ROCKY HILL BOARD OF HEALTH LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
ROCKY HILL BOARD OF HEALTH LAUNCHES NEW SOURCE FOR LOCAL HEALTH INFORMATION
New Website Focuses on Important Health Information and News for Residents and Local Businesses of Rocky Hill
5/19/08 (Rocky Hill, N.J.) Leaders in Government and healthcare agree on the importance of individuals being active partners in keeping themselves healthy.
There are many sources of health information available ranging from checkout magazine stands to authoritative government agencies.
Obtaining accurate health information can be time-consuming, even overwhelming. The Rocky Hill Board of Health has created a website ( http://rockyhillnjboh.org ) to help residents and those who work in the Borough find the relevant information they need, at the level of detail they want, to protect and enhance their own health and that of their families and community.
Report From Rocky Hill~Sept
Early one evening after dinner my wife and I took a walk through the Greenacres behind our home in Rocky Hill. The sun was just kissing the tops of the long grass, and one whole field was full of Queen Anne’s Lace.
We walked a well-trodden path, and came across a man walking his dog, a beagle. The beagle picked up the scent of rabbit without too much trouble, but he was on a leash. All he could do is sniff the air and bark. He did a lot of barking because there were a lot of rabbits.
We got to the top of the path and sat on the bench. There was more Queen Anne’s lace up there, corn flowers, clover, and a few more flowers than I could identify.
That morning we had seen a flock of gold finches exploding into the air in roadway, and there was a resident redtail hawk, whose eerie cries meant he was hunting somewhere nearby.
The 26 ½ acre Rocky Hill Greenacre site is an absolute gem.
What brings this to mind was the attempt during the spring by the Coalition of Affordable Housing (COAH) to require many towns in New Jersey to provide more ”affordable” housing in their communities.
For instance, the new requirements say that instead of buying and selling the requirements to larger cities with more facilities, towns like Rocky Hill must provide those sites themselves. Also, the old requirement was, among other things, that for every nine new fair market value homes, the municipality (or the builder) would provide one affordable housing unit.
By voluntarily agreeing to COAH requirements, a municipality would make itself immune from what is called a “builders remedy.” Some of the more predatory home developers are reputed to have more lawyers than architects, and win approvals for developments by the mere threat of forcing a town to accept their version of affordable housing, called a “builder’s remedy.”
The new requirements were for one affordable unit for every five fair market units. That means that if and when the age-restricted Schafer Tract homes are built, the Borough would be responsible for providing an additional six or so affordable units. Those units could be “mother-in-law” apartments, converted garages, or condos.
COAH, however, uses a mapping system, called a Geographic Information System, showing the location of property lines, roads and other features. However, this map doesn’t distinguish between protected open space and something like developable land. Or a malarial swamp for that matter.
Consequently, a COAH functionary stuck his thumb on the Greenacres open space in Rocky Hill and said, “There’s where you will build your affordable housing.” The Borough has objected and has joined with the League of Municipalities in a suit to force them to change the way they have determined the Borough’s COAH obligation.
Another possibility would be for Rocky Hill to renounce COAH, go its own way, and risk a builder’s remedy. As there is relatively little space otherwise available – the Scassera Tract and Schafer Tract are both spoken for - that would be less likely to happen. Meanwhile, the League of Municipality suit is proceeding, with nothing new to report.
Meanwhile, the State is still attempting to force the Borough to pay for patrolling by the State Police. They have been patrolling for about an hour a day for some time, although that varies. In the spring, the Governor threatened to force the Borough to pay more than $90,000 for patrolling. That’s not so bad. The town of Buena Vista, in Atlantic County, got a $300,000 bill. Ouch!
All affected towns protested. The Borough’s bill was lowered to $67,000 or so. The other choice was to lose funding from the State. The Borough had been expecting to receive $46,000 in funding, not a bill for services. When the smoke cleared it received $29,000.
But the original bill for State Police patrolling was $54,000. Because a proviso in the latest proposal from the State is a hardship requirement that property taxes not rise by more than $100 per home, that bill was reduced to $29,000.
“Do the math,” as Mayor Zimmerman said. He pointed out that what the State had been trying to do is reduce property taxes with a cap on property tax rate increases, not add to them. The Borough has objected, along with fourteen other towns, in a suit filed in July against the State Attorney General. The plaintiffs say that the State proposal is an unfunded mandate, which is a violation against the state constitution. The first hearing is scheduled for October 15.
NJ State Sen. Van Drew from Atlantic County, has introduced a bill to put a surcharge on all tickets issued by the State Police. Since the State says that the cost for community policing is about $90 million, the surcharge would raise more than $80 million, just based on the number of tickets the State Police issued last year. Half of the funds would be earmarked for small towns towns, which rely on the State Police, and the other half would go to towns like Montgomery, which have their own police departments. Those grants would range from $5,000 to $1 million. Some affected towns have objected that the surcharge is too high. Consequently, the number being bandied about Trenton is $12 to $15 per ticket. Go figure.
If a town chooses not to sign onto the Governor’s plan, they will lose State Police patrolling, but receive some financial aid. Or they could choose to receive no aid, but keep the patrolling. A Hobson’s choice, in other words. The State has given Dec. 15 as a deadline for any solution for next year’s budget.
The State Police have been especially uncommunicative about how many calls they have made. The Borough needs this information in order to negotiate services with other police departments, should the need arise.
Mayor Zimmerman said, “It’s not as much about the money as much as, why us? It will add about five cents per hundred to the tax bill. It’s more like one thing after another.” He protested as well, the unfairness of it – aid to small towns (where voters tend to be mostly Republican) was cut while millions went to cities, where most voters are registered Democrats. As much as $45 million went to Newark. More will be revealed.
One change in Rocky Hill is the transfer of the liquor license to the new owners of the Santa Fe Restaurant, Evan and Maria Blomgren. They will close the restaurant for renovation and expect to re-open in late September with a new menu, described as contemporary American, and a Victorian décor, and bring back the old name, the Rocky Hill Inn. Best wishes!
And best wishes to Mei Mei Morris, librarian at the Mary Jacobs Library, on a speedy recovery.
The Borough has received a $15,000 recreation grant from the County. This will be used towards work at Van Horne Park.
An opening will appear on the School Board in September due to the move from Rocky Hill to Montgomery by one of the members on the Board.
The Borough also renewed a contract with Montgomery for $2,000, which allows all Rocky Hill residents to use Montgomery Township recreation facilities.
In response to a question from the public, the Mayor revealed that Borough has spent $10,905 succesfully defending itself against a suit by the Rocky Hill Responsible Growth organization. The Planning Boartd will have spent a comparable amount, and pPulte homes has paid $6,471 to the Borough for legal expenses. Estimates are that the Borough altogether will have spent $20 to $25,000. The Responsible Growth group is still appealing. Borough Council meets twice a month at 7:30 at Borough Hall. For more information online, www.rockyhill-nj.gov.
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