Fair Haven Mulls Property Seizure for New Borough Hall

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By Natalie B. Anzarouth |
FAIR HAVEN – Borough officials have authorized the use of eminent domain to acquire a vacant property at 626 River Road, a parcel the governing body has eyed for the location of its new municipal building.
During an Oct. 9 meeting the Borough Council adopted an ordinance enabling the acquisition of the former Sunoco gas station if an agreement cannot be reached with the property owner.
Mayor Benjamin Lucarelli disclosed the borough’s plan to construct a new three-story municipal building, which would house a police station, Department of Public Works offices, administrative offices, council chambers and a court room and general meeting area. The construction would also include 42 additional parking spaces.
The mayor and council agreed that the level of services the borough offers has greatly increased over time and with it the need for real estate. Due to the deteriorating conditions of both the borough police station and the DPW, the governing body is seeking to acquire and redevelop the Sunoco property.
The borough’s current police facility at 35 Fisk St. is a former schoolhouse that was retrofitted in the ’20s and no longer meets the needs of a modern police force, Lucarelli said.
“It is infested. It does not meet any of the current building codes,” said Lucarelli, adding that the facility lacks ADA compliance, makes the processing of prisoners “highly problematic” and also lacks the appropriate locker space for the female officers. “This I find to be unacceptable.”
Lucarelli described the state of the current DPW facility as being in an “advanced state of disrepair,” with roof leaks and improper heating systems. “It doesn’t meet any OSHA (Operation Safety and Health Administration) standards,” the mayor said.
He said the borough investigated fixing the existing facilities but even a budget of $1.5 to $2 million wouldn’t fix many of the underlying infrastructure and plumbing issues.
If the borough acquires the Sunoco property, it has tapped Eli Goldstein of Maplewood architectural firm The Goldstein Partnership, to draft detailed concept plans to be presented to the public.
Lucarelli said the governing body hopes to purchase the property through negotiation but eminent domain is a viable option if a deal can’t be struck. According to Lucarelli, the borough has made several attempts to contact the property owner, including three certified letters, all of which were returned.
Resident Diane Mevorah asked the mayor and council to be more transparent about the development plans and wondered why residents are just receiving notice about a project that is 18 months in the making.
“We are being as transparent as practicality and statute allow. It would be impractical for us to start a conversation about doing a development on a piece of land that we didn’t have control of,” said Lucarelli, who noted the property had erroneously appeared on a Registered Open Space Inventory, which previously prohibited the site for government use.
The plan is to build a smaller DPW facility and move on-site borough vehicles to a 2,000-square-foot structure at Fair Haven fields, though Mevorah expressed concern over the preservation of that natural setting, if that size structure with park maintenance equipment and vehicles is introduced.
“The idea is to get the intensity of the industrial use out of the residential area,” Lucarelli said. “Same thing with the police station. What the state will allow us to do is to put the parks maintenance equipment in a facility there. What we’re looking at right now is just north of where the gardens are situated (just before the Methodist Church).”
Lucarelli said the borough hopes to offset the cost of the project by subdividing the current DPW property at 1 Allen St. into 10 lots that could be sold.
“After we’ve sold off the property, it would come to a net neutral payment for taxpayers. We feel this is the best course,” Lucarelli added, stating that the 35 Fisk St. site could also be sold and a state grant could be used to replace the on-site community center with a new facility in the town’s library.
Though no concept plans have been drafted, Lucarelli said the construction would adhere to borough ordinances and would not exceed 35 feet in height.


This article was first published in the Oct. 18 – Oct. 24, 2018 print edition of The Two River Times.