for approving the 7-Eleven application was the alleged $1 million investment and creation of jobs. Is his vision for the future really that short-sighted? Any business that moves into that location will have to make a significant investment for the redevelopment of the space, and will bring jobs.
But what about the rest of the vacant space that will be much harder to fill now that it is clear to any prospective business owner that the council has no vision for the future of Freehold. All of that additional investment and job creation in Freehold could be lost, just like so many other opportunities this council has thrown away over the years.
Further, there seems to have been little thought given to the fact businesses that redevelop space in our downtown area are permitted a five-year tax abatement. Surely the 7-Eleven will take advantage of this incentive and the taxpayers may have to wait up to five years for the “benefit” of restoring this ratable to the tax rolls, while we watch the tax base suffer for the council’s decision to further urbanize the borough.
To councilmen Jaye Sims and John Newman, I congratulate you for having the courage and wisdom to vote no; unfortunately, the other council members do not share the wisdom and have sold Freehold short once again.
Mike Alagna
Freehold Borough