Tag Archives: City Council

City Council

Asbestos, tank removal for Bell Building

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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.

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City Council, Rahway

Park to be named for native killed in Vietnam

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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.

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City Council

Budget hearing on Monday

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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.

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City Council

Flat fee for sewer bills; budget to be adopted

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The good news: Municipal taxes for the average Rahway home are going down $2 compared to last year, from $2,278 to $2,276. The bad news: sewer charges historically included in municipal taxes are not included in that figure for 2008. More good news: The average assessed home ($133,000) paid about $391 in taxes to cover sewer charges last year, but under a new sewer utility, will pay a flat $245 annual sewer fee, separate from property taxes.

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.

RVSA member communities Woodbridge and Clark both created a sewer utility to handle sewerage assessments and Kenilworth also is considering establishing a utility in the wake of rising RVSA assessments the last several years as a result of a $250-million upgrade to increase capacity at the Rahway plant. “Had RVSA not increased its rates, Pelissier said, the city probably wouldn’t be doing this. “It’s not a gimmick, it’s the cost of sewers,” he said, and the costs are staggering, whether included in the tax bill or not, and are borne by property taxpayers.

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City Council, Downtown, Rahway, Traffic

Irving-Fulton realignment

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Intersection improvements at Irving Street and East Milton Avenue are expected to begin next month, and wrap up by April, the same time the hotel is scheduled to open. Improvements will include the realignment of Irving and Fulton streets, as well as signalization. The winning bid came in at about $875,000, which the City Council on Monday night officially accepted from Rahway-based Berto Construction.

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