By Sherry conohan
Staff Writer
SHREWSBURY — The borough is moving steadily along toward completion of the new municipal building, but may not be able to occupy it for some time.
In a good news, bad news report, Councilman Terel Cooperhouse, who has been the point person for the council on construction of the building, said the move into it could be delayed by a negative response — or lack of a timely one — from the State Historical Preservation Office to a request for a variance to install mobile phone antennas on the building’s tower.
Cooperhouse said that the Historical Preservation Office gave approval for the borough to erect a 100-foot tower for emergency communications equipment, but now that the council has lined up a mobile phone company to build the tower and lease space on it, the borough has to obtain the office’s approval again, he said.
Cooperhouse said the borough has to get the endorsement of the Historical Preservation Office because the municipal complex lies in a historic district.
The borough hasn’t heard back from that office since it amended the request, he said. "We desperately need to hear from SHPO," he said.
If the borough doesn’t get clearance for the tower, Cooperhouse said, the police communications equipment can’t be moved and neither can the borough’s other computer and information systems, which are all tied into it.
"If we hear from SHPO and it’s negative, it could take five to six weeks to get the tower in," he said. "At this point in time, we don’t have any options."
"It’s the same tower, the same height, that SHPO approved," he added.
The borough may be facing having a new municipal building ready to be occupied ahead of schedule, but not being able to use it, he said.
Mayor Emilia Siciliano suggested to Cooperhouse that he contact the person appointed by Gov. James E. McGreevey to be a liaison with municipalities to see if he can get that person to intervene with SHPO on behalf of the borough.
Cooperhouse said he would give SHPO until the end of this week to get back to the borough, and if he hasn’t heard from the office by then, he would contact the liaison.
On the positive side, Cooperhouse reported that installation of carpeting should be finished by the end of this week and that the state is scheduled to inspect the elevator on Dec. 26. If it passes inspection and the borough gets the certificate it needs, the delivery of furniture can begin. He said it would take two to three weeks to get all the furniture moved in.
When that’s done, he said, the contractor for the telephones will install them over two or three days.
Council members were undecided on which municipal building — the new one or the old one — would hold the annual reorganization meeting on Jan. 6.
Cooperhouse urged that the council not to plan to hold it in the new municipal building. After some discussion, it was suggested that it advertise the meeting as being at the "municipal complex" and put up signs on the doors of the two buildings directing those attending as to where one they should go to after the location is finally decided, closer to the date of the meeting.
The council approved the hiring of Lowy’s of Neptune as the moving company. Lowy’s submitted the lowest of three quotes obtained by Borough Administrator Constance Lauffer — $5,080. The other quotes were $5,115 from Applegate Moving and Storage of Manasquan, and $5,880 from Security Transfer and Storage of Farmingdale.
The council tentatively decided to make the entire municipal complex a no smoking area after the new building opens. That includes both the new municipal building and the old borough hall, which will become part of the Monmouth County Library System, the area outside the entrances to the buildings, the new plaza, the historical society building, the parking lots, the gazebo to be built as the borough’s 9/11 memorial, the gopher field and Manson Park.
Council members made a point of saying the ban would also apply at night when the planning and zoning boards meet and many waiting for their application to be heard stand outside and smoke, and on court days.
Borough Attorney Martin M. Barger was asked to draft an ordinance to effect such a blanket ban. The only question left unresolved — which Barger asked — was what about smoking inside one’s car in the parking lot.
"I will be happy if someone takes their cigarette and goes to their car," said Cooperhouse, who brought up the idea of widening the smoking ban.
Cooperhouse said he was proposing it as a health issue, but Lauffer said municipal employees who don’t smoke and stay at their desk all day are going to start getting annoyed about their smoking colleagues getting frequent cigarette breaks while nonsmokers don’t.