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WW
near agreement on trail along PSE&G right-of-way
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| By:
Jill Matthews, Staff Writer |
10/15/2004 |
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Path, 2.5 miles long, would include
footbridge over Big Bear Brook in West Windsor Community Park.
WEST WINDSOR — The
township is on the verge of inking an agreement with Public
Service Electric & Gas Co. that would allow the township
to build a 2˝-mile pedestrian and bicycle path on the
company's property.
The township has been
pursuing the transfer of right-of-way rights from the company
for about two years.
At Tuesday night's
Township Council meeting, Township Attorney Michael Herbert
said PSE&G insists that the municipality maintain the
entire 42-acre right-of-way. He said the township would need
to appropriate approximately $20,000 a year to maintain the
property, but it would try to exclude the pruning of trees and
brush in its maintenance because that work can be done only by
certified personnel.
Mr. Herbert said the
company would pay approximately $29,000 in taxes to the county
and school board, but would no longer pay municipal taxes on
the property, which were waived. The company also would not
agree to indemnify its employees, and instead the township
will accept all responsibility for any injuries that occur on
the property.
The license agreement,
which will extend for 50 years, requires the township pay $1 a
year for the property. Either party has the right to terminate
the agreement at any time with 90 days' written notice and the
bridge on the pathway that crosses over Big Bear Brook would
need to be removed within one year of written
notice.
"I think we are getting
everything we are looking for," except that the township will
have to maintain the property, Mr. Herbert said at the
meeting.
The bicycle and pedestrian
pathway would start north at South Mill Road and stretch south
to the Conover Road park near the Mercer County Park. Also
included on the pathway is a prefabricated steel bridge that
would cross Big Bear Brook in West Windsor Community Park near
Grovers Mill Pond.
Trails in Community
Park and one proposed near Slayback Drive could also
eventually hook up to the pathway.
In
other business Tuesday, the council continued its discussion
on updating its hotel-motel liquor license
ordinance.
Over the summer, the state
Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control issued a new ruling
that allows municipalities to auction hotel and motel liquor
licenses, said Sharon Young, township clerk. Prior to this new
rule, any hotel with 100 rooms or more could qualify to
purchase a liquor license not through the bidding system as
regular consumption and restaurant licenses are purchased, but
by paying the annual liquor license renewal fee as its initial
purchase fee.
Currently, the municipality
cannot issue more than five motel-hotel liquor licenses. Only
two have been issued.
Council members
disagreed on whether pre-existing hotels with liquor licenses
need to enter into the bidding process, which could rake in
extra money for the municipality, or if the new bidding
process should apply only to new hotel-motel liquor license
applicants.
Councilman Charles Morgan
said he thought the township would send the wrong sign to the
business community if it appeared to favor old hotels over new
ones by applying the ordinance only to new
hotels.
"It's a simple question of
fairness," he said.
But Mr. Herbert said
that, from a legal perspective, he had some very serious
concerns about including pre-existing establishments in the
ordinance and that doing so would heighten the chance of legal
action against the municipality.
Council
President Franc Gambatese said he did not want to penalize
pre-existing hotels that have been good residents in the
community by forcing them to participate in the bidding
process. He also said he wants to avoid entangling the
township in any legal battles over the
ordinance.
The council, which made no
decision on the matter, will also have to decide what amount
to set as the minimum bid for the license.
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