Environmental Protection in Montgomery
Srihi Surapaneni | January 31 2022
It’s easy to take the nature and the pristine environment of Montgomery for granted. But it’s only through the hard work of the members of our town’s environmental commission that we can enjoy the nature around us.The Environmental Commission, led by Mary Reece, met on the 18th of January for their first meeting of 2022, to discuss a multitude of environmental issues and initiatives in our town that will be taking place over this next year.
The Environmental Commission is working with other environmental organizations in order to make Montgomery a more sustainable community. They began the meeting by discussing whether Montogomery would retain their ANJEC membership in the new year. ANJEC, which stands for Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, is a non-profit organization that works to assist environmental commissions while promoting environmental health and sustainable communities. Ultimately, the commission voted to renew their ANJEC membership because the organization is a strong advocate at the legislative level, and had even gotten an environmental bill passed by governor Phil Murphy that same day. In addition, ANJEC provides financial grants to towns to help them with projects that go towards making their communities more sustainable.
In addition to working with ANJEC, the Environmental commission also worked closely with the Watershed Institute in Hopewell. Two members of the Watershed were present to discuss one of their main initiatives in making Montgomery a more sustainable community. The Watershed Institute is working on the River Friendly Program, which seeks to take action with individuals, businesses, etc. for clean water and maintaining the health of our environment. The Watershed Institute is currently working on trying to get schools and golf courses in Montgomery River Friendly certified. This includes Montgomery High School, which is one of the largest high schools in the area, however the Watershed members are having trouble meeting with the school administration and getting their commitment to the project. However, they were still determined to continue to try to make the high school more sustainable and eco-friendly.
In addition to working with other organizations, the Environmental Commission has many plans of their own to maintain and improve the environment of our town. The township has received a $20000 grant for the town’s detention basin. A detention basin is incredibly important to a community as it prevents flooding from storm water runoff. This is especially important in a time with such unpredictable weather creating unknown consequences for us. The committee is taking the necessary next steps in order to make use of this grant; the township’s basin was assessed and someone from Princeton is working on a final report. In addition to that, the commission is working to have the township make use of a $10000 grant from the state allotted for a Community Energy Plan. Community Energy Planning allows communities to create sustainable initiatives that reduce their carbon emissions.
The Environmental Commission also discussed an important legislative victory for sustainability. The first was a single use plastics ban, which will go into place on May 4 2022. This bill (the passing of which was advocated for by ANJEC) bans stores, restaurants, and grocery stores from selling or providing their customers with single use carryout plastic bags. This bill promotes the use of environmentally friendly reusable bags (nylon, hemp, cloth etc.). In addition, restaurants will be banned from using polystyrene foam products and face some restrictions on single use plastic straws. This bill is a good step in the right direction, but it’s also a big change and the Environmental Commission understands this. The commission is working on a public info campaign to portray this change in a more positive light in order to get everyone on board and encourage this effort for sustainability. To do this, they’re working with other important groups in Montgomery like the Montgomery Business Association, and the Economic Development Committee.
In just the first month of the year our Environmental Commission has made the plans that will help increase sustainability and encourage environmentally friendly practices in the community. Their hard work will certainly pay off in the next year and in the long run. It’s important to understand the work that goes into protecting our environment, even in a township as small as ours, in order to encourage further action.
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New Redevelopment in Montgomery
Srihi Surapaneni | March 13 2022
There has been an important new initiative for development in Montgomery. It is the redevelopment plans for the corner of Route 206/518 which were reviewed by the Montgomery Planning Board recently. Currently, the space is taken up by an office building which has been abandoned and vandalized over the years. According to planner Lori Savron, the township has started the process of redeveloping the area. A 70 page document detailing the plans is available for public viewing on the township website.
The redevelopment would be at the old Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments building near ShopRite. According to the Township Committee, the area is currently a “condemnation redevelopment area” and Mayor Keenan has said about the area, “we need to address this. It has been an eyesore and a problem for many many years. So let’s get it done.” The abandoned building is 38,055 square feet and is on a 3 acre parking lot. The building has been abandoned for nearly 10 years now, and the inside of it is vandalized and full of empty beer and other liquor bottles.
In addition, it is a Superfund site. A Superfund site, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is a contaminated area due to the dumping or improper management of hazardous waste. When a Superfund site is determined, the EPA will provide help in cleaning up the area and the waste. The Superfund program also forces the group at fault for the contamination to reimburse the government for the EPA’s work. One of the main initiatives of the Superfund program is to return sites to productive use, and the redevelopment of the abandoned lot would do just that. The building was determined a Superfund site back in 1983, when it was discovered that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) had contaminated the groundwater. In 2020, the EPA established that the assistance they had provided to solve this issue is still working.
The Township Construction official has already actually ordered the building to be demolished and issued a Notice of Imminent Hazard back in August 2020. Nearly a year later, the Health Department issued Notice of Violation because the abandoned posed a threat to public health. Right now, the next step towards development is that the Planning Board needs to determine if the building can become a redevelopment site before the project can move forward.
This is incredibly an important initiative for the township government to undertake as it would help clean up our town, and bring in new valuable development, and solve a problem that's been concerning our town for years.
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Changes to the Mary Jacobs Library after 50 Years
Srihi Surapaneni | April 3 2022
The Mary Jacobs Library has been an important part of Montgomery Township for the past 50 years. By now, it’s expected to be closed down in May of this year, according to the mayor. The library’s assortment of books and its staff will be transferred to the new library that’s currently being constructed. The Mary Jacobs library itself will re-open as a mini-library consisting of just one staff member, reduced hours, and a limited collection of books for a trial period of 2 years.
The Rocky Hill Borough Council encouraged supporters of the library to attend a “Rally for the Future of MJML Library” which took place on April 3rd. The event took place at the Rocky Hill Community Center next to the Mary Jacobs library and was attended by guests from the New Jersey State Senate and State Assembly. Susan Bristol, member of the Bourgh Council, has encouraged people to use the library while it’s still open and after it reopens because “service beyond the two year period will depend on us, on demand for services, and community participation.”
In 2020, a wide variety of people ranging from borough council members and donors to ordinary library visitors and volunteers were surprised by the reality that the library building might be sold. Some are worried that the loss of the building could mean a permanent end to the library. The MJML foundation owns the building and throughout the last 5 decades, it has earned a $3 million endowment. The building was put on sale by the foundation for $3.5 million, however there is still some contention over whether the building is sellable or if it was zoned for community use. Former president of the foundation, Brenda Fallon has said that the library was so special to so many in the community because “they felt it belonged to them.” Fallon has since stepped down as president- and she isn’t the only who left. In 2019, the MJML foundation had 11 trustees. By this year, 7 have left the foundation.
There are several plans for the library. The main plan is that the building will be sold or leased and it will have the mini library attached to it. Philip Kartsonis, foundation trustee and former mayor of Rocky Hill, says that as of March, there has been no action taken on either the sale or the leasing. In addition, a 17 page plan was created in which the foundation would pay $300k to wall off the children’s part of the library from the rest of the building and install an outside entrance.
The future of the Mary Jacobs library past 2024 is unclear but there’s a wide range of possibilities and opportunities that will come out of this.