Tag Archives: Parking Authority

City Council, tax appeals

Almost $1 million in PILOTs in 2012 budget

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The $49-million municipal budget anticipates almost $1 million of revenue from various PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) agreements, including the first from one of the Park Square properties.

The total $961,000 in PILOT revenue is up from the $783,000 in the 2011 budget and breaks down as follows:

* Lower Essex St – Denholz Management (Rahway Plaza Apartments) – $366,000
* Landmark – $150,000
* Parking Authority (River Place) — $170,000
* Rosegate — $25,000
* Senior citizen housing — $250,000

Landmark, which broke ground on the Irving Street side of Park Square (2 Park Square) in 2006, appealed its assessment in Tax Court, getting it reduced from $6.05 million to $4.077 million.
The Main Street side (1 Park Square) is assessed at $8.965 million.

The PILOT agreement had the developer paying taxes on the assessed value of the parcels as they previously existed. Landmark will begin paying 20 percent of its assessment this year, which will rise 20 percent each year until it reaches 100 percent (which would be 2016).

River Place was constructed on property owned by the Parking Authority, which receives an annual payment from the development’s owner and splits it roughly in half with the city.

The city budget also anticipates $660,000 in revenue from red light camera fines. About $1 million was realized in the Transitional Year budget, which covered the six months of July-December 2011.

The amount to be raised by taxes in the budget is $33.455 million. The proposed municipal tax rate for 2012 is 2.287 (per $100 of assessed value), so the average assessed home ($133,000) would see municipal taxes of $3,042, compared with $3,046 estimated last year. (Remember, municipal taxes make up only a portion of your overall property tax bill; the others being schools and county). Presented to City Council by the administration in February, the municipal budget will be up for a public hearing and vote at the March 12 meeting.

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City Council

Interim parking coming soon to Lot B

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The City Council tonight awarded a $30,000 contract for the construction of an interim parking lot on Main Street, which should be completed within several weeks.

Matawan-based Esposito Construction was awarded the contract in the amount of $29,652.95. Funds for the interim lot were included within a $200,000 bond ordinance also approved tonight that also will fund demolition of 65 E. Cherry St. and installation of a fence around The Savoy site at Main and Monroe streets. Mounds of asphalt millings have been staged at the site for the resurfacing, which must be completed in time for next month’s Hot Rods & Harleys event, according to Redevelopment Director and City Administrator Peter Pelissier.

The interim lot is expected to add about 100 spaces to the existing 65, which the Parking Authority will lease from Dornoch Holdings — the developer which originally proposed to build The Westbury — for $1 annually in exchange for property taxes on the site being waived. The idea for an interim lot was proposed in fall 2009 when it became clear the mixed-used development wasn’t coming online anytime soon. [Link in italics added 4/16]

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An advisory issued last week by NJ Transit indicated that construction of the center stairs at the train station — which have been closed for a year — is expected to begin in “mid-April.”

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City Council

Parking prohibitions proposed on Pierpont

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A public hearing and final approval of an ordinance that would restrict parking along Pierpont Street will be held during the City Council’s regular meeting on Monday.

The ordinance would allow parking by permit only on Pierpont Street, from West Milton to Maple avenues, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The measure was introduced by the governing body at its Nov. 8 regular meeting.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said complaints were received about commuters parking along much Pierpont Street, making it difficult for residents to find parking for their own cars and visitors. Residents were surveyed and only one negative response was received, according to city officials. Residents would get a Parking Authority sticker to place on their cars.

Fifth Ward Councilwoman Jennifer Wenson-Maier said similar restrictions were put in place at Maple Avenue and Pierpont and it’s reasonable to restrict parking at Pierpont and West Milton Avenue. She cited a group home on West Milton and Pierpont which has a lot of staff as well as on-street parking by visiting trucks, and motorists parking close to the corner. “It’s definitely an overparked street. A lot of residents don’t have their own parking,” she said.

Wenson-Maier lives on nearby Bryant Street where parking also was restricted in recent years. “It took some getting used to but it was heavily overparked and it’s better for a majority of the block. It’s a little bit of a hassle but it’s provided some more parking,” she said.

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Uncategorized

Lot B parking project coming soon

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A story in The Star-Ledger/nj.com earlier this month included a couple of tidbits about two downtown projects:

* The plan to add about 100 parking spaces to the existing 65 at Lot B could break ground this month and be ready by October. Dornoch at one point had planned to build The Westbury, a mixed-use, 152-unit residential structure with accompanying parking deck.

While that project is on hold, the Rahway Parking Authority will lease the lot from Dornoch for $1 a year in exchange for property taxes being waived, according to interim RPA director Leonard Bier. The lease is for two years, with an option for a third, but could remain for as long as five years, according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier.

Dornoch bought up several Main Street parcels about four years ago that now make up the site. Collectively, the property taxes on the sites were about $25,000 — when occupied by buildings — according to records at PropertyShark.com. Taxes are likely to be considerably lower because the structures have since been demolished.

Pelissier said there is demand for parking and if the Parking Authority can lease each of the 100 spaces at $65 per month, it would more than make up for the property taxes that the city would split with the county and school district. (At $65 per month, 100 spaces would generate $78,000 annually). The Parking Authority sometimes sends money back to the city at the end of the year, he added, in some cases as much as $75,000.

* Glen Fishman of Dornoch said financing is still tough to come by but even if construction financing could be secured for The Savoy, “it would take three to six months before we remobilize.” A July 2009 Ledger story quoted Fishman saying work should begin on The Savoy within a month.

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Apartments, Downtown

Dirt makes way for more parking near Lot B

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Temporary sidewalks have been constructed along The Savoy site in recent weeks. The site has stockpiled some of the dirt from across the street adjacent to Lot B where additional surface parking is planned this summer.

Continue reading Dirt makes way for more parking near Lot B →

Arts District, City Council, Downtown

Arts District board to take over SID management

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The City Council will vote next month to shift management of the downtown Special Improvement District (SID) to the Rahway Arts District, a precursor to a revamped Rahway Center Partnership. The ordinance, introduced at the council’s Feb. 8 regular meeting, also would expand the SID to include the Arts District, namely the Hamilton Street arts projects.

The arts district would receive and oversee the funds collected through the SID’s special assessment. The SID, created by the city in 1993, generates about $140,000 annually from 165 commercial properties in the downtown area. Commercial property owners today pay roughly an additional 7 percent to the SID, beyond regular property taxes, according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier. For example, a commercial property owner paying about $10,000 annually in property taxes would pay another $700 to the SID.

SIDs were created in New Jersey in the mid-1980s as financing tools by local businesses to provide services as part of a revitalization downtown plan. Commercial property owners “organize and assess themselves in order to pay for the services that are needed.” Cities have used it for things like security, sanitation, graffiti removal, facade/streetscape improvements, marketing and special events.

The future of the Partnership itself is up in the air, with an almost certain transformation in the coming months. Among the options that will be examined, according to Pelissier, is consolidating the Partnership with the Parking Authority. The city will compare the operational costs of both entities and see what’s necessary. The Partnership, he added, could still host its major fundraisers and special events, such as Hot Rods and Harleys, The Taste and a wine tasting event.

SID money would provide funding for programming at the proposed Hamilton Street amphitheater and black box theater, and in general, could be used to “develop activities and programs to encourage the long-term success of the arts community in the Rahway Arts District,” according to the ordinance. The arts district board is made up of downtown stakeholders, including city officials, artists, restaurant owners and a developer, Pelissier said.

The ordinance will come up for a public hearing and final adoption at the March 8 City Council meeting.

*** FULL DISCLOSURE *** I was appointed last month to a three-year term as an “honorary member” of the Rahway Arts District Board of Trustees. Honorary members do not vote and do not have the same obligations as other board members; all are unpaid. I expect to attend meetings whenever possible as a means to inform the community, as my blog has always aimed to do.

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City Council

New commissioner for Redevelopment Agency

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The City Council approved the mayor’s appointment of a new commissioner to the Redevelopment Agency during its meeting earlier this month.

Matt Dobrowloski will fill the seat vacated by Carlos Garay, who announced at the December Redevelopment Agency meeting that he’d be concluding his term as commissioner, citing personal reasons. A local Realtor, Dobrowloski is chairman of The Taste of Spring and resigned his seat from the Parking Authority, where he was replaced by Armondo Sanchez. City Council approved both mayoral appointments at its regular meeting on Jan. 11.

Redevelopment commissioners are unpaid and serve five-year terms, appointed by the mayor with approval by City Council. Other commissioners currently on the board include William Rack, chairman; Courtney Clarke, vice chairman; Councilwoman Nancy Saliga; James Farrell; Timothy Nash, and Anthony Diege.

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Downtown, Parking

Surface lot coming to Lot B area

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That mound of dirt near Lot B on Main Street could be on its way out in the coming weeks. During this month’s Redevelopment Agency meeting, City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier was hopeful that the dirt and sales trailer at The Westbury site on Main Street could start being moved within the month.

Dornoch, which had planned to construct a multideck parking facility with condos, will lease the site to the Parking Authority for surface parking until a deck is constructed. Pelissier said the Parking Authority will work with the city and Union County to create the surface lot, first leveling out the site and laying gravel until it’s resurfaced in the spring. He expects another 100 spaces could be added.

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Worthwhile piece in New Jersey Monthly about hyperlocal Web sites and the evolution of local, online news. Good thing we got in on the ground floor in Rahway — second anniversary (what!?!) just about a week away.

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