Westfield Fails To Get Grant For Rialto Theater, Will Try Again

WESTFIELD, NJ — Mayor Shelley Brindle addressed the Westfield Town Council on Tuesday night, talking about several issues to be voted on at the meeting. She also announced, in her opening remarks, that the town failed to get a grant they were pursuing to turn the closed Rialto Theater on East Broad Street into an arts center.

"We are pursuing other sources of funding, including from the county," Brindle said. "However, I am disappointed that we have yet to find a general investment partner to bear some of the risk in pursuing that endeavor. I remain optimistic that a solution will emerge."

Brindle clarified on Thursday that the town had first sought grant money to hire a consultant to conduct a feasibility study. Once that's done, the town can try to raise funds to buy the privately owned property. She said a consultant could cost $40,000 to $60,000.

"We're still got a lot of feelers out there for some funding," she said. "It's critical for us to determine the viability of supporting a performing arts center. We're looking for partners to come to the table and help us do this."

She said other towns have formed nonprofit corporations or sought investors for such centers.

Also at the meeting, the council held a final vote to expand the number of seats on the District Management Corporation, which oversees programs and promotion for the business district. The board was expanded from seven to 11 seats (see related story). The council also took a final vote to form an Access and Inclusivity Council.

And the council voted to introduce a measure to sell wooded land at 320 Virginia St. to the private homeowners abutting it.

Here are the mayor's opening comments at the meeting on Tuesday:

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Parks Plan
We have a packed agenda tonight, which will kick off with a presentation by Pat Hoagland from Brandstetter Carroll, the firm we hired to produce the Strategic Parks and Recreation Plan, a very detailed and exciting document that I hope everyone has had a chance to review. As you know, the Parks Plan process included several public workshops and an online survey that yielded tremendous feedback from the community to shape the final plan. Thanks to all who took the time to provide their input, and special thanks to the Steering Committee which included four members of the Recreation Commission, our Recreation Director Don Bogardus and Assistant Director Heather Re, Town Administrator Jim Gildea, Public Works Director Greg O’Neil, Freeholder and Westfield resident Kim Palmieri Mouded, School District Business Administrator Dana Sullivan, and Councilmemebers Mark LoGrippo and Mike Dardia.
I’d also like to extend special thanks to those who worked on the initial Tamaques Field Plan a few years ago, and particularly to former Councilman and Rec Commission member Peter Eschausse. Their persistence on advocating for new fields has led us to where we are today, which much of their work informing many of tonight’s recommendations.
I hope you’ll be as excited as I am about this ambitious plan, which provides a 10 year roadmap for our parks, recreation opportunities, and open spaces. We will be voting on a resolution tonight to formally refer the Parks Plan to the Planning Board for adoption into the Master Plan Reexamination.

Rialto
On the Rialto front, we recently learned that we did not receive the grant that we were expecting to support a feasibility study that would help identify the highest and best use of the building as a performing arts center. We are pursuing other sources of funding, including from the county, however I am disappointed that we have yet to find a general investment partner to bear some of the risk in pursuing that endeavor. I remain optimistic that a solution will emerge but we have to ensure that it's ultimately one that works for our residents and taxpayers.

Police Military Equipment
Tonight, we are voting on a resolution to authorize participation in the Law Enforcement Support Officer (LESO) Program in order to authorize disposal of military equipment that was previously acquired but no longer needed. Other communities have expressed interest in obtaining specific equipment from us which this authorization will enable. Under the leadership of Chief Battiloro, with the support of DPW Director Greg O’Neil, they have already disposed of specific unnecessary equipment, clearing out an area in the Conservation Center which is now utilized to support our expanded recycling efforts and provide storage for our DPW operations.

Downtown Westfield Corporation (DWC)
Tonight we are voting on the ordinance to expand the Downtown Westfield Corporation’s board. There were some inaccuracies reported in the press about the purpose of this change, so I want to reiterate that the sole intent of the new ordinance is to expand the representation of the Board to better reflect a town of our size, and in particular to ensure that we are able to include residents as well as business and property owners from both the north and south side. Nothing changes as to how members are appointed, and a vote by a council majority is still required. The wording was changed to simply ensure consistency with the other boards and commissions.
That being said, I’m very excited about the possibilities of adding even more talent to this vital board to help guide the future of our downtown.

Sewer Fee
Lastly, for the sake of clarity and transparency, I want to address tonight’s resolution to increase the annual sewer fee. The sewer fee from the Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority (RVSA) is an operating expense over which the town has no control and one we have been paying since the 1950s. In 2012, the town began issuing an annual sewer fee to residents at a 50 percent subsidy rate to offset some of these costs. While we have kept the residential bill virtually flat in that time, the town’s costs have increased substantially – over $750,000 in the last three years alone, a 30 percent increase.
As we look at this year’s budget, the town is now subsidizing close to 60 percent of the RVSA costs for our residents, while many municipalities in the state provide far less or even no resident subsidy for sewer expenses. Since the town only receives 16 percent of the property taxes we collect, it is that much more difficult to absorb the increases within our existing budget.
As a result, tonight’s resolution to increase the sewer fee includes a $30 increase for residents which will bring the subsidy back to its original 50 percent, and will be reflected in your March sewer bill. We never like delivering such news but wanted you to have the context behind this decision.

Council Meetings on YouTube
And good news for those who are looking for an alternative to Facebook for viewing our Town Council meetings online — they are now available for replay on YouTube in order to reach even more residents.</blockquote>

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