As you are aware I was in attendance at the Monday evening meeting of the Mayor and Council to "explain" to the residents of Hasbrouck Heights the different Municipal Complex plans and how they arrived at both the dollar figures for the project and the site selection. And as you know I was quite vocal at that meeting. I did appreciate, though, Councilman Pepe’s willingness to listen to other possibilities. I was quite upset that the Mayor and Council took the only two days a year that parents need to be at their children’s schools for Back to School night and planned both of these meetings on these evenings. They were aware of the conflict of these dates as members of the Council and the Mayor have school age children. These dates could have been scheduled so that ALL residents could have attended. Sometimes when we work closely on a project we can get too close and not see the bigger picture. And human nature is also such that we want to do things that are "easiest" to do but not necessarily the best way. Both Plan A and B that were presented to the town fall under the category as "easiest" and not the best nor the most economical. "Plan C", which the majority of the attendees at last night’s meeting want to see would take the administrative offices out of the "Plans" and put them A) back into a NEW Municipal Complex on Hamilton, including the acquiring of the Franklin Gym or B) into a developed Blvd. Space. Both of these ideas would reallocate and decrease the money that was to be spent on Land Acquisition ($1,700,000) and Construction Costs ($6,725,000). The Senior Center and the Library with their 19 parking spaces designated for the already purchased properties on the corner of Blvd and Central Ave would proceed as planned two years ago. My personal feeling is that I would like to see our town have the best facilities possible for our Fire and Police personnel and new larger facilities for them would be ideal. If zoning changes will not be made to allow for a taller Hamilton Ave. facility to accommodate the administrative offices then it is obvious that the purchase of a Blvd. Building, such as the World Savings Bank with it’s 17 parking spaces and the purchase of the other additional 23 parking spaces behind the post office that the World Savings leases, I was told, from another Hasbrouck Heights property owner would solve this problem. The 40 parking spaces located feet from the Blvd. could also be used on Saturday, when the Administration Offices are closed, for Blvd. retail parking which is woefully in short supply. According the architect at last night meeting 8,000+ square feet is needed for these administrative offices and I am sure a building such as World Savings could accommodate that. If the town does not have the personnel to inquire about this property one of the many real estate agencies located in town – selected, of course, by the bid process - would probably love to act as a "buyers" broker for the town. The money saved from the Land Acquisition and from the Construction Costs would significantly lower the Bond and consequently the tax increase needed to complete this project. We agreed in May of 1998 to pay an average of an additional $136 annually in property taxes to improve our schools with renovations. This was needed to maintain our school system and to also maintain all of the residential property values in Hasbrouck Heights. The Plans that were presented last night to the residents would raise our property taxes again with but with no benefit to all of the residents and a decrease in property values to others. We need Plan C. Let’s see it. Sonya Buckman ####
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