|
Local Mayors Lash Out At DEP, Holdups To Wal-Mart Project
By Bill McLaughlin
For a time, it seemed a sure bet that a Wal- Mart Superstore would be straddling the Manchester/Toms River border. Both towns' planning boards approved applications, paving the way for the retail giant to build.
But along came a pine snake, and down from the state level came word from the Department of Environmental Protection: "Not so fast."
Local mayors are not so happy about that.
Manchester Mayor Michael Fressola did on Monday, "If you think a Pine snake is what's holding up this approval ..." he said, Toms River Mayor Paul Brush at his side.
The civic leaders were speaking at a press conference to urge Trenton to take another look at giving approval for a super Wal-Mart on the border between the towns, thus both are involved in making the project a "go."
Together, the two mayors made a case for getting the application by Jaylin Holdings Inc. back on track. Until last May, Jay and Linda Grunin thought they had successfully challenged opponents by winning approval at the local level in both municipalities.
Fressola said it boggled the mind to make sense of DEP logic. One decision, he reasoned, should supplement or complement another.
"On the one hand," he said, "You have one
or two Pine snakes found and they say no
construction. On the other, Heritage Mineral - the largest Pine snake habitat in the area - and
they (Hovsons) can put up 2,500 residential homes. Right next to a toxic waste dump. That makes no sense."
Fressola said he regularly visits the 22 senior enclaves within his town and has had nothing but positive feedback regarding Wal-Mart.
"I have not had one person call me or object to it," he reported.
The application fought through two long, contentious probes in two towns and a myriad of state agencies, but ultimately won approval.
"All of our approvals are in place," Jay Grunin said, adding the site is now served adequately by United Water and a private non-community well which will provide safe, potable water. In addition, the Department of Transportation has given final approval to a reconfiguration of the busy intersection that will service the store.
The Grunins provided a table topped with over 7,000 pro-Wal-Mart signatures of residents within a 10-mile radius of the proposed site at Northampton and Route 37 West. Those signatures were garnered in a three-week period from September 18 to October 7 this year, he said. Grunin claimed another 20,000 could have been taken given another month of canvassing.
Officials in favor of the project offered a number of reasons why the one state government agency, the Department of Environmental Protection, should rethink its decision to withhold approval on the proposed 203,000- foot Wal-Mart superstore. The combination dry goods and grocery outlet would straddle the townships, bringing a wealth of tax dollars, some jobs and a revitalized Route 37 West corridor, they claimed.
Toward that end, developer Jay Grunin said the current site of the Flora-Craft Inc. plant located diagonally to the proposed site is now under contract for a proposed super Wawa store and another retailer.
That's the tip of the financial iceberg. Brush outlined the effect a $45 million ratable will have on taxpayers in the towns: Toms River will get $341,000 and Manchester $323,000 annually in taxes. There will be 450 jobs, 300 after the store opens.
"It will reduce taxes and provide property tax relief," Brush said.
The effect will be a half-penny shaved from Toms River tax rate. In Manchester, Fressola said, the savings will be 1 1/2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
| 
