By STEVEN VIERA
Staff Writer
RED BANK — The borough now stands in solidarity with neighboring municipalities opposing a proposal by Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) to construct a 10-mile stretch of power lines in the area.
After a unanimous vote at its meeting on July 27, the Borough Council adopted a resolution declaring its objection to JCP&L’s Monmouth County Reliability Project, which proposes linking an electrical substation in Aberdeen to another in Red Bank via a span of large power lines.
In addition, on July 26, Red Bank’s Environmental Commission met with representatives of Residents Against Giant Electric (RAGE) and the Sierra Club before passing a resolution of its own opposing JCP&L’s proposal.
The Reliability Project would see the construction of utility towers — which may reach 210 feet in height — along the railroad tracks to facilitate a 230-kV transmission line from Aberdeen to Red Bank.
While JCP&L states the project will improve service and satisfy increased electrical demand, municipalities like Middletown have come out against it. Community members have also reorganized RAGE, which first formed in the 1980s when JCP&L attempted a similar project, to give concerned citizens a vehicle to oppose the initiative.
“I’m very happy,” said Chrissy Maiorana, a member of RAGE, in response to the resolution. “It’s one of the last pieces of the puzzle in terms of local leaders supporting us.”
The resolution cited potential health impacts on residents, adverse effects on property values and other factors as concerns, and it requested JCP&L “offer alternative designs” that would address those issues.
“People think that Red Bank is not involved — we are involved, and we’re involved because we have about 100 single-family homeowners in that immediate area,” Mayor Pasquale Menna said.
Menna first proposed the resolution at a council meeting on June 22, but it was tabled so that members could learn more about the Reliability Project before voting.
“This is our gateway to Red Bank; the last thing we want to see are these artificial Christmas trees up in the air, 250 feet up,” he said.
JCP&L does not need the borough’s approval for the Reliability Project. Instead, it must file an application with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), so Red Bank’s resolution may have little effect on the final approval or rejection of the project by state officials.
Despite their lack of jurisdiction, however, members of the council are happy with their course of action.
“I think we did the right thing,” Councilwoman Kathy Horgan said.