By Allison Perrine
RED BANK – The borough council and redevelopment agency are looking to proceed with plans to rebuild the Red Bank Senior Center at its current location, a demand residents have been making for some time.
Members of the Red Bank Redevelopment Agency (RDA) analyzed several plans presented by DMR Architects to fix or rebuild the senior center which currently sits in disrepair at 80 Shrewsbury Ave. This week the agency decided “Option No. 2” is the best choice; it calls for the full renovation of the center in its existing location with a redesign to meet the post-pandemic and 21st century needs of current and future seniors.
On Wednesday, the borough council unanimously approved a resolution to accept that suggestion as soon as the RDA memorializes its recommendation, expected to occur at its May 25 meeting. The resolution also allows the borough to begin paperwork for the necessary bonding for the project and to engage with professionals to execute the project.
The senior center has been a hot topic in town for some time. In 2019, the building, which was a meeting place for seniors to socialize and participate in activities, suffered damage from a burst pipe. The incident uncovered a series of other issues that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair. The borough had been searching for ways to reopen the senior center while balancing the costly repairs with issues at other municipal buildings around town.
Under the recommended plan, the center would be rebuilt in its existing space overlooking the Navesink River. Repairs could include new flooring, lighting, painting, demolition of the existing ceiling, furnishings, cabinet replacements, insulation replacement, signage, plumbing, fire alarm devices and making sure the building is ADA-compliant. These basic renovations would cost about $770,000.
Additional upgrades, such as new windows, renovated restrooms, replacement of the existing mechanical system, enlarged rooms, folding partitions in meeting rooms and more could increase costs to an estimated $1.5 million.
Because the RDA made the recommendation for the plan Tuesday night, Red Bank officials were unable to create a resolution to support it and upload an amended version of the agenda to the website before Wednesday night’s meeting. However, one resident, Ben Forest, knew about it; he asked a question about the resolution at the beginning of the meeting despite it not being on the borough website at the time. Other members of the public were upset by this.
“I think this is a matter of crucial importance to the council and to the citizens of Red Bank, and I’m very, very sorry to see that it did not get on the agenda,” said resident Stephen Hecht. “I think it’s time to move ahead and I appreciate the fact that the RDA has apparently recommended that we move ahead.”
Resident Cindy Burnham echoed a similar sentiment. “That Ben Forest knows this and no one else does, I think is disturbing. And I really think whoever told Ben Forest this should man up and say, ‘I told him this,’ for the sake of transparency.”
In response, councilman Michael Ballard said “unequivocally” that he had not told Forest, and council president Ed Zipprich said he did not see the resolution until 5 p.m.
“I think the point, Mayor, is that some people are kind of blindsided by this. It came out at 5 o’clock and they’re not prepared to ask questions about it because they haven’t seen it,” said Ballard.
Later, Mayor Pasquale “Pat” Menna read Resolution No. 21-220 aloud, and discussion followed among council members. Though the ultimate vote was unanimous, there were moments on contention on the dais leading up to the vote when Zipprich claimed that council members Kate Triggiano and Hazim Yassin were previously opposed to the restoration of the building.
“Council members Triggiano and Yassin were against it before they were for it, so I’m glad to see them coming along on that,” said Zipprich. “Now all the sudden you guys are in favor of it, which is great because it’s exactly what the community has been asking for.”
Yassin and Triggiano were quick to correct him, with Triggiano expressing disdain for Zipprich.
“That could not be further from the truth and you have to stop stating such inaccuracies. It is wrong to do so,” said Triggiano. “You are so toxic. You are a toxic individual.”
Councilman Erik Yngstrom also corrected Zipprich for the record. He said that neither he, Triggiano, Yassin nor councilwoman Kathy Horgan ever said they were not in favor of the restoration.
“We were in favor of the redevelopment agency evaluating these plans and making a recommendation to us for us to review and make a decision. So, we’ve never said once that we didn’t want to restore and leave that senior center at that location. We wanted to let the process take place and then move forward, which is what we’re doing here,” said Yngstrom.
The vote was 6-0 in favor of the resolution.
The article originally appeared in the May 6 – 12, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
