BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP: Township Committee ponders plans to expand

By David Kibly, Special Writer
   BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP— Plans for public and private expansion projects are in the works.
   The township aims to expand its Public Works center to an adjacent property, and an engineering group is advocating to increase the scope of the Team85 development project on Route 130 to include the “Agway site” for additional field space. Today, the Agway property features large grain elevators.
   The Team85 Fitness and Wellness sports facility is part of a more than 30-acre Team Campus project in Bordentown Township, which has been backed by former NFL player Kevin Johnson.
   St. Francis Medical Center is building an outpatient unit as part of the Team Campus project.
   Groundbreaking for the development of the area took place in March 2011.
   Now, Roberts Engineering Group of Trenton, on behalf of Team85, would like to see this project expanded into the Agway site, which technically is not owned by Agway, by “enlarging the indoor field and adding an outdoor field,” said Carmela Roberts at the Township Committee meeting July 23.
   These new plans are still in their preliminary stages and have not reached the Planning Board yet.
   Ms. Roberts, Dennis Lewis and Kevin Boyle proposed the plans to expand the Team85 site, owned by Mr. Johnson, and the group emphasized the lighting for the expansion and its parking lot will only light the site, stating it won’t bother nearby residences.
   ”We were also hoping that there could be a resolution or a motion,” Ms. Roberts said, “something that would indicate that the committee is in support of this expansion and the way we’re modifying the project.”
   The finished site would have two buildings at about the same height, one 34 to 37 feet high and the other 34 feet high. Their square footage would be 30,000 and 60,000 square feet, Mr. Lewis said. For these buildings, 210 parking spaces were provided in the plans.
   The committee had concerns about parking, recognizing there would be a 30 percent overflow, and they also had questions about pedestrian traffic.
   ”I predict that when you get to the Planning Board, there will be questions about pedestrian traffic,” Committeeman John Moynihan said.
   Committeeman Jim Cann made a motion to move the application for the expansion to the Planning Board, provided the committee’s parking and pedestrian traffic concerns are addressed.
   The committee seemed much more open about ideas to expand the Public Works center to a nearby 3.7-acre site on Crosswicks Road.
   Dean Buhrer, Public Works supervisor, said the township could make an extra $50,000 a year from the site if they use it the way he suggests.
   The aim is to create a yard where residents can discard televisions, electronics, construction materials, paint, oil, tires, trees and appliances. Plans to build an impound also were discussed.
   ”We can do a lot of recycling, which would provide services to the public,” Mr. Cann said.
   ”Most other towns our size have been doing this for so long,” Mr. Buhrer said. “We’re so far behind the eight ball, it’s ridiculous.”
   At the committee meeting, a new subcommittee was formed to forward the expansion project. Members of the new Public Works Expansion Subcommittee are Mr. Buhrer, Committeeman Moynihan, Committeeman Cann, Frank Nucera and Steve Benowitz. The purpose of the subcommittee is to determine if the project is feasible and profitable.