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Mayoral hopefuls focus on land issues, taxes
Phillips defends seat against challengers Greene, Sulikowski
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer
The three candidates vying to be mayor of Old Bridge have similar priorities, but distinct ideas about achieving their goals.
Incumbent Democratic Mayor Jim Phillips, Republican Councilman Richard Greene and Board of Education member Matt Sulikowski, who is running as an independent, weighed in on key issues in recent conversations with the Suburban. Voters will pick a new mayor in the Nov. 6 election, when they also choose from six candidates for three seats on the Township Council.
Phillips said he is hoping to continue the progress that has been made during his four years as mayor, a record in which he takes pride. He said that during the 16 years prior to his taking office, prior administrations granted approvals for thousands of homes to three major developers, while during his term only 86 homes have been approved. Phillips pointed out that the town is now in litigation with developers M. Alfieri, John Brunetti, and Woodhaven, to thwart the general development plan approvals they were granted years ago.
"We've come a long way in a short time," Phillips said. "We went from an administration that was, frankly, too cozy with developers, to one that is more inclined to side with the people."
Greene and Sulikowski see it differently.
According to Greene, Phillips and the Democratic administration must do more to bring in commercial development that would provide economic relief to residents. He also said the township's master plan and zoning laws need to be changed in order to be in a better position to thwart developers.
"[Phillips] has been a failure," Greene said. "He's had four years, and he hasn't brought in any ratables. I don't think they have done their homework. They've been nonexistent as far as economic development."
Phillips refuted Greene's claim, citing the Shoppes at Old Bridge, the new Kohl's, and an office building being constructed near exit 120 of the Garden State Parkway.
"Again, it's selective amnesia," Phillips said. "There have been a number of commercial ratables attracted to Old Bridge in this four-year period."
Sulikowski said he would like to see less residential development, because each child in the school district costs taxpayers an average of $13,000 per year to educate. As part of his goal to improve the quality of life for existing residents, Sulikowski said he wants to bring more light industrial development to town, to provide tax ratables.
The Crossroads redevelopment
In Old Bridge, when the topic of development arises, the Crossroads redevelopment tract comes to mind. Near Routes 9 and 18, the 500-acre site was purchased by the town for the purpose of economic development in the 1990s. Since then, there have been a number of possible uses discussed for the site, with a data storage center being the most recently proposed.
While no approval has been granted for the center, Phillips has said it would be a good use for the land, as well as a benefit to residents.
"These facilities are sought after by many communities," Phillips said. "If you do the math, it comes out as property tax relief."
According to Phillips, the three facilities would bring in at least $2 million in taxes per year through a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement. In addition, the building of the center would bring a total of $1.4 billion in construction work, he said.
"It's construction jobs, it's good-paying jobs for the community," Phillips said.
Each building would take up less than 5 acres on the 300-acre parcel where the center would sit, and the total layout of the center would leave 70 acres of undisturbed woods, Phillips said. He also pointed out that there are more than 13 of these types of facilities within a 20-mile radius of Old Bridge, illustrating their prevalence and value to communities.
Phillips said the fact that the centers would not bring children to the school district, and would produce minimal traffic, are additional selling points.
Greene opposes the idea.
"I'm hoping for a plan that works for the residents, and this doesn't work for the residents," Greene said. "What are we going to do, kill the golden goose? I want to be proud of Old Bridge, and three concrete bunkers is not what I'm going to be proud of."
Greene has cited several reasons for his dislike of the data center proposal. With technology constantly evolving, such facilities could easily become obsolete a few years down the road, he said. Another concern deals with terrorism. Because these centers store critical information for companies, they could become potential targets, according to Greene. He cited features that illustrate his point, such as walls being constructed thicker than those of a typical building, the security required there, and plans to build the structures so they would not be visible from the road.
"There is no document that anyone can pull out and say, 'This [property] is for economic development,' " Greene said. "It's just something that evolved. If the town is scurrying to preserve property, why are we in a big haste to give it away?"
According to Greene, township officials should change course and preserve the Crossroads tract as open space.
"Here, [Phillips] is saying he's a proponent of open space, but he's selling township land," Greene said.
While Greene said Phillips was supporting 1,000 senior homes at the site before the data center proposal came about, Phillips said he had a $100 bill he would pay to Greene if he could produce proof of that claim. Again, Phillips cited his record of frugality in terms of housing approvals during his four-year term.
"That's not speculation, that's not wannabe, that's a record of fact, and that's something I'm proud of," Phillips said. "There was never one home approved at the Crossroads property. Rich has become a little bit desperate at the end of his campaign, and I think at this point, if I proposed motherhood and apple pie, Rich would find a way to be opposed to it."
Sulikowski said he does not support the proposed data center at the Crossroads site, and would like to see something that would be more beneficial to residents.
"We do have to do something for the people in general, and I don't think this is going to benefit the community," Sulikowski said.
According to Sulikowski, the property would be best suited for commercial development. Like Greene, he would like to see preservation of the land there, but Sulikowski also mentioned such features as botanical gardens and fishing ponds. He also proposed bringing endangered birds there, a project he said could be federally funded.
On taxes and salaries
In terms of taxes, viewpoints were varied. Sulikowski said his goal, if he is elected, would be to freeze taxes to give residents an opportunity to get their financial bearings.
"Things keep going up each year," Sulikowski said. "It's got to come to a head."
According to Sulikowski, creating a human resources department consisting of one or two staff members would help by examining each municipal position for necessity and efficiency. As a retired teacher and member of the Board of Education, Sulikowski said he would like to find a way to reduce school administrators' contracts to cover only 10 months of the year.
"We have an enormous amount of administrators making an enormous amount of money," Sulikowski said.
Due to the township's high cost of living, senior citizens are being forced out of the area, Sulikowski said.
Greene said his No. 1 priority is to reduce taxes for residents. One way of doing this, he said, is to explore shared services possibilities with the Board of Education. Greene also said he would implement a hiring freeze on all municipal positions, excluding police officers. Along that line, he said he would review each department for efficiency, and reduce the amount of overtime hours worked.
"We're going to go in with a scalpel to make sure there's no fat in the township's budget," Greene said.
Phillips again pointed to his record.
"There are less employees working in Old Bridge today than there were four years ago," Phillips said. "Through attrition, we have downsized government in Old Bridge while increasing police officers."
According to Phillips, through the hard work of grant writer Karen Longi, over $23 million in grants have been brought to the township over the past four years. He also cited the relationship between the township and Board of Education on shared services.
"The cooperation that we've had in the past four years between the township and the Board of Education has been outstanding," Phillips said. "We have a whole myriad of shared services."
Still, Greene said a change is necessary in the township's governing body.
Sulikowski said he is the best candidate because he is not affiliated with a political party. Instead, he holds the people of Old Bridge as his top priority, he said.
"There's no backroom politics with a guy like me," Sulikowski said.
Sulikowski said a number of his handmade campaign signs were stolen, something he finds surprising and disheartening.
"I figured it would be a clean election, but it's turning out to be a very bitter battle," Sulikowski said
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