April 29, 2015

Parking and Budget, Lytle Street Property, Among Council’s Topics

Princeton Council voted on several initiatives at its meeting Monday night, agreeing to adopt a budget for 2015, send out requests for proposals to update the parking system at the Spring Street garage, and contribute affordable housing funds for a group home to serve adults with disabilities, among other topics.

Lytle Street

After a closed session during which personnel negotiations and other issues were discussed, the governing body heard reports from the police, recreation, and public works departments before getting an update from administrator Marc Dashield on the options surrounding a 19th century house on Lytle Street adjacent to the Mary Moss Park, in the Witherspoon/Jackson neighborhood.

The town had proposed buying 31-33 Lytle Street, demolishing the house on the property, and extending the park, where a small kiddie pool is located and some renovations were already planned. But after protests from several neighborhood residents who opposed tearing down the house, plans were put on hold while other options were explored. The town granted developer Roman Barsky demolition permits last fall but have asked him to wait until a final decision is made. He will need an answer soon, Mr. Dashield said.

Ideally, some residents would like to see the house saved and converted into two affordable housing units. But Mr. Dashield said that option was not viable. He estimated it would cost between $240,000 and $300,000 for each unit, “which is way beyond what we can spend,” he said. “I don’t believe it’s prudent to use money from the affordable housing trust fund for this.” He suggested that the money should be raised privately by a corporation or non-profit organization. Last month, a citizens’ group involved in trying to save the house from demolition proposed a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Residents Kip Cherry and Hendricks Davis spoke in favor of saving the house, and Bernadine Hines commented that the neighborhood already has several play areas and doesn’t need another one. Princeton’s Historic Preservation Commission recommended to Council last month that the house not be torn down. The town is still waiting for an appraisal. A work session on the  issue will likely take place on May 18.

Parking Garage

With the payment system of the Spring Street Parking Garage next to Princeton Public Library “clearly on its last legs,” Mayor Liz Lempert said, Council took action to expedite a revamping of the technology. The governing body voted unanimously to pass a resolution allowing requests for proposals to go out as soon as possible.

Ms. Lempert said the garage is “the go-to place for folks to park” in town. Problems with credit cards and smart cards getting rejected have caused delays in getting in and out of the garage. “People are just having a really tough time getting the machines to behave the way you would expect them to,” she said.

When the issue was brought to Council last October, assistant municipal engineer Deanna Stockton detailed three options for consideration. Instead of installing meters, which was one of the options, replacing and upgrading the current system was decided to be the best idea. “You’ll never get a ticket in the parking lot, because you never have to worry about exceeding your time,” Ms. Lempert said.

Council hopes to have an update by the May 11 meeting. The upgraded system could be installed in three to four months, said Ms. Stockton.

Budget

Council voted unanimously to adopt a budget for 2015 that includes a tax rate increase of 1.6 cents. The budget is $60.9 million. Homeowners with properties valued at an average of $800,560 could expect their municipal tax bills to go up by $147.

Scott Sillars of the volunteer Citizens Finance Advisory Committee presented the budget to Council, recommending that the town spend no more than $7.1 million on capital projects during the next six years. He projected that the town is in good shape as far as surplus is concerned, and that debt service growth will be 5.2 percent this year. Core revenues are $52,957, and core expenditures are $53,726.

Among the financial challenges the town faces are such large projects as the new headquarters for the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad (PFARS) and improvements to Community Park North.

Hilltop Group Home

Council members voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance allowing the town to use $400,000 in affordable housing trust funds to buy a house at 9 Hilltop Drive and turn it into a group home for adults.

The nonprofit organization Youth Consultation Services will renovate and run the four-bedroom home. New Jersey residents with developmental disabilities, who are of low or moderate income, will be eligible. One room will be reserved for a Princeton resident.

Praising the project as a public/private/non-profit partnership, resident Hendricks Davis said, “It is our responsibility as a community to do all we can to build and sustain all members of the community and provide wholesome, holistic and integrated housing resources for citizens and residents.” He added that the group home could also bring some jobs to town.