Data center concerns are traffic, terror, taxes
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer
For at least one Old Bridge resident, the touted benefits of a proposed data collection center simply do not compute.

Brian Adams, of Marlboro Road, lives adjacent to the township owned Crossroads redevelopment property, where a developer has proposed a corporate campus for the storage of data from various corporations. Adams said that, aside from township officials, he was the only resident to attend a Sept. 10 special meeting of the Old Bridge Redevelopment Agency, and he had some concerns.

"I'm not hugging trees and saying, 'Don't build,'" Adams said. "It's just truly, truly a concern for where we live."

A limited liability corporation formed by David Arena, Joseph Jingoli Jr. and Joseph Ryan is the builder proposing the project. The Deep Run corporate campus would consist of four 350,000- square-foot, two-story data storage centers, located on 300 acres of the 500-acre Crossroads tract, which was purchased by the township for the purpose of economic development. The land is located off Routes 9 and 18 near the Marlboro border.

Mayor Jim Phillips said the proposal is the best opportunity for a tax ratable on the property because it would not bring any new students into the school district, and the traffic impact would be minimal, since each building would house 75 employees.

Adams questions whether the number of employees and related traffic impact would be so minimal. He said at minimum, the facilities would have two 12- hour shifts each day, which would mean 600 employees traveling to and from the site daily. If there were three shifts, the number would climb to 900.

"It just doesn't seem that it's being fairly presented in real numbers," Adams said.

Though Phillips said he is unsure whether the quote of 75 employees per building represents one shift or a full day, he maintained that either way, the project would still bring less traffic to the area than any other potential use of the site.

Still, Phillips has his concerns.

"I noticed that, too," the mayor said. "I guess that's subject to more questioning."

Tax revenue in the millions

Both Adams and Councilman Richard Greene, a Republican running for mayor this fall against Phillips, a Democrat, had questions about the payment-in-lieu-oftaxes (PILOT) agreement requested by the builder. Considering the cost of the project for the builders and the fact that they approached the township, Adams said he does not see why an incentive like a PILOT agreement would be necessary.

"I have serious questions about that, because the number-one issue in New Jersey is the escalating tax rate," Greene said. "This doesn't help solve the problem."

Phillips said the PILOT agreement would have to be approved by the Township Council, and pointed out that such agreements do not necessarily mean the developers would get a tax break.

Taxes obtained through a PILOT agreement, which guarantee a fixed tax rate to corporations for a given period of time, go to the municipality only, not to the township's Board of Education.

"I believe, at the end of the day, that it will be extremely beneficial to the township," Phillips said. "The numbers are rather alarming."

If the quoted numbers are correct in stating that building construction would cost $1,000 per square foot, Phillips said one building could bring in about $7 million in property tax revenue, or about 21 cents on the tax rate, providing muchneeded property tax relief to residents.

Another concern Adams had is the plan to place the entrance to the facilities on Marlboro Road.

"All along, the township has always touted what a wonderful piece of property this is, because of Route 9 and 18 [being located nearby]," Adams said. "They're going to put the traffic on the local road."

Adams said he voiced his concerns to the developers at the meeting, and they said his input would be taken into consideration.

Phillips said necessary road improvements would be performed as a result of putting the entrance there, and that its location would allow for wetlands to remain undisturbed. The design of the project, Phillips added, allows for the preservation of as much greenery and open space as possible.

Greene has concerns about several aspects of the project.

"I just can't understand how [Phillips] goes out there touting that he's preserving open space, and he turns around and is trying to do everything he can to sell or develop this 500 acres of township-owned rural property," Greene said.

Phillips has said the township purchased the Crossroads property in the 1990s, before he was mayor, for the express purpose of economic development. Greene said the builder who previously owned it was forced to sell because of financial difficulties. That developer, he noted, was the one who laid out plans for large-scale development, not the township. Either way, Greene said, he disagrees with plans to develop the tract.

"Things change over time," Greene said. "It was really before the over-development concerns. Maybe it makes sense to keep it as open space. Maybe it makes sense to keep it rural."

According to Phillips, the buildings would barely be visible, if at all, from adjacent roadways, thus not disturbing the area's rural character.

"... For all practical purposes, no one will even know we are there," Jonathan Heilbrunn, attorney for the developers, wrote in an Aug. 31 letter to Phillips.

Target for terrorism?

Greene and Adams both said that due to the sensitivity and value of information stored in such facilities, they fear that the site could become a target of terrorism.

Though Greene said he was unable to attend the meeting because of a council

meeting the same night, he said he has been doing research on these types of facilities. Such data storage centers should be built so that people in the area where they are constructed are unaware that the buildings are there, he said, and the walls of the facilities are required to be of an unusual thickness, as a security measure.

"There has to be a high level of security," Greene said. "Does that mean our police force would have to be beefed up?"

Adams pointed out that the facility would be gated, with security guards on hand at all times.

Phillips said he did not share in their concerns about terrorist attacks.

"These data centers are located all over the nation," Phillips said. "I don't perceive these as being targets. These are simply storage outlets for ones and zeros from anywhere in the country to be stored."

According to Adams, representatives of Deep Run said they would require 3 million to 4 million gallons of water per day for cooling purposes at the facilities. While it would be gleaned from retention ponds, he said it does not seem right that the developers can get double feeds of water coming into their project, while residents are forced to use wells in the area.

"I can't get water to drink, to shower, to flush the toilet," Adams said. "We've begged for water."

Phillips said it was not financially feasible in the past for the utilities department to bring water and sewer lines to the area, because there are not enough residents there.

"One of the missions here would be ... to finally bring water and sewer to that area of town," Phillips said.

At the meeting, members of the redevelopment agency agreed not to market the property to any other developers for six months, while Deep Run worked out more-detailed plans. The builders will bring monthly updates to the agency's meetings until their plans are complete.

"We're just starting this process," redevelopment agency member Roy Quackenbush said. "This is a storage building for information - a very low-impact use. I certainly think it's a better use than residential."

Quackenbush pointed out that he also lives near the proposed development site.

Fred Kurtz, executive director of the redevelopment agency, recused himself from the meeting discussion and all hearings dealing with the project, because of a personal relationship with Jingoli. Adams pointed out that Kurtz Engineering has been contracted to do site work for the project. According to Phillips, Fred Kurtz is retired, and the firm is owned by a relative.

"He gets paid one dollar a year," Phillips said of Kurtz's compensation as executive director. "It's a labor of love for him."

Due to Kurtz's recusal, township Business Administrator Michael Jacobs will fill in as executive director for the agency on this project.

Still, Adams had reservations about the intentions of redevelopment agency members.

"It's an autonomous agency, it answers to no one," Adams said, adding that "everything here is on the fast track. It's too fast."

Greene agreed, citing ever-changing developments in technology that could make such a facility obsolete within a few years. With that as a possibility, he said he would recommend a deed restriction to go along with any approval for the project, in order to prevent future residential building there.

"I think that this plan is being thrown out there with really not a whole lot of research," Greene said. "I don't know if I will support this or not. I guess I just have to get some real, concrete information on this."

Greene said he requested the informational book distributed by the developers, and is awaiting receipt of it.

Adams said he plans to speak with others in his neighborhood about the proposed project, and enlist their support for the next meeting of the redevelopment agency. The meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. at the George Bush Senior Center, which is in the township municipal complex.

"They don't listen to one person, really," Adams said. "There's strength in numbers."