Post-Coronavirus Future Of Caldwell Center Is ‘Conundrum’

CALDWELL, NJ — For now, Caldwell continues to follow Gov. Phil Murphy’s shutdown guidelines for the coronavirus crisis. But there may be some changes in store for the Caldwell Community Center whenever the state opens up again, officials say.

On Sunday, Caldwell borough officials released a COVID-19 update, which included a statement about the future of the community center.

READ MORE: NJ Coronavirus Updates (Here's What You Need To Know)

Caldwell officials wrote:

“The Community Center has a very unique situation as it is a membership only operation. Over the past year and a half, we have been working hard with Rosemarie Sutherlin and Shannon Cornine to make it self-sustaining and remove the burden of this facility from the taxpayers. Progress was being made, and then COVID-19 struck. Since its closure on March 13th, it is becoming ever more apparent that an opening in the near future is unlikely. At this time we are hoping to re-open on January 1, 2021.”

Caldwell officials continued:

“As with many of the difficult health decisions the mayor and council are required to make, we are hoping for guidance from state and county officials. Given the nature of CCC business, it would require a relaxation of social distancing, which is likely going to require a major research breakthrough. We are all hoping for that.”

For now, the borough will continue to take a hard look at how the center operates.

Officials wrote:

“We will use this time to reevaluate the model of the CCC. There are major capital expenses that are required: pool heater, roof, flashing on the walls, security doors, and locker rooms. While our costs have been going up, teams have asked to pay less for use of the facility and our membership is paying a fair market rate. Unfortunately, the shortfall should not be at Caldwell taxpayers’ expense, especially at a time when our residents are struggling financially.”

Caldwell officials added:

“It is extremely important that the members of the CCC, but more importantly the taxpayers of Caldwell, understand that the CCC losses and deficits should not be funded by the taxpayers. The CCC is a member driven revenue model. Taxpayers who do not join the CCC should not be forced to have their tax dollars subsidize any deficits. This is the conundrum with which we are faced.”

Officials concluded:

“We hope, as you all do, that this terrible pandemic will soon be over so we can all go back to our lives. Everything will be different. Yet, we have no idea what our new lives will be. We hope, as you do, that we can find a way to have a new and improved Caldwell Community Center fully funded by a vibrant, dedicated membership. Whether or not that can become a reality is something that we cannot answer at this point. There is so much uncertainty now. The greatest priority is that we beat this health crisis. There will be more detailed information regarding memberships and programs in the coming weeks.”

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