Old Bridge officials talk goals for 2007 BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer Jim Phillips OLD BRIDGE - With numerous improvements to the town under their belts, Mayor Jim Phillips and council President Patrick Gillespie are looking toward future goals. The Top 3 priorities for 2007 are public safety, development issues and recreation, according to Phillips. "I think that a lot of progress has been made in the past three years," Gillespie said. The trend of recent improvements to parks will continue, with the refurbishment of the recreation building at Veterans Park as only one of many projects. The new building, used for children's summer programs, is slated to be ready by June. "It's a big lift for the park," Gillespie said. The new YMCA will go out to bid this year, with construction planned for spring or early summer. There will also be a ground-breaking ceremony at the new baseball fields at Peter A. Mannino Park in the near future, Phillips said. "We're looking forward to a new master plan regarding infrastructure in Old Bridge," Phillips said. Gillespie was on the same page, saying that an improved infrastructure is a priority for the year to come. Both Phillips and Gillespie said they were pleased with the police force being able to stay at its full strength of 104 sworn officers. Five new officers will replace retirees when they graduate from the academy, Phillips said. A new test will be created in March for potential officers, and changes will be made to the hiring ordinance as parts of an outreach to attract more female officers to the force. As of now, there are only two women among the 104 officers that comprise the department. Plans for the Crossroads property, which covers nearly 500 acres in the area of Routes 9 and 18, are in the works. The town's redevelopment agency is considering an offer of $3.5 million from the Lennar Corp. of Freehold. Lennar put down a $350,000 deposit for 40 acres of the land near Route 18 and Texas Road, adjacent to the Horizons at Birch Hill development. On the 8 acres of uplands, Lennar proposes construction of a 68-unit, age-restricted housing community. If the group's plans are accepted by the redevelopment agency, it will then go before the council for approval. "I'm hoping we can use that revenue to lower property taxes," Phillips said. "The whole purpose is to bring ratables to the town." Over the past year, $3.5 million would have lowered taxes by 11 cents, or about $150 for the average taxpayer, Phillips said. Other future projects at Crossroads could include a hotel and medical arts building. The nearby Matzel & Mumford property is privately owned, but is within the town's planning area. Located at Routes 9 and 18, the property is now home to Legends golf driving range. Although the developers originally applied to put 400 townhouses there, the roughly 150 square feet of commercial and retail development slated to go in this year was seen as a better fit for the town. By April, other shops will be opened as part of a new shopping center at the intersection of Texas Road and Route 9. Phillips pointed out that, over the past year, only 24 new homes were approved between the Planning and Zoning boards. "We're going to use every tool at our disposal to control development," Phillips said.