Crime & Safety

Opinions Heat Up On Today's Fire Referendum

Downtown Business District supports project, residents raise concerns, fire district decries "misinformation"

Response has been heating up to a that is in the hands of voters today. The Mayor and some council members are supporting the vote, along with the Toms River Business Improvement District. Opponents to the proposed land buy are flyering and posting lawn signs, while the fire commissioners warn of widespread misinformation.

The $1 million purchase of land at Hooper and Hadley Avenues in Toms River is the focus of today’s referendum, with voters in Fire District 1 asked to go to the polls at the West Water Street firehouse between 2 to 9 p.m. today. The purpose of the land buy, said Administrator Brian Kubiel, is to move the into a fire house to be built on Hooper and Hadley Avenues.

Downtown business district supports move

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Stephan Leone, Toms River resident and a landowner in downtown Toms River, also serves as chairman of the Toms River Business Improvement District’s land use committee. The downtown supports the move to Hooper and Hadley, he said.

“We support it because there are two fire companies house in two separate locations…presently in buildings that are obsolete. Equipment cannot be effectively stored in those, for what is needed for fire protection.”

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When a fire call comes in, the fire trucks have to navigate downtown, he said.

“The vehicles when they come out interfere in traffic circulation downtown,” Leone said.

He also said that the plan could add ratables for downtown and improve parking.

“Both of these buildings could be recycled. They could be ratables for downtown,” Leone said. “By freeing up the location of the fire companies now, we’ll be able to increase parking downtown. We have a design that will add probably 20 to 30 spaces downtown.”

He said the location of Hooper and Hadley was reviewed by the Business Improvement District and determined to be efficient.

“The Toms River Business Improvement District has been working on this effort for the last two years to find a location to where the fire companies could go.”

 

Hadley resident weighs in

Paula Harpe, a longtime Hadley Avenue resident, also has had several Toms River volunteer firefighters in her immediate family and said she’s a longtime supporter of the fire departments in Toms River. But she’s opposed to the project.

“The biggest aggravation is just the way the whole referendum is going down,” she said. “Not enough notice, not enough polling spots, not enough answers.”

Harpe said she’s concerned for the quality of life of the neighborhood, and also the feasibility of the project.

“I worry about property values going down,” she said. “They don’t know what the building will look like? How is that possible?”

Hadley ends at the intersection of Hooper Avenue, and just north is the and l.

“I worry about the safety of students,” she said. She’s also concerned that the traffic Hooper Avenue faces will actually make fire response worse. She said that could particularly be a problem when people are leaving work to go home, and when the two schools get out.

Town Council shares opinions

The land buy was the hot topic of the Council meeting, although it’s the Toms River Fire Commissioners who govern the fire district polling.

Residents, many of which are regular attendees at town council meetings, asked questions about the fire referendum and voiced their opinions.

Several council members addressed the comments, saying they support the referendum, although they said the communication of it could have been better.

“You have to look at Route 37 as a dividing line. You’d certainly want a fire company on this side of Route 37 because of the difficulty crossing the other side of the highway,” said Council President Mo Hill.

Getting the trucks out of the current houses, Hill said, is “difficult to get in and difficult to get out. One of the aerial trucks is over on Cardinal Drive. That should be located on this side of Route 37.”

Resident Dennis Galante asked about the value of the property. In 2006 the one property with the house sold for $630,000, he said. Kubiel said the appraisal for the corner and the neighboring lot, a total 1.8 acres, is $920,000.

Councilman George Wittmann said the appropriation of $1.022 million is based on the appraisal plus room for negotiation.

“You have to have a number that’s close enough to what the true value is, so that when you go into negotiations you have enough to go in and purchase it,” Wittmann said. “The fire district isn’t going to pay more than what it’s worth.”

Wittmann said that there may be some argument that the way this was placed on the ballot is “something that is not palatable to you” or that you do not agree with the dollar amount, however neither argument addresses the question of what’s best for the fire department right now.

“At the end of the day, look at the big picture,” said Councilman George Wittmann. “Does it make sense to have two firehouses downtown? …They were put there years and years ago when the town had a different makeup, a different demographic and a different configuration.”

Those locations no longer work and the buildings are obsolete, he said.

“Could this have been communicated better?” Wittmann asked. “If you’re looking for some self-examination, the answer is probably yes, it could have been communicated better. But don’t let that detract from the overall merits of the project.”

Misinformation campaign?

A variety of anti-referendum flyers have been mailed to homes, handed out and left on windshields, Kubiel said, calling the statements on the flyers “misinformation.”

Kubiel said it’s not accurate to say the referendum is about a move to a paid fire department, ousting volunteers. Nor is it accurate to say the land buy is part of plans for a “mega” three-story firehouse.

Kubiel said the district does not know what it will cost to build a firehouse. The district is concentrating on moving forward with the land buy, should voters approve it.

He said the flyers were even left on windshields of cars parked for Sunday service at Saint Joseph’s Church, which neighbors the proposed site of the possible firehouse.

Several homes and businesses in the area around Hooper and Hadley intersection sported lawn signs regarding the referendum, encouraging a “no” vote.

“I’m hoping the voters will seek what the real truth is,” Kubiel said. “As we’ve done with everybody, we’ve all been open and have explained the process.”

Kubiel said that while he’s heard a lot of the comments of how the district could have publicized the referendum, and those ideas may be incorporated into a next fire election, many of the other criticisms are based on ideas that are a “misrepresentation” of the firehouse project.

“There is no hidden agenda,” Kubiel said.


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