Spot for Hazlet town hall
not a done deal to some

GOP officials question suitability of Union Ave. site

By elaine van develde

Staff Writer

It’s now the township of Hazlet’s property. But the fate of the 1736 Union Ave. Stracquatanio tract seems to be a looming uncertainty that has officials at odds with one another.

To ask Mayor Christopher Cullen or Deputy Mayor Stephen Peich is to hear that it’s definite that the property, which was taken by eminent domain proceedings in December, will be the site of the township’s long-awaited new municipal complex.

Cullen and Peich are part of the Township Committee’s 3-2 Democratic majority.

While no one disputes the pressing need of having a new municipal complex, other Township Committee members have other ideas about where that complex should go. Democratic Committee-man Michael Christopher, last year’s mayor, has said he would rather have seen the 2.39-acre piece of property preserved as open space. And when it comes to the only two Republicans on the committee, neither is committed to putting the municipal complex on the Stracquatanio site.

"As I understand it, the township has been the title holder of that property since Dec. 18," said GOP Commit-teeman Paul Coughlin. "But putting a town hall on that property is far from the done deal that the mayor and deputy mayor seem to think it is. The concept of it all is one thing, doing it is another. For anyone to imply that this is a done deal just tells me that they’re dreaming."

Coughlin pointed to the fact that there are several steps that have yet to be completed before knowing with any certainty that the complex can go on the property that sits nearly on the corner of Middle Road and Union Avenue.

He said studies and surveys that would deem the property suitable for such a building have yet to be initiated or done, such as: a site survey, including detailed architecturally scaled plans, environmental studies, traffic studies, and a polling of people residing in the immediate area.

"For instance, I live 150 yards from the property. My neighbors have voiced several concerns about traffic implications," said Coughlin. "People who live across the street from the property have also raised concerns. There are way too many unanswered questions. We don’t even know what it’s going to cost yet. People have made assumptions based on a basic square-footage charge. But, in good conscience, I cannot vote on something I have little to no information on, nor do I know what it will cost taxpayers."

GOP Committeeman Michael Sachs’ take on the issue has been that he’s not necessarily in favor of the Union Avenue/Middle Road location for the town hall, largely based on the findings of the 1998 engineer’s feasibility study that dubbed the site unsuitable for such a complex. Sachs is a former mayor who won re-election in November after a one-year absence from the governing body.

Cullen said the same firm, Schoor DePalma, Manalapan, is now giving a preliminary go-ahead to build a 21,000-square-foot facility on the site. "We went over what the issues were preventing the site from being feasible in 1998. The main issue was how to fit the building in within the constraints of the wetlands. I think they have it worked out now."

Sachs reiterated Christopher’s desire for the 2.39 acres to remain open space, saying, "I voted for an open space tax, and I wanted this property for open space because it is contiguous with the park (Veteran’s Park). Besides, in the 1998 study done by Schoor DePalma, it was shown that wetlands would have interfered with building the complex there. How could that have changed now? I’d like to see a report by the Department of Environmental Protection."

To Sachs’ question, "What happened to the open space desire?" question, Cullen said, Everybody "wanted it for open space in 1998 when the report said it couldn’t be used for the building. Things are different now. We have to move ahead with this."

Sachs and Coughlin are also concerned about proper procedure.

Sachs, who served through 2000 and was recently sworn in for a three year term in January, did not vote on the eminent domain issue in November, when Cullen says all were in favor of condemning the property for the expressed purpose of putting a municipal complex on the tract. Then-Deputy Mayor Rich Crismale voted along with committee members Steven Piech, Coughlin, Cullen, and Christopher.

With respect to Coughlin’s implication that he agreed to take the property through eminent domain in November, but not specifically to house the municipal complex, Cullen said, "You have to state why you intend to take a property when you vote on an ordinance, as a committee, to take it. I didn’t know that Mr. Coughlin was not in favor of that. I thought we all agreed in November."

Despite the fact that the property was condemned on Dec. 18, 2001 the matter was up for a vote at Tuesday’s workshop meeting. "It’s on the agenda as an ordinance for introduction," Sachs said. "How could that be, if the property has already been taken?"

The ordinance up for introduction specifies that "the township of Hazlet hereby ratifies and reaffirms its prior ordinances authorizing the acquisition of property by purpose or condemnation." It also specifies that "the township of Hazlet has determined that it would serve a public purpose for it to acquire said property for the construction of a municipal building for the township of Hazlet and/or for other municipal uses."

To that, Sachs said, "I have no answers, because I wasn’t serving in November when [another] vote was supposedly taken to condemn the property. Maybe the ordinance in November was to take the property for open space. I just don’t understand how we could condemn it for one purpose and change it after the fact."

The township has wanted the property for one reason or another, spanning more than 10 years.