Candidates vie for mayor, council seats
Traffic, taxes and development cited as primary issues in race
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer
The plans for the former Stop & Shop site at the intersection of Middlesex and Central avenues, property taxes, and traffic are the major issues in the race for the part-time mayoral position and the two available seats on the Metuchen dais.

Two candidates are vying for the parttime mayoral position, which pays $2,000 a year, and four candidates are vying for the two available, three-year council seats, which each carry a stipend of $1,200 a year.

Democratic incumbent Thomas Vahalla, a councilman for 14 years, will face Republican Steven Shapiro, who ran for a council seat last year, for the mayoral position.

Vahalla or Shapiro will replace longtime Mayor Edmund O'Brien, who announced in February that he would not seek a fourth term as mayor.

Councilwoman Cathy Totin, who has been on the council since 1996, also announced she would not seek another term.

Democratic incumbent Alan Grossman, who is running for his third term, will join former Councilwoman Beatrice Moskowitz to face Republican newcomers Christopher Morrison and Will Waldron.

Alan Grossman, Thomas Vahalla, Beatrice Moskowitz

Vahalla and Grossman said they want to continue maintaining the borough's character and moving forward into the future.

Moskowitz, who served two terms from 1994 to 2000, said she chose to come back to the council because she has always shared the same vision for Metuchen with her running mates and because she cares about the borough.

"It's like it has come full circle because with the new proposed development, many issues such as traffic is what we were working on during my time on council," said Moskowitz, who said she had to leave the council in 2000 for personal reasons.

Shapiro said he enjoyed his experience running for a council seat in last year's election.

"That is why I'm running for mayor this year," he said. "I want to still be involved. I want to give back to the community for the 17 years that my family and I have lived here."

Newcomers Morrison and Waldron said they are looking for a change.

"I feel that we are not being heard," Waldron said.

The two newcomers said they would use every tool they have to listen, analyze and make the necessary changes that are needed.

"Everyone on the council are all good people, but on occasion someone needs to stand up," Morrison said. "Someone needs to play devil's advocate, and that rarely happens [with the current mayor and council]."

Morrison added that debate is important.

"We need to be proactive and create debate," he said. "The process needs to be more transparent and more open. Questions need to be answered on why things were done a certain way."

The candidates said they promise to open Borough Hall's doors, to spark openyet civil debate, to seek out more public input at borough meetings via Internet, telephone or e-mail.

"A Web cast is feasible and cheap," Morrison said. "We can present open meetings and can collaborate ideas out that way."

The candidates added that it is important to put the master plan and other key documents on the borough's Web site for all to review and analyze.

"It's time to pull our municipal planning into the 21st century," Morrison said.

Development in the D-1 Downtown

Development District

The proposed Renaissance Properties Inc. development for the former Stop & Shop site on Middlesex and Central avenues and the connection of New Street to the existing downtown are heavy on the minds of borough residents, and the candidates say they are aware of this.

All candidates said the public meetings and "charettes" (work sessions) produced great ideas.

"It's important to maintain Metuchen's residential character and viability with the development," Vahalla said. "It needs to complement the downtown. We all attended the 'charettes,' and many great ideas came from those meetings. We're moving ahead nicely."

The candidates said they were told a grocery store is a must.

"Every door we hit, residents expressed their want for a grocery store," Vahalla said. "We listened to residents and agree that it is so important to have a grocery store."

The Republican candidates said they were concerned about what type of grocery store would be placed in the development.

"We want a market, but on the other hand, we don't want a market that sells a box of cereal for $12," Shapiro said.

Morrison said residents want a desirable market where people can walk to.

"We have seen the plans, and there is 15,600 square feet set aside for one, which is not a big space," he said. "This presents a real challenge."

The master plan includes a draft ordinance as a guide for any supermarkets interested in the site. The supermarket cannot exceed 40,000 square feet.

"It seems 40,000 would be more workable," Morrison said. "Maybe something can be done."

Waldron said the residents are not always being heard.

"For example, valid points are not reflected in the [land development ordinance for the D-1 Downtown Development District, which the council approved in July] where we have a unique opportunity of making Metuchen a positive place for people to visit."

Focus needs to be on the businesses.

"The business owners are the heart of Metuchen," Waldron said. "We need businesses in the borough for residents in town to feel that they can get everything they need without leaving the town."

Grossman and Moskowitz agreed.

"We don't want to take five trips to another store outside the borough when we can get all we need at a store in town," Moskowitz said. "You get that feeling of safeness when the business owners know your name and your child's name."

Vahalla said looking ahead, Metuchen has to adapt to its surrounding communities.

"We have to think of Wal-Mart and the development on the Ford plant in Edison," he said. "If we just stand still, we will suffer a loss and lower our residential values. We have to make sure we can compete and draw people in."

Vahalla added that the new development would go along with the rest of the downtown.

"It won't compete with the existing downtown, it will add to the town," he said. "We worked to tweak the ordinance to allow more office space and retail to come in."

Grossman said he looks forward to the town green where the summer concerts can be held.

"Rather than the parking lot," he said.

Traffic

Traffic problems are a concern with the proposed Renaissance development in addition to the current traffic problems.

The Democratic candidates said they would like to address parking.

"If there is enough parking, then we can provide a town green," said Vahalla. "We have to plan for today as well as three to five years from now."

The borough received $750,000 from a lawsuit filed against neighboring Edison over the Wal-Mart on Route 27 in April 2005 because the development as planned jeopardized a ramp on Route 287 that Metuchen has been working on for years with county and state officials to allow traffic to go directly on or off Route 287 rather than onto residential streets.

"The plans for the interchange are moving forward because we all worked together," said Vahalla.

Morrison said traffic is a problem; however, the traffic-calming proposals for the new development sound promising.

"There is also a need for a downtown public space for gathering," Morrison said. "We need to focus on the parking decks. It may be very positive and may work great."

Waldron added that they would support having the borough engineer conduct studies and report to the council on how to improve traffic flow in the short term.

"We are bounded and bisected by state and county roads," he said. "So we would need compelling evidence from experts to convince those in charge on the county and state level that the changes we propose are prudent and will benefit the borough, the county and the state."

Property Taxes

The candidates said it is important to stabilize taxes and at the same time keep services.

"Metuchen has always been fiscally sound," Moskowitz said. "We have something in the works [D-1 Development] that will be marvelous for our tax rate."

The new development is proposed to bring in $100,000 in tax revenue.

Vahalla said over his 14 years on the council, money has been saved and services have increased due to the purchase of automated garbage trucks and training.

"The garbage trucks have freed up Department of Public Works employees, making the department more efficient," he said. "Some of the DPW employees are trained in tree removal, which saves us money."

Candidates said it was important to work with the Board of Education to keep property taxes stable.

"In some ways we share services, and some people don't see that," Vahalla said. "When they were building the turf field at the school, we collaborated with the school board, so they could use the recreational fields. We also share equipment."

Moskowitz added that as a member of the cable committee, the borough helped ensure that all the schools were completely wired.

"In my second year on council, I helped push MEtv-22 to start running," she said.

The Democratic candidates said the volunteers are the heart of Metuchen, whether it's from the auxiliary police at the fairs and events or the volunteers of the Metuchen Chamber of Commerce.

"This is what makes Metuchen special," Grossman said. "They benefit the town."

"It shows what kind of community this is," Vahalla added.

The Republican candidates said they realize that there are challenging times ahead for the borough with expenses rising because the borough is obligated to fully fund pensions out of municipal coffers.

"In the next few years, municipalities will be forced to shoulder increasingly burdensome financial obligations," said Waldron. "The new development on the Stop & Shop parcel will bring in new tax revenues, but also increase traffic on old worn roads."

Candidate information

Vahalla, 58, University Avenue, is a teacher at Metuchen High School and teaches drafting, mechanical and architectural drawing and computer repair. He has lived in the borough for 33 years. He is married with three children.

Shapiro, 51, of Newman Street, is seeking his first full term. He is a consultant. Shapiro has been a Metuchen resident for 17 years. He is married with two children.

Alan Grossman, 46, Pleasant Place, is the associate director of Annual Giving at William Paterson University. He has lived in the borough for 10 1/2 years. He is married with five children.

Beatrice Moskowitz, 60, Middlesex Avenue, is principal of Robert Mascenik School No. 26 in Woodbridge and has been an educator for 40 years. She has lived in the borough for 27 years. She has a daughter, son-in-law, and a 2-year-old grandchild.

Christopher Morrison, 42, High Street, is an attorney for Swiss Re in New York City. He has lived in the borough for 12 years. He is married with six children.

Will Waldron, 39, Franklyn Place, is a litigation partner at the law firm Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman and Goggin in Roseland. He has lived in the borough for nine years. He is married with three daughters.