Planning Board members Doris Weisberg and Kim Taylor were elected to one-year terms as the board’s chairman and vice chairman, respectively, at the Planning Board’s annual reorganization meeting Monday
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Planning Board members Doris Weisberg and Kim Taylor were elected to one-year terms as the board’s chairman and vice chairman, respectively, at the Planning Board’s annual reorganization meeting Monday night.
Several newly re-appointed Planning Board members were sworn into office by Planning Board attorney Neil Yoskin.
Christopher Bobbitt and Terrence Leggett were sworn into office for four-year terms, and Township Councilmen Stephen Brame and Jim Kownacki and Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun were sworn in for one-year terms.
Mr. Kownacki, Mr. Krawczun, Ms. Taylor and Ms. Weisberg were also named to serve on the Planning Board’s screening committee, which reviews major applications before they are sent to the full board for action.
The Planning Board appointed Philip Caton to be its planning consultant and for Mr. Yoskin to be the board’s attorney. Eric Zwerling was named to be its noise consultant, who monitors the sound emissions of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. research facility.
James Kochenour was appointed as the Planning Board’s traffic consultant, and Edward Vernick was appointed as the special traffic consultant for applications which may present a conflict of interest for Mr. Kochenour.
Susan Snook was named as recording secretary and Municipal Engineer James Parvesse was appointed to be the Planning Board’s engineer and in-house secretary.
In other business, the Planning Board granted a request to amend a site plan application that had been previously approved for the Educational Testing Service at 660 Rosedale Road.
The board previously had approved an application to relocate an outdoor swimming pool next to the Chauncey Conference Center to make way for a new office building. The request Monday night was for an amendment to the earlier approval, which would allow the relocated swimming pool to be enclosed.
The amended plan that was approved Monday calls for a 6,630-square-foot building that will be attached to the conference center, which has rooms for visitors to the Educational Testing Service campus. The new building includes a swimming pool and a fitness center, plus locker rooms and two small offices for pool staff.
”It’s a very simple plan,” said architect Thomas Perrino.
The new building features triple-glazed windows, plus a skylight over top of the swimming pool to provide natural light, Mr. Perrino said. However, there is not enough roof area to accommodate solar energy panels, nor was the roof designed to hold the panels, he said.
Although the Planning Board was generally pleased with the application, it included a condition of approval that stipulates the swimming pool is for the use of guests at the Chauncey Conference Center. It may not be used by township residents.