Hazlet's new town hall gets ready for business Township employees expected to start moving in next week BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer From top to bottom: Officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the municipal building on April 30. In the days to come, Hazlet municipal employees will be preparing to begin working out of their new offices. The Township Committee and other boards will soon be holding public meetings in these new chambers. HAZLET - Dennis Pino never had an opportunity to get to know many fellow township employees, as the construction official was housed away from the majority of the others. "I've been down on Route 35 near Sports Authority, along with planning and zoning officials and people from the township health department," Pino said. "Much of the time it's been tough to communicate back and forth with the rest of the township employees. It's been a difficult process." Thankfully for Pino, those days have just about come to an end. After months of being told that the new municipal building would be ready, it all finally came to fruition April 30, as the township cut the ribbon on its new building, signifying the end of the waiting period and the beginning of employees working in the same facility. The building is expected to be ready for township employees to move in by May 14. PHOTOS BYSCOTT PILLING staff The construction of a new municipal building comes as the result of a March 2004 roof collapse at the old town hall on Middle Road, which caused the displacement of many staff members over the past three-plus years. The new dwelling is replete with an information center, tax offices and suites for many other departments. Most offices have work stations as well as newly purchased desks and chairs. The second floor has a meeting room that can hold approximately 250 people. It is anticipated that within the next week or two, this room will be ready for use. Since the roof collapse, the entire building had to be torn down, forcing many employees into the James J. Cullen Center while waiting for the new facility to be constructed. The following night, all of the goodwill from the ribbon-cutting ceremony was washed away at the Township Committee meeting, as those who were opposed to the project voiced their concerns. One resident questioned Mayor James DiNardo as to how much money the township put into the project and where the savings would actually show up. "This project was 10 months late in coming to the people. Also, the project was supposed to be 16,000 square feet, and it ended up being 20,000 square feet," said Joe Marques, who is also a Democratic candidate for Township Committee. "Both of these items mean that the cost went up, and so we ended up spending more. It was supposed to be a year-long project, but it ended up lasting for just about two years instead." After Marques' comments, DiNardo conceded that "the project was overdue by a lot." "Toward the end there were cosmetic and safety issues which prevented the township from taking control of the building," he explained. "We only received the [certificate of occupancy] on [April 27]." Committeeman Michael Sachs said that there was only so much that the township's leaders could do in this type of situation. "Certain things are just out of our control. We can try and force the issue as much as we want, but there's only so much that we can do," Sachs said. In years past, the Cullen Center was used as Hazlet's senior center. However, because township employees had to use the building, the seniors' activities were temporarily moved to the Hazlet Middle School. Because of the inconvenience the seniors faced, some felt they, rather than cheerleaders from the Hazlet Youth Athletic League, should have cut the ribbon on the long-awaited building. "The seniors are the ones who should have had the opportunity to open the doors and cut the ribbon on the new building," Committeewoman Bridget Antonucci said. "They're the ones who were affected the most." Antonucci commented that while the new building will be an asset to the town, it has been a source of strife every campaign recent season. The two-story building, located at 1766 Union Ave., on the grounds of Veterans Park, cost around $5.5 million to build, according to DiNardo. From the outset, DiNardo and many others were not thrilled with its price tag or location. Last week, the resentment over the situation was still evident. "From the start, there was a lack of planning as to the location," Marques said. "This location had such a public outcry and our voices were not heard - not once. And the cost was absurd as well." On the other hand, resident Rich Kohler was glad to see that the project was completed. "I'm pleased that political obstacles like Joe Marques were overcome," Kohler said. "We absolutely needed a new town hall and now we have it."