Mayor announces new initiatives
Includes redevelopment agency, community center, beautification program
BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer

EDISON- EdisonMayor Jun Choi announced several new initiatives he will seek support for in 2008, including the creation of the Edison Redevelopment Agency (ERA), a township beautification initiative, a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program, and possibly a new community center.

"The ERAwould be an independent public body established to streamline and professionalize the economic revitalization process for Edison," Choi said in a phone interview.

The ERA, Choi continued, would be an entity independent of the township government, with its members nominated by the mayor and voted on by the council. He said it also wouldn't be as subject to politicalmotivations, because the terms of the individualmemberswould be staggered away from the election cycle.

The body would have several ways it could affect development in the township. Among others, it would be able to offer, as Choi said, "creative financing that we currently don't have." It would also be able to draw upon a municipal grants loan pool for financing the rehabilitation of certain properties, and it would be able to finance environmental cleanups.

Choi said that the members would be held to a very high ethical standard and stated that further ethics reformin government would need to be instituted before the ERA's creation.

"Before we establish this, we are committed to setting a very high ethical standard, which means larger landowners in redevelopment areas are not permitted to give any political contributions, period," said Choi.

He said the process to formally create the ERA is well under way, with state approval having been secured last month.

Choi also announced a beautification initiative for the township. While he said the specifics will be announced later, he said during the speech that it includes repairs to sidewalks and streets, graffiti removal and sign repair, among other things.

Similarly, he said he would announce at a later date the details of a PILOT plan, which could fund school construction and possibly a community center on the former Ford Motor Co. site.

When the Township Council approved the rezoning of the 100-acre Ford site in October 2007, one of the aspects that the mayor had pushed for, and which was eventually removed from consideration, was a community center. When the vote was taken, Choi said he would have preferred to see a community center there, but was ready tomove forward. The issue wasmentioned in passing during his State of the Township speech, and during the phone interview Choi confirmed that the community center is "back on the table."

"The last stage is the redevelopment agreement, and that would include … a PILOT both for a community center and school construction," Choi said.