By John Tredrea, Special Writer
Construction of a new $1.5 million Hopewell Valley senior center is expected to begin next year, Township Committeewoman Vanessa Sandom said Oct. 19 at a press conference tinged with political controversy.
At the press conference, Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes announced that the county would contribute $1.5 million in matching grant funds — $500,000 each for Hopewell Township and Hopewell and Pennington boroughs — to build the senior center.
The towns won’t have to put up any cash. Their match would be provided by the township’s putting up the land for the center to be built on. That land is the 25-acre Pennytown tract, which the township purchased several years ago.
Planning for a mixed-use village that would include the Pennytown tract and neighboring lands, including 100 acres owned by Kooltronic, has just won the township a planning award (see separate story).
Ms. Sandom said the center would probably be built in a way that would make it expandable, up to the size of a senior center worth $3 million.
She and Larry Mansier and Bill Farmer, members of the Hopewell Valley Senior Advisory Board, said raising more money for the center would be made much easier now that the project has the promise of $1.5 million in cash, plus the land upon which to build the center.
”This is a big event for Hopewell Valley,” Mr. Mansier said at the press conference. “We’ve been working toward this for six years. This is the legacy we aimed for, and we never thought of settling for anything less.”
”We’re happy about it,” Mr. Farmer added. “We’re glad it’s finally moving ahead. The grant from the county is a very big part of it.”
Representing Pennington Borough at the press conference were Mayor Anthony Persichilli and borough Councilman Weed Tucker. “We’ve always supported the senior center concept,” Mr. Persichilli said.
Hopewell Borough Mayor Paul Anzano was unable to attend the press conference.
He said Monday: “I’m confident that, with the funds and location now identified, the senior center project is no longer a hope but a reality. I would like to thank Brian Hughes, my colleagues in the township and Pennington and the principals at Kooltronic for their hard work and support of this project.”
Ms. Sandom, a Democrat running for re-election to the Township Committee, was the only township official at the press conference.
On Monday, township Mayor Jim Burd, a Republican, termed the press conference “a political event.”
He said no invitations to the conference had been received by himself, Deputy Mayor Michael Markulec or Committeewoman Kim Johnson — all Republicans. Nor had invitations been received, he said, by township Administrator Paul Pogorzelski or Senior Services Coordinator Abigail Waugh.
What was disclosed at the press conference “brought nothing new to the table,” Mayor Burd said. “This pledge (of $1.5 million from the county) had been previously presented to the Township Committee at a public meeting months ago by Ms. Johnson, liaison to the Senior Advisory Board. The county executive did not invite any township representatives who are actively involved in this project, to his press conference. I conclude that this must have been merely a political event.”
Ms. Sandom countered on Tuesday that the mayor is mistaken on several points.
She said the county offer was contingent on all three towns agreeing to participate. That agreement was not in place until shortly before the press conference, she noted. Nor had the county agreed to accept the land as the match from the three towns until shortly before the press conference, she concluded.
