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REDEVELOPMENT
PROJECT FACT SHEET
Recent communications are being circulated around Plumsted
contain a number of factual errors and omissions which we
feel must be corrected. After reading this Fact Sheet, if
you should have any questions, please feel free to contact
the Plumsted Municipal Utilities Authority at 609 758 7539.
We would also encourage you to attend the Public
Hearing/Information session to be held on Tuesday, June 29,
2010 at 7 PM at the
Plumsted
Township
Municipal
Building.
Myth:The Kokes Organization has proposed building 1,200
Senior Homes off of Province Line Road.
Fact: The number of units proposed by Kokes in the PRRC site
is 336, not 1200. Based on permitted density (4 units per
acre), the Redevelopment Plan proposed approximately 500
units (p.4 New Egypt Redevelopment Plan). The Redevelopment
Plan is to reverse the decline of the downtown.
Myth: The cost
of the program is $44 million dollars.
Fact: The project is divided into 2 phases: Phase 1 – Main
Street/immediate environs/PRRC and Phase 2 – extended
downtown service area.
Phase 1 is estimated to cost $26-28 million.
The $44 million is the combined cost of Phase 1 and
Phase 2. There
are no plans to locate the STP at the proposed discharge
site.
Myth: The Township has been very sneaky in the planning to
get this land off of the
Recreation and Open Space Inventory
(ROSI). Township owned (Green Acres funding): Lots 38, 40
Block 43 (+/- 14.83 acres) & part of Lot 45, Block 43 (+/- 15.57 acres).
Fact: The PMUA meetings are open to the public and
advertised. The project was discussed with some residents of
the Woodland Manor subdivision last fall. A press release
was issued on January 22, 2010 and circulated to residents
of the Woodland Manor Subdivision. Two newspapers, the
Messenger Press and Tri-Town News, printed articles based on
the PMUA press release. The PMUA made a presentation to the
Environmental Commission in March, postponed from February
due to bad weather.
The PMUA advised Green Acres of what it was doing and
we have kept in constant communication with NJDEP.
Myth: Plumsted taxpayers will incur a financial burden with
this plan.
Fact: The financial strategy for the Redevelopment Plan
includes monetary contributions from Kokes and New Jersey
American Water, Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) from the
PRRC residents and connection fees from the downtown
residents.
Myth:This will become a
Toms River
with Cancer Clusters and
Holiday
City’s everywhere.
Fact: The water proposed to be discharged is treated
wastewater. It has to meet groundwater discharge standards
set by the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection. The reference to the super fund sites has
nothing to do with the Redevelopment Project. The treated
wastewater has no odor. At the treatment plant, odor control
will be part of the treatment process. All treatment is
indoors. The preferred site for the treatment plant is
behind the New Egypt Market Place. The site is, however,
constrained and presents a real design challenge for it to
work. Therefore, the PMUA is looking at an alternate site in
the Town
Center. The site is on
Lakewood Road
adjacent to the Elks Lodge.
Myth: Green Acres has
never granted a diversion.
Fact: Green Acres
regulations contain a process for, in this case, diverting
land for other than open space improvements. The Green Acres
regulations recognize that circumstances may change or
become necessary to do so. To qualify, we must demonstrate
compelling public need. The compelling public need is to
allow for the revitalization of the
Town Center through rehabilitation/redevelopment and to
clean up the Crosswicks Creek and
Oakford
Lake as a result of the
elimination of septic systems and cesspools on small lots.
The provision of sewers in the downtown and the expansion of
the existing water system will benefit, not only residents
and businesses in the downtown, but all of Plumsted.
The Green Acres
regulations also require the Township to set aside 2 acres
of comparable land for every acre diverted. This would, in
fact, increase the amount of preserved open space in
Plumsted
Township. To date, the
Township has preserved over 3,000 acres of farmland and open
space.
There has been an
exhaustive review over the past 2-3 years of alternatives to
a groundwater discharge, including
Fort
Dix, the Ocean County MUA,
establishing a new regional MUA and a surface water
discharge. Unfortunately, none of these alternatives are
options, particularly in the short term.
Alternatives to a groundwater discharge of treated
wastewater at this site have also been considered. Two other
sites were previously investigated and were determined not
to be viable sites. The MUA looked into whether some of the
preserved farmland sites could be utilized for groundwater
disposal or irrigation and were told this would not be
permitted. The Lakewood site is being considered as our last
choice, not first. It is the only area identified by NJDEP
mapping as suitable for a groundwater discharge.
We hope this helps in
your understanding of the Redevelopment Project and the
issues. The issues are complex and the answers are not
simple. We are doing our best to balance the interests of
all. The PMUA will do its best to keep you, the resident,
informed.
Thank you,
Mike McCue
Chairman, PMUA
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