Over the past six months, local elected officials and residents have steadily fought to halt a controversial utility project planned to cut through Monmouth County. This week, they got valuable face-time with some key decision makers who came to see the proposed corridor for themselves.
On Nov. 28, in a visit arranged by Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-NJ), NJ Transit vice chairman Bruce Meisel, board members Flora Castillo and James Finkle Jr., and several aides made stops at loca- tions on the map of the Monmouth County Reliability Project (MCRP), a proposal by Jersey Central Power and Light Company.
The MCRP is envisioned to run along the railroad’s right-of-way, which cuts through five towns. In some cases, the proposed power lines would be installed uncomfortably close to residential homes and schools, say local officials. The goal was to show NJ Transit officials firsthand how the proposal could permanently alter life in Monmouth County towns, to help influence a decision to deny JCP&L access to the right-of-way.
“It’s very unusual that we would have the New Jersey Transit leadership here,” said Kyrillos on Monday, following the site visit. “I think they understand the density of population, the proximity to schools, community centers, the historic district of Middletown, the crossing of the Navesink River, the sight views from the communities that are typically not listed along the proposed power line.”
The MCRP, a $111 million proposal, calls for construction of a 230-kV transmission line along a 10-mile stretch of NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line commuter rail right-of-way. The proposal states the project would begin in Aberdeen and travel through Hazlet, Holmdel and Middletown before ending in Red Bank.
Monopoles used to support the transmission line would follow the route, ranging from proposed heights of 100 – 210 feet tall, per the MCRP petition.
That petition was filed with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on Aug. 9, and then sent to the Office of Administrative Law. Hearings on the case will be held after the new year.
“JCP&L has good people that lead it, it’s a good, well-run utility in recent years, but it is so terribly wrong in its advocacy and push for this project which would forever blemish northern Monmouth County,” Kyrillos said.
On the local level, a host of elected officials greeted the caravan at each of the stops. In Aberdeen, which was the first visit along the route, a tour led by Mayor Fred Tagliarini touched on how the MCRP would affect a project recently approved by NJ Transit.
“We started at the Aberdeen train station, due to the fact that I wanted to show the commissioners the brand-new transit village being built there with the blessings of New Jersey Transit,” Tagliarini said in an interview Tuesday.
The transit village, which sits directly behind the Aberdeen train station, is slated to become a five-building, 227-unit apartment complex aimed at housing commuters to New York City and south Jersey.
Plans at the site also include a retail component, recreation facility, pool, courtyard and outdoor dining.
Tagliarini says that the MCRP would waste the work done to develop the transit village.
“What has happened in two very short months is they’ve begun framing this area, and it was just perfect timing to just show the commissioners a project we’ve worked so hard on,” he said.
In Hazlet, Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley and business administrator Dennis Pino spoke with the elected officials near the district’s Beers Street School, which houses 266 fifth and sixth graders. A model just how wide the monopole bases are proposed to be was shown.
“We owe it to our kids and our grandkids to not allow it (the MCRP) the way it’s proposed,” said Kiley by phone Monday evening.
NJ Transit Board members asked the officials about the potential for depreciating home values along the corridor, said Kiley.
“I’m a real estate agent as well, and I’ve got homes that have been listed for sale that are by the tracks that are not moving because people have to sign a disclaimer saying they are aware of the possibility of these power lines coming in,” said Kiley.
Next on the line was Holmdel Township, and the site visit in that municipality was at Cedar Village Senior Living Community, a 55-and-older housing community off Laurel Avenue, not far from the train tracks.
Representing Holmdel were Mayor Eric Hinds, Deputy Mayor Gregory Buontempo and Committeeman Patrick Impreveduto.
Hinds, a lifelong Monmouth County resident, made his position clear to the NJ Transit Board.
“This is not rural golf courses – you are putting 140-foot industrial poles 30 feet from houses, from communities right down the heart of the Bayshore area, and it’s just incredibly disruptive, and I don’t think it’s forward thinking,” said Hinds on Monday, following the meeting.
For homeowners who have possibly invested in their last house, having this project come through could potentially ruin their investment, they fear.
Not far from Cedar Village is another senior housing development, Village Grande, off Centerville Road. Between the two communities, just over 300 homes with either current or soon-to-be senior citizens could be affected. “Back to back, active-adult areas that are extremely important to Holmdel and it is literally, like literally, in their backyard,” Hinds said.
Middletown Deputy Mayor Tony Fiore, along with Committeeman Stephen Massell, hosted the elected officials and NJ Transit Board members at Middletown Reformed Church, located right in the heart of Middletown Village.
“It goes back to the Revolutionary War, there are buildings that go back hundreds of years, there’s history that would just be disrupted,” Fiore said by phone on Monday. “These poles through that district would just be a tattoo on history that you’re not going to get back.”
Fiore said NJ Transit should consider Middletown’s point of view on the project.
“We have thousands of commuters on a daily basis use New Jersey Transit, from a rail and a bus perspective,” said Fiore.
The last stop on Monday afternoon was back at Sen. Kyrillos’ office, which sits on the Middletown side of Coopers Bridge, overlooking the Navesink River.
The highest MCRP monopoles would stand along those riverbanks, ranging anywhere from 190 to 210 feet tall.
As part of a visual display to show how intrusive these monopoles would be, members of Residents Against Giant Electric (RAGE) – a grass-roots group in opposition to the utility project – spearheaded a plan to fly a bright red weather balloon above the Senator’s building.
“The people who did see it and have seen it online are horrified because they really saw the reality,” she said by phone on Monday evening.
Vilardi was also one of the four RAGE members who followed along on the site visit. With her were Rachael Kanapka, RAGE president; Kin Gee, Holmdel town coordinator; and Tara Corcoran-Clark, a Hazlet resident.
“We really didn’t try to sell them anything, we really just were there and if they had a question, we answered it,” Vilardi said.
The decision in front of NJ Transit is paramount to where the fight against the MCRP goes next: if the public transportation entity denies an easement to JCP&L for usage of their land, the project will be stopped right in its tracks; if NJ Transit stays quiet or allows the easement, then the next leg of the battle must be waged in court.
“I do think they’re (NJ Transit) a major voice and a major player in this proposal,” Fiore said. “Clearly JCP&L is putting together a proposal that is dependent on a New Jersey Transit right-of-way.”
All hands were on deck Monday, from concerned residents to elected officials serving these municipalities and districts. It is a show of solidarity that Sen. Kyrillos felt was effective and ultimately proud of.
