By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE While some residents are concerned with the tax impact of a proposed court and police facility with a possible $9.4 million price tag, township officials say the project will not be funded this year, and public forums will be held as they consider a design.
Representatives from the Trenton-based architectural firm, Clarke, Caton and Hintz, presented the Township Council with three designs for a proposed municipal court and police building at its Jan. 22 meeting. The facility would be located at the current municipal complex on Route 130.
All three options propose demolishing the current police station. Two of the designs also would demolish the existing municipal building while the other calls for renovating the structure and building a police department addition to it, said Project Manager Michael Hanrahan.
The first option, a two-story design, would have a “minimal footprint and maximum parking,” Mr. Hanrahan said. The estimated cost would be $9.3 million.
The second design, which includes renovating the existing building, would be the most costly at $9.4 million, he said. It would be a one-story building with a larger footprint, eliminating some of the parking in the first option.
The third proposed building would be similar to the Lawrence Township court and police facility, Mr. Hanrahan said. It would not have as much parking as the first option, he said, but would have the most effective internal layout and be the most cost-effective at an estimated $8.8 million price tag.
In August, the township entered into a $379,250 contract with Clarke, Caton and Hintz to design the municipal court and police facility. Residents at last week’s meeting questioned the amount of money spent on the project and the effect on their taxes going forward.
”Who’s going to pay for all of this? Our taxes are high as it is, and if there’s going to be a new (intermediate) school building, I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like,” said resident Joe Mollica. “I don’t think the Township Council and administration has fully vetted this. There needs to be more exploring before we start spending all this money.”
Township Administrator Mary Caffrey said the township’s contract with the architectural firm is in an amount not to exceed $379,250, and only about $50,000 to $70,000 has been spent to this point as part of the project’s first phase.
”This is like the chicken and the egg,” said Ms. Caffrey. “We can’t consider a question like this without hiring professionals to do the research and report back to us. When we get closer to a decision, we’ll have a public forum and discuss what it’ll cost the average taxpayer.”
And Township Engineer Jack West said the final design and approval process would take six to nine months, leaving construction to begin late in the year, which is “not a desirable time.” As a result, he said, the project would not be funded in this year’s budget.
Some residents said they felt the township should have gone to residents before beginning the process, and Councilwoman Sonja Walter said she believed that would have helped alleviate a sense of “disenfranchisement.”
”Part of the problem is that the public doesn’t feel part of the process, and that can be augmented by helping them understand what is going on and what are the steps you’re taking,” she said. “You read in the paper boom we need a new court and police facility. Maybe there’s been two years worth of lead-up, but the public has not been informed.”
Mr. Mollica also asked if the township had considered shared services instead of building a new facility. Ms. Caffrey said Robbinsville has shared services in “just about everything else,” but the Police Department determined it would be ineffective for cost and personnel reasons.
The existing municipal building has been vacant since a black mold and seemingly uncontrollable water seepage problem was discovered in October 2005. Since then, court facilities have been held in a trailer on the same grounds, and municipal offices were moved to 1 Washington Blvd. Ms. Caffrey said the township receives “rock-bottom” cost for rental space there and has no immediate plans to move the offices or build another facility.
Meanwhile, local officials have said the police station, a separate building next to the now-empty municipal building, was built to hold 15 employees and is now the workplace of 34.
Resident Betty Alfano spoke in favor of the new facility at last week’s meeting.
“That Police Department is so small. Just going in the front lobby, there are people stacked in there,” she said. “I’ve been in (the court), and it was so packed, I was almost scared. I realize people are paying high taxes, but we need to take care of our community.”
Mr. Hanrahan also discussed enhanced sustainability features for the facility the township could explore for additional costs, including geothermal wells, covered parking and rainwater harvesting.
