PENNINGTON: Firehouse expansion planning hits a snag

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
   Pennington Borough Council decided Jan. 7 to hold off on making a deed change, needed for a proposed expansion of the Pennington Firehouse, until a study of the development potential of an adjacent tract of borough-owned land is complete, Pennington Mayor Anthony Persichilli said Monday.
   The deadline for completion of the study is June 30.
   ”We’ll reconsider the matter when the study is done,” the mayor said.
   The Pennington Planning Board unanimously approved the expansion of the firehouse on Dec. 12. However, the proposed expansion, which would cost taxpayers nothing since the Pennington Fire Company (PFC) would pay for the expansion on its own, cannot be done until the deed change is made.
   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, which is adjacent to the firehouse property, to the east.
   The Red Bank-based firm, Maser Consulting, that will do the study, will be paid out of a $30,000 planning grant the borough received from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).
   Under a resolution passed unanimously 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.
   On Nov. 28, 2007, the new public works building opened and the department moved its base from the old landfill site to the new facility, off North Main Street. The landfill on the old site was abandoned many years ago.
   Pennington Public Works now takes the trash it collects in the borough to a “transfer station” in Ewing. From there, it is transported to large landfills.
   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 passed by council Dec. 4 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 that Maser was the firm “best suited for the work.”
   The resolution required Maser to complete the job by next June 30.
   Maser’s RFP states the firm will study “land use potential, transportation linkages and economic feasibility” issues that are relevant to the abandoned public works site and landfill.
   PFC officials have said the addition to the firehouse is needed to provide space for office work, training and other needs.