RobbinsvilleWeb News

Did you that RobbinsvilleWeb has an interactive map that you can update? With a few clicks you can add the locations of restaurants, businesses, and more to the map, or feel free to just explore. Visit http://www.robbinsvilleweb.com/maps/map.php to begin exploring and marking points of interest.

The Robbinsville Township Recreation Division is offering discounted tickets for the following theme parks (prices are listed as Robbinsville resident price / Regular price):

Great Adventure - Jackson, NJ
3 Park Season Pass $115.00 / $129.99
Theme Park Season Pass $85.00 / $89.99-99.99
Theme Park - Adult (free safari) $30.00 / $59.99
Hurricane Harbor Only – Adult $26.00 / $34.99

Hershey Park - Hershey, PA
Adult (9-54 yrs) $37.00 / $47.95

Sesame Place - Langhorne, PA
All Admissions $42.00 / $51.02

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom - Allentown, PA
Adult $31.00 / $38.99

Tickets may be purchased at the Robbinsville Township Recreation Division located at 1 Washington Blvd. Suite 14 Monday – Friday, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (609) 918-0002 ext. 120

According to a recent letter sent to Jeanne Fox, the President of the N.J. Board of Utilities, Robbinsville residents have complained about receiving letters from Cablevision of Hamilton which state that unless they convert to digital cable boxes that they will lose several channels. These new cable boxes will come at an additional cost, and customers that refuse to convert to a new box will not only lose channels, but will not see a rate reduction. All this comes while Verizon continues to work on spreading FiOS throughout Robbinsville.

The full text of the letter is:

Jeanne Fox, President
N.J. Board of Public Utilities
2 Gateway Center, 8th floor
Newark, N.J. 07102
Dear President Fox,

In recent days, several Robbinsville residents have contacted my office regarding a letter they received from Cablevision of Hamilton. The letter states that unless residents select to subscribe to the IO package by May 20, 2008, these households will lose several channels without a digital cable box, which must be placed on each television at an additional cost.

The timing of this letter comes as Verizon FiOS service is being installed in some neighborhoods in Robbinsville. Portions of the Township are currently served, while other areas will take longer to receive service due to the presence of underground cable throughout our community. It is hard to predict precisely when the entire Township will have a choice between Cablevision and FiOS. Also, our Township is in the midst of its review of an updated cable TV ordinance, which is being discussed by our Council this evening.

Residents who have contacted us note that if they refuse to sign up for the IO package or the cable box, they will lose channels without a reduction in their monthly bill. They view this action by Cablevision as a back-door rate increase and question how this can be permitted. They note the timing of this action, when some residents have choices but others are still months away from having the options that will ultimately be available to them. The May 20, 2008, deadline strikes both the residents and me as an attempt by Cablevision to grab revenue before the full force of competition begins in Robbinsville.

Our Township was one of the first to support the legislation that promoted customer choice in cable services. I ask that the BPU look into this matter and offer the residents of Robbinsville a full explanation for the timing of this action by Cablevision.

Sincerely,
Dave Fried
Mayor, Robbinsville Township

Source: http://www.robbinsville-twp.org/bpu_cablevision_0508.pdf

Mayor Dave Fried and members of the Township Council have reached agreement on the proposed Route 130 zoning ordinance that will pave the way for a long-awaited streamlining of highway zoning, in accordance with the 2006 Master Plan update and the wishes of Township voters.
“The agreement will allow Robbinsville to bring Route 130 into the modern era, which is what voters asked for when they selected new leadership in 2005,” Mayor Fried said. “The differences over a few parcels have masked the fact that Robbinsville residents overwhelmingly favor giving Route 130 a more updated look. Residents want modern services near their homes; they are tired of driving distances in heavy traffic.”

The proposed zoning ordinance, more than a year in the making, calls for eliminating the patchwork of zones along the length of Route 130 and making the corridor a singular highway commercial zone. The proposed ordinance permits current prohibited uses, such as drive-through restaurants, while encouraging high architectural standards and specifically discouraging franchise architecture.

Designed to address parcels along stretch of more than five miles of Route 130, the proposed ordinance has been endorsed by members of the business community and won support from the Township Planning Board. Only two parcels have prompted questions from residents: A parcel off Meadowbrook Road that previously received a zoning variance for multiple buildings, and a parcel off Windsor Road that overlays the intersection with Perrineville Road.

Mayor Fried and the Council have agreed to leave the Meadowbrook Road parcel in its current Office Commercial Zone, which will not affect a recent variance. In addition, the Mayor and Council have agreed to remove the parcel that crosses Perrineville Road.

At its meeting April 24, the Council continued the public hearing on the ordinance until May 8. Mayor Fried today encouraged the Council to pass a resolution to remove the Meadowbrook Road property from the ordinance at its May 8 meeting, and to adopt the ordinance at its May 22 meeting.

“No one who drives along Route 130 today can argue that Robbinsville is doing the best it can,” Mayor Fried said. “The time has come to do something about the condition of our major commercial corridor. I ask that our Township Council pass a revised ordinance at the earliest opportunity, so that investment in our community can continue.”

In addition, Mayor Fried recently asked the Planning Board to review how the 2006 Master Plan treats the Gateway areas at the Route 130 border with Hamilton and at the Route 526 border with Allentown. More zoning changes are expected from those discussions.

Source: http://www.robbinsville-twp.org/press_release_route_130_zoning_april_30_2008.pdf

The Robbinsville Police Department is seeking $140,000 for overtime expenses, nearly double the $75,000 it had two years ago. According to Police Chief Martin Masseroni, the increase is needed in part to cover increased salaries and overtime pay. Time-sensitive investigations can result in overtime work and when there are more investigations, like investigating bomb threats made at township schools, more money is needed to pay for the time to work on these cases. Other factors cited as reasons for the increase are: growing duties, high school security, armed court escorts, increased state requirements regarding school incidents, and new or upgraded computer hardware and software. Robbinsville currently has 27 police officers.

See also: The Times

Robbinsville resident Altagracia “Grace” Rosario was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison for “scheming to obtain Pennsylvania driver’s licenses for illegal aliens who paid up to $4,000 for the credentials.” Rosario will also serve three years of supervised release following her jail time. Rosario, along with her 30 year old daughter Nancy Elgende, had been charging $2500-$4000 for Pennsylvania driver’s licenses that would normally cost only $31. They had been working with Ronald Henry, a former PennDOT driver’s license examiner from Philadelphia, who was also charged in the indictment and pleaded guilty during trial. Some of the licenses she sold were for commercial driving which would allow her customers to drive large commercial vehicles including tractor trailers. Federal agents found that Rosario and others had been forging documents and using computers to alter items such as visa, passports, and birth certificate.

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

The town council has decided to spend up to $25,000 for a study to see whether the Mercer Mobile Home park can be acquired to meet the State’s affordable housing requirements. Acquiring the trailer park would add to the township’s existing 100 affordable housing credits, some of which have been met in the past by paying other towns to build housing. The study would determine how many of the park’s 147 units would qualify for the affordable housing credits, and would be paid for by money set aside for affordable housing and developer fees. Mayor David Fried has said that the township would not manage the park if acquired but may hire a non-profit group to manage it, which would not cost the taxpayers anything.

The 2008 Robbinsville School Board Election will be held on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 from 7am to 9pm. For polling locations check http://www.robbinsvilleweb.com/wiki/Voting#2008_Polling_Places_-_School_Board_Election or see the chart below. Read the rest of this entry »

Aqua New Jersey has proposed a rate hike which would cost residents an extra $116.60 per year on average. Both Mayor David Fried of Robbinsville and Mayor John Bencivengo of Hamilton have publicly opposed the 28% hike saying it places an unfair burden on about 45,000 residents. Mayor Fried said water rates lead to tax increases because municipalities and taxpayer-funded fire departments must also pay to use the water. Both mayors said they have contacted an administrative law judge who is reviewing the rate case before the Board of Public Utilities makes a final determination.

Aqua New Jersey, which filed the $7 million rate increase request with the Board of Public Utilities in December, does not serve any other municipalities in Mercer County. Aqua claims that it needs the extra revenue in order to keep up the costs of improving aging infrastructure and treating drinking water to comply with tighter federal health regulations.

See related articles in the Times and the Trentonian.

Work Out World is celebrating the grand opening of their Robbinsville location April 11-13. They’re also holding a fund raiser to benefit the Washington Education Foundation and for every person that makes an appointment and takes the tour WOW will donate $5 to the Washington Education Foundation. Theyre expecting a large turnout so call 609-208-1999 to make an appointment.

April 12 is their Big Event Saturday where there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor David Fried, complimentary continental breakfast buffet, kids activities including face painting, moon jump, and much more.

Tours are available April 11 from 7am-9pm, April 12 from 7am-7pm, and April 13 from 7am-4pm.

For all the details, see the event flyer Work Out World Fundraiser