Informational Session Results in Possible Changes to Moss Mill Road Substation Project

While many residents were unhappy with the format for the Atlantic City Electric Informational Hearing on its Moss Mill Road Substation Project held Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 12 at the Four Seasons Clubhouse ballroom, a discussion that transpired toward the end of the session may have changed the course of the project.

The electric company is planning a substation to be constructed at the intersection of Moss Mill and Wrangleboro roads, south of the Port Republic Waste Facility. The company acquired about 3.7 acres of land for the project, but the facility would only occupy 1.5 acres, allowing for what could be a substantial change to the project, which would cost between $5 million and $7 million, according to electric company officials.

“I was familiar with what they wanted to do, but knowing it and seeing it is different,” Galloway Township Mayor Don Purdy said. “I was with (Port Republic) Mayor (Gary) Giberson, and we looked at the plan. We came up with a way we could possibly move it back.”

Purdy said the station could be moved back as much as 75 feet. This would completely remove the site from view from the road. Purdy and Giberson also proposed changing the landscape by adding fuller trees.

“Neighbors won’t be able to hear or see it,” Purdy said.

Because the substation’s proposed location is Port Republic, Giberson must return to his town’s planning board and discuss the possibilities for the variance. Purdy said he and Giberson will meet again to discuss the issue, and hold a formal meeting with Four Seasons residents within the next two weeks.

Atlantic City Electric officials said any proposed changes are subject to discussion with engineers and the electric company’s legal team.

Proposed changes would not delay the start of the project. The project is scheduled to run from spring, 2013 until the end of the year.

According to Atlantic City Electric, the substation is needed in that area because growth in the area has put a strain on the existing substation, bringing it close to load capacity. They said that capacity would be met by the end of next year. This could lead to more frequent power outages, officials said.

“We don’t have any issues now, but we want to get ahead of the project,” Project Manager Mark Onkonowicz said.

The substation would technically be located in Port Republic, but it would be close enough to Galloway Township that it presented a concern for those living in the Manchester and Wexford villages at the Four Seasons retirement community.  Concerns among residents led to the informal Informational Session held Wednesday, the first session held on the matter.

The electric company is going through a more formal process in Port Republic, and officials expect to go before the Port Republic Planning Board for a formal hearing in October or November. On Wednesday, officials collected the names and contact information for all Four Seasons residents in attendance so they can invite them to that hearing.

Four Seasons resident Frank Piotrowski's concerns included safety precautions due to the possibility of fire, as well as “high noise and elevated electro-magnetic field levels compounded by the existing cell phone towers at this location.”

Atlantic City Electric prepared a fact sheet to give to the residents who showed up on Wednesday afternoon. The fact sheet addressed storm restoration, stating that with the addition of the substation, the electric company would be able to restore power to the area quicker and easier; safety, stating that none of the company’s existing substations has had an adverse impact on residents’ health, the substation would be enclosed with barbed wire, continuously monitored and there would be access for the fire department; and the only access to the site would be from Riverside Drive, on the northern end of Wrangleboro Road, and that any inconveniences in traffic flow would be minimal.  

About 20 employees were on hand with a series of charts and pictures of the area, as well as professionals to answer resident questions. The professionals included engineers and real estate experts.

One question the public had concerned the impact on property values. Atlantic City Electric Supervisor of Real Estate Joe Nice said it was impossible to determine what the impact would be on property values.

Galloway Councilman John Mooney and his Democratic challenger in November’s special election, Jim McElwee, were both in attendance, and both compared the atmosphere to the concerning the Garden State Parkway, held last month at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

“Residents of the villages were concerned and they came to get the answers to their questions,” Mooney said. “I’m afraid not all the answers were what they wanted to hear. I think a centralized presentation would’ve assuaged their fears. I asked about the stormwater management system and which way the water will be directed. The engineer couldn’t answer the question, so I was directed to someone else and they ended up going back to the same person I asked in the first place for the answer.”

“They need to give the residents a chance to express their opinions because they didn’t get that on Wednesday,” McElwee said. “I was disappointed they didn’t give a full presentation and give the residents a chance to respond. They had to know they were going to run into opposition, putting it across the street from a retirement community. A lot of people came down from North Jersey to get away from this, and now here it is, across the street from them.”

Piotrowski liked the idea that Purdy and Giberson came up with, but he wasn’t happy with the format of the meeting. He looked forward to the mayors bringing the residents back for a more formal meeting.

“Progress was made, but the format was surprising,” Four Seasons Board of Trustees President Jerry Hauslet said. “People didn’t feel comfortable asking questions and didn’t know who to ask the questions to.”

Atlantic City Electric officials said the session was an information gathering session, and that officials would take the feedback from the meeting to construct a more formal session, if needed.

“Not everyone is comfortable standing up in front of a large group of people and asking questions,” Atlantic City Electric Region Vice President Charles Wimberg  said. “Some people had well-thought out ideas. They had layout suggestions, design suggestions, and some of it was aesthetic. Some of it was stuff we just didn’t think about.”

Atlantic City Electric Public Affairs Manager Ken Mosca said he didn’t think the idea of moving the substation’s location would have come up in a more formal setting.

That will come in the next two weeks.