By Nick Norlen, Staff Writer
In the ongoing effort to resolve the disagreement over funding for subsidized parking at the Princeton Public Library, Princeton Borough is preparing a proposal to submit to the township that could potentially be approved by council as soon as Tuesday, Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman said Thursday.
The announcement follows the decision by the library’s board of trustees Tuesday to officially take the responsibility of advocating for the library’s interest in the parking situation off the plate of Library Director Leslie Burger — a move library officials said was made to emphasize their stance that the dispute must be settled by the two municipalities.
The parking subsidy that provided two hours of free parking for library patrons was canceled in February 2007 after the two towns failed to agree on a cost-sharing formula for the program. Afterward, library officials said the cancellation of the subsidy directly resulted in a decrease in library patronage. Since then, library board members and residents have called on municipal officials to forge a new agreement in order to re-implement the program.
Mayor Trotman — who acknowledged during the meeting that negotiating a new agreement is the municipalities’ responsibility — said a new township proposal sent to the borough recently was met with concerns by borough officials. Township officials then requested a counterproposal, she said.
Though she declined to comment on the specifics, Mayor Trotman said the plan is currently being drafted and could be ready to be presented to Borough Council as early as Tuesday’s closed session.
”We are trying to resolve this as quickly as possible,” she said.
Ms. Burger said Wednesday that she is optimistic about the progress.
”As long as they’re giving and taking and the conservation continues, I think we’re on the right track,” she said.
The move by the board to take the responsibility for advocating for a new program out of her hands “doesn’t really change anything,” she said.
”I think the agreement really needs to be between the two towns. I think they understand that now,” she said. “I would hope they would make a determination one way or another within the next few months and we can move on.”
During the meeting Tuesday, the board updated one of its goals for the year, stating that it will continue to “advocate for a permanent resolution to the subsidized parking issue.”
”We still need to be here advocating for the solution although they obviously know they need to come up with a solution,” said board member Bob Ginsberg.
