Present were:

Mayor Jim Phillips	Russell J. Azzarello, Director	Joseph Arena
Patrick Gillespie, President	Edward Testino, Councilman	Laheri Mehta
Peter Davis, Vice-president	Larry Redmond	Nick Smolney
Mark Proudman, Treasurer	Michael Spina	John Vincenti

 

 

 

 

Absent were:

Robin Rosen, Secretary	Raj Patel	Michael D'Agnes
Kevin Ruffler

 

 

The meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m.

Salute to the flag was followed by roll call.

Statement was made that the meeting was held in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meeting Act.

Mr. Gillespie announced to the Board that it has been our custom to reorganize in January but because of some outstanding issues pertaining to reorganization and the charge of responsibility that we were given by Mayor Phillips on January 1, 2004, spend the bulk of the meeting discussing the plan and the redevelopment project for the O&Y Property.

The current officers of the corporation will holdover their current offices until the reorganization meeting.

Mr. Gillespie asked the new members of the Board to say a little bit about themselves.

Mayor Phillips introduced himself to the members. He would like to get us to the point where we have a redevelopment plan and establish a redevelopment agency. Mr. Phillips stated he feels the Old Bridge Economic Development Corporation is one of the most important in town.

Nick Smolney, commissioner of the Old Bridge Municipal Utilities Authority, was introduced.

Laheri Mehta introduced himself and looks forward to working with the board.

Larry Redmond, former council representative, is now in attendance and serving as Chairman of the Planning Board.

A motion was made by Peter Davis, seconded by Larry Redmond and unanimously agreed upon for the approval of the December Treasurer's Report.

A motion was made by Mike Spina, seconded by Joseph Arena and unanimously agreed upon for the approval of the December 2003 bill list.

A motion was made by Peter Davis, seconded by Larry Redmond and unanimously agreed upon for the approval of the December 10, 2003 meeting summary.

Mr. Azzarello gave his Director's Report.

Mayor Phillips and Mr. Azzarello attended the opening of the 45,000 sq. ft. Bayshore Health and Fitness Center in Gateway Shopping Plaza.

Raritan Bay Medical Center will be hosting a luncheon on January 24, 2004 to discuss plans for 2004 and their 25th anniversary.

The hospital was approved by the Zoning Board for a $60 million expansion program, which will bring in about 90 new beds.

All has moved forward with their application for the purchase of the Routes 34 & 9 property owned by David Findel, Financial Resources.

Mr. Azzarello and Mr. Vincenti have met with Allcare and have give assurances to expedite the application because Mr. Findel has put a timeline on the sale.

There will be a meeting with the principals of Globespan Virata and township officials to discuss growth plans.

Mr. Azzarello stated that he has been asked by Mayor Phillips, along with Bill Ruggierio, to review the status of redevelopment requirements.

A motion was made by Joseph Arena, seconded by Laheri Mehta and unanimously agreed upon to accept the Executive Director's Report.

Dave Roberts, vice-president, Schoor DePalma and Anne Babineau, attorney, Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer were present to discuss redevelopment.

Mr. Roberts gave an overview of his expertise in redevelopment to the board.

Ms. Babineau gave an overview of her expertise on the redevelopment law and other projects she has been involved in. Ms. Babineau's background includes work with Dave Roberts and the American Planning Association on writing the new version of the redevelopment housing law. Ms. Babineau and Mr. Roberts teach a course sponsored by Rutgers and the DCA on redevelopment.

Mr. Dave Roberts described various maps and their delineations about the O&Y site.

Mr. Roberts stated that most of the work that had been done for the O&Y site by Schoor DePalma was for the county and did not include most of the O&Y property.

Mr. Roberts incorporated a tax map and CAD drawing (computer assisted drawing) and superimposed them to generate a base map. DEP overlays were imported to show the wetlands. Hydric soil maps from the DEP were also overlayed on the base map.

There are approximately six different types of wetlands. Wetlands are determined by hydric soils and hydric vegetation. The soils on the site are not good soils.

Through these maps Mr. Roberts can determine how much upland areas there might be on the site.

Mr. Roberts stated that upon placing the LOI (letter of interpretation) from DEP over the existing map, it appears the wetlands delineation is smaller than originally thought.

Mr. Roberts stated that there are a number of different areas on the site. Most are not as visible and therefore would lean towards a planned development. It appears that office space and senior residential with retail would fit well.

Mr. Azzarello stated that the MUA watershed on the site has been relocated thus creating a larger developable piece of land.

Mr. Roberts suggested that as we move forward an discussions are held with developers and their design teams, we make sure they have an elevated level of expertise in dealing with this type ecosystem. An Arborist should be consulted to maximize the benefit of the wetlands to be preserved and try to allow for natural separation for some of the uses.

The trees and the woodland areas add vistas that can be attractive to the marketing of the site.

Mr. Vincenti is working on getting the LOI maps for the Matzel piece (Legend's Golf).

Mr. Vincenti stated that he feels one of the things the Board needs to do as a group is establish permitted used and non permitted uses. Density issues also need to be discussed.

Mr. Roberts informed the board that we might want to incorporate the Revenue Allocation District Funding into the redevelopment plan for infrastructure, which became available in March 2003.

Mr. Roberts stated that the DEP and the state have become open-minded in terms of alternative detention basins to the extent where it can be designed to use the wetlands to our benefit.

Mr. Azzarello stated that in discussions with various developers not one of them felt that the Marlboro Road spine was suitable for the kind of commercial development we have been talking about. The commercial piece was envisioned at the Golf Course (Matzel property).

Mr. Davis stated that we currently have a 22% vacancy factor in Middlesex County on offices.

Mayor Phillips stated that we want to develop something that is aesthetically pleasing that produces some revenue and is good for the community. We need to find the grouping of uses that best compliment each other.

Mr. Roberts suggested we should try to get build-out on the site with the higher generating values (Class A), and if there is more site left over we can add light industrial development to the plan. The plan can always be amended and modified.

Ms. Babineau stated the board needs to make the decision as to whether there will be one master developer or several developers.

Ms. Babineau suggested that because there are general plans and very specific plans, we give Mr. Roberts some guidance on how much we want to control the process.

Ms. Babineau stated that general guidelines with plus or minuses on percentage and ranges should be included in the plan. When we go to market (RFP process) developers will come in and tell us what those ranges should be based on the professionals in the development community.

Ms. Babineau suggested that we insure we have a vehicle for picking up Matzel's property' perhaps considering a swap.

Mr. Gillespie appointed a subcommittee of Peter Davis, Chairman Joe Arena, Mike Spina and Robin Rosen to work with Dave Roberts as he moves to the second phase of his contract.

Mr. Roberts stated that originally the concept plan was for the purposes of showing the public what we were talking about. Now we are moving towards a general plan. He would like to prepare an actual land use plan determining where the uses should go.

A motion was made by Mike Spina, seconded by Mayor Phillips and unanimously agreed upon to authorize Dave Roberts to move forward on the next phase of work - to draft a redevelopment plan and land use plan, and also, if necessary, to consider amending his agreement to include the fiscal impact.

Mr. Testino suggested the name of the O&Y site to be changed to the Old Bridge Redevelopment Park.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.