MANALAPAN — A business that provides mental health services to clients of all ages will establish an office in Manalapan.
At its meeting on July 16, the Manalapan Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 7- 0 to grant a use variance to Stress Care of New Jersey. The use variance will permit the firm to establish offices in a building at 500 Park Ave., off Route 33.
Board members Larry Cooper, Barry Fisher, Eve Strauss, Stephen Leviton, Joanna Siminerio, Brett Rappaport and Chairman Butch Budai voted yes on a motion to grant the use variance following the conclusion of testimony on the application.
No one from the public commented on the application.
Stress Care of New Jersey will offer psychiatric evaluations, medication management, health education and successful life coaching through individual, family and group psychotherapy/counseling for clients of all ages, according to Alex Smuklavskiy, the executive director/CEO of the company.
The firm accepts commercial insurance, but does not accept Medicaid, Smuklavskiy said. He said some clients will be counseled in one-on-one sessions that last about 45 minutes, while others will meet in a group setting.
Some day programs will see clients receive services for three hours a day, three days a week, and other day programs will see clients receive services for six hours a day, five days a week.
Smuklavskiy said the five-day-a-week program typically lasts for one to two weeks for a group of 10 to 15 individuals.
According to conditions set forth by the board, no clients will be bused to the offices and Stress Care will not provide patients with transportation to the facility. No medication will be administered on site.
The applicant was represented by attorney Gerald Sonnenblick.
Engineer John Ploskonka previously testified that the building at 500 Park Ave. has been vacant since it was constructed 10 years ago. He said Stress Care of New Jersey plans to use the first floor as its offices and the second floor as storage space.
On July 16, Ploskonka said all necessary infrastructure exists at the site and all required approvals are in place for an office to operate.
He said the applicant will comply with a punch list of items that were identified by the township’s engineering firm, CME Associates, by repairing concrete and sprucing up the landscaping at the vacant building.
Stress Care’s offices will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Traffic engineer Scott Kennel, of Mc- Donough and Rea Associates, testified that the property has 75 parking spaces available. He said those spaces will be more than adequate for the proposed uses and the company’s clients and staff.
Kennel said there would not be a negative impact resulting from vehicles turning right onto Park Avenue from Route 33 or vehicles turning right onto Route 33 from Park Avenue.
In summation, Sonnenblick said, “This is a needed facility … it is a positive use and there is no negative impact. … It is one of the most positive applications I have had in Manalapan in many years.”
In response to a question from Siminerio, Smuklavskiy said clients who are at the offices for six hours will not leave the premises for lunch. He said lunch will be delivered to the building.
Zoning board members agreed the proposed use would be a benefit to the community, with Fisher telling Smuklavskiy, “I wish there was not a need for your service, but there is no question your service is a necessity. I see no harm to the zone” by granting the use variance.
The operators of Stress Care were initially denied municipal approval to operate as a permitted use in the Special Economic Development warehouse zone and were directed to seek a use variance from the zoning board.
The board’s approval of the use variance will permit the business to operate at its chosen location in Manalapan. The firm also operates a counseling center in Old Bridge and company representatives said that location will remain in operation after the office in Manalapan opens.