By John Tredrea, Special Writer
Pennington Borough has hired a consulting firm of engineers, planners, surveyors and landscape architects to study the redevelopment potential of the borough’s former pubic works site and landfill.
A Red Bank-based firm will do the study. Maser Consulting will be paid out of a $30,000 planning grant the borough received from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).
Under a resolution adopted by Borough Council Dec. 4, the amount to be paid Maser for the work cannot exceed $30,000.
The resolution states that the grant from the DVRPC is for a project entitled the “Route 31 Corridor Redevelopment Action Plan.”
The land that will be the focus of the study is a short distance east of Route 31, behind existing shops and offices and between West Delaware Avenue and Broemel Place.
It was a number years ago that the borough’s Department of Public Works moved its base from this land to a new public works facility, off North Main Street.
The landfill on the site was abandoned many years ago. Pennington Public Works now brings the trash it collects in the borough to a “transfer station” in Ewing. From there, it is transported to large landfills.
The Borough Council has, for some time, been considering the possibility of redeveloping the abandoned land for commercial use. If that happened, it would mean additional tax revenues and jobs.
The resolution notes that Maser was selected from a list of firms that responded to a Request for Proposals (RFPs) from a Grant Oversight Committee headed by Councilman Thomas Ogren. The committee ranked the proposals it received and decided Maser was the firm “best suited for the work.”
The resolution requires Maser to complete the job by next June 30.
Maser’s RFP says the firm will study “land use potential, transportation linkages and economic feasibility” issues that are relevant to the abandoned public works site and landfill.

