The park under construction along Essex Street is expected to open next month, according to this report in Sunday’s Star-Ledger.
Construction of the park started last fall. Though there’s no mention of it in the Ledger piece, it’s expected to be named after Myron R. Ross, a Rahway native killed while serving in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.
Contracts totaling nearly $75,000 for asbestos abatement and storage tank removal at the Bell Building, along with a change-order for the removal of a storage tank at the former Hamilton Laundry site were approved by City Council earlier this month. Contracts went to AWT Environmental Services, DIA General Construction of Clifton, and Warren-based Whitestone Associates.
A banner at the Hamilton Laundry site proclaims a spring 2010 timeline for a 1,000-seat amphitheater. A black box theater and performing arts space is planned for the Bell Building while the neighboring Shami Apartment are eyed for senior/artists’ housing.
The house adjacent to the Hamilton Laundry site was acquired by the Redevelopment Agency and scheduled to close in December, but Agency attorney Frank Regan reported that the owner has been unable to vacate tenants, which was one of the conditions of closing, and may need to proceed with eviction, but not until the end of this month.
City Council approved a tax appeal settlement Monday night with Carriage City Properties. Details on the settlement can be found in this earlier post.
During the Feb. 3 pre-meeting conference of City Council, Third Ward Councilman Jerry Scaturo raised the issue of Carriage City Properties leasing its unsold units. Sky View began marketing a lease-to-buy option, starting at $1,250 a month for one-bedroom units.
Pelissier said it’s not a concern from the standpoint of wanting to see people moving into the community. “It’s better than having…units sitting empty,” he said. If the units are occupied, the $10,000 fee owed to the Redevelopment Agency should be paid, said Pelissier, adding that the agency is seeking is a formal request from the developer to clarify the redevelopment agreement. Originally the developer, Elizabeth-based Silcon Group., was to pay the $10,000 fee upon closing of each unit.
Carriage City Plaza will pay almost $1 million annually in property taxes under a tax appeal settlement reached with the city.
The settlement, which is expected to gain City Council approval Monday night, calls for Carriage City to pay $350,000 in taxes for its partial assessment for 2008. In addition, it will pay $100,000 toward the approximately $350,000 that’s owed to the city as part of intersection improvements and signalization, among other things.
Starting with 2009, property taxes for the site will be about $978,000 at full assessment, City Administrator/Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier after Tuesday night’s conference council meeting. The total assessment for the property is about $59 million, with $2 million for the retail space, $6 million for the hotel and the remainder for the 220 residential units. By comparison, Pelissier said, Merck & Co.’s property is assessed at about $277 million.
The reduced assessments primarily came in the residential components of the project, Pelissier said, adding that once the retail portions are fully developed, those parts will see increased assessments. The original assessment was about $60 million, which would have generated $1.2 million in property tax revenue.
The park under construction on Essex Street will be named for Myron Ross, a Marine from Rahway who was killed in the Vietnam War.
Construction began in October and a dedication ceremony is expected later this year.
The City Council last month increased the bond ordinance for the park by $175,000, to $1.225 million, which includes $500,000 from a state Green Acres loan. City Administrator Peter Pelissier said the extra funds were the result of additional remediation needed at the site.
In 2002, the city dedicated Berzinec Park, which was named for William Berzinec, who also was killed in Vietnam. The site at Central and St. Georges avenues was home to the former public library until it was flooded by Tropical Storm Floyd in September 1999.
A public hearing on the municipal budget will be held during the City Council’s regular meeting next Monday night after which it’s expected to be approved [CORRECTION: A public hearing will be held but a vote will take place after notification from the state on the city’s request for $1 million in extraordinary aid, which could come by the end of the month].
The city’s net valuation is up about $30 million, which is only for nine months of the year, according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier, but a full-year assessment would be about $41 million next year. Last year’s valuation was up about $10 million, or 0.67 percent.
But it’s still not enough to avoid a tax increase. It’s unclear how much of a tax hike the $43-million budget for 2008/09 will carry but the city is awaiting word on a $1 million request to the state for “extraordinary aid.” Just about half the budget ($21.4 million) is allocated for salaries and wages for 344 city employees. Though the budget is down about 3 percent from last year’s $44.3 million, the amount to be raised through property taxes is up 7 percent, from $26 million to $27.8 million.
Although last year’s budget saw a mild drop in municipal taxes ($2,276) for the average assessed home ($133,000), it was the first time that sewer fees were separated from the local property tax bill. The annual sewer fee for a single-family home is $245 and it varies for other types of residences and businesses.
There have been 34 temporary certificates of occupancy (TCO) issued for units at Sky View at Carriage City Plaza, according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier. Elizabeth-based Silcon Construction, which built the hotel, has paid $649,000 in water connection and permit fees, Pelissier reported at last week’s City Council pre-conference meeting.
The city’s $44.3 million budget for 2007-08 is up $1.2 million from the previous year, almost 3 percent, while the tax levy is up 0.6 percent. In addition to splitting out sewer fees, the city collected more than $2 million in water and sewer connection fees from new development, the city’s taxable assessed value rose $10 million, and $1 million was returned as Rahway’s share of surplus from the sewer authority. The redevelopment plan “is starting to work now, and as projects come on line that $10 million will increase,” said City Administrator/Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier. A public hearing and final approval of the city budget is scheduled Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. in the Emergency Management Room at City Hall.
The City Council approved the creation of a sewer utility during a special meeting Thursday night.
Historically, the Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority bills the city, which acts as a conduit and lumps a town’s assessment into the municipal tax bill. Annual sewer fees for various properties would be as follows, under the new sewer utility:Single-family home, $245
Two-family home, $392
Three- or four-family home, $392 + $147 per unit
Condominium, $196
Nonprofit/Apartment/Government, $125 + $2.64 per 1,000 gallons
Commercial/industrial, $355 + $3.96 per 1,000 gallons
Industrial/Merck, $355 + $5.28 per 1,000 gallons
The annual sewer fee would not change for at least five years, said Pelissier, the city’s representative to the RVSA, adding that the only costs in creating a utility would be billing, which are expected to be about $50,000 a year. No new positions would be created. City Attorney Louis Rainone described the utility as merely an accounting mechanism.
Residential properties currently are charged for sewerage based on the value of their home, not on what’s being used. “A utility will make it more equitable,” said Dieter Lerch, the city’s auditor who presented the proposal to City Council last month. Residential properties currently cover about 62 percent of the city’s RVSA bill, according to officials, but are only responsible for 50 percent of the assessment, thus subsidizing commercial and light industrial properties.