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Ewing, NJ 08628
Mayor Steinmann delivered his annual State of Ewing Township Address on Tuesday, March 27th before the Ewing Chapter of the MIDJersey Chamber at the Trenton Country Club, updating the business community on current and future plans for the Township. Highlights of the address follow.
The Mayor explained Township has been “very, very busy.” In the 7 years and 3 months since he became Mayor, Township revenues have gone up by $80 million, although not all of that was taxable, with $24 million alone this past year. He credits the leadership efforts of his Administration working closely with Township Council and Mercer County officials.
He sees opportunity for revenue growth with the coming of legalized marijuana. NJ’s medical marijuana program will be expanding under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. In the Assembly, Bill A1348 was proposed (with a matching bill in the State Senate, S830) legalizing possession and personal use of small amounts of marijuana for persons age 21 and over. Mayor Steinmann believes that this is coming and is preparing to take advantage of the business opportunities that will arise. His Administration is currently in conversation about warehousing for medical marijuana in town.
GM Site UpdateAnticipate tremendous activity this year. Tree clearing is already underway and the last of the environmental site remediation required by the DEP is almost at an end. Expect to see “a lot of work at the GM site starting this year — the infrastructure work, the concrete work.” Tree clearing for the Sylvia Street roadway will also start this year enabling more convenient travel to area residents when completed.
The Township is not just focusing on recruiting new business, but encouraging businesses to remain in Ewing. At Princeton South, businesses are thriving and a new 42,000 square foot building is in the works that will house a nonprofit organization, GS1, that does barcoding for many of the major retailers.
Trenton-Mercer AirportA major proponent of the Trenton-Mercer Airport, who makes no apologies for it, Steinmann said that the environmental reviews are concluding and that the much-needed terminal expansion will take place shortly. He reported that 2 more carriers are looking to operate out of the airport.
Recreational opportunities for residents must go hand in hand with development in order to attract and keep people in the Township. The pool systems at the Township’s community centers are ready to offer needed relief from the heat this summer. The pool at the Hollowbrook Community Center has been refurbished and a new splash pad was added last year. A splash pad will be added to the pool area at the Ewing Senior and Community Center this year.
Mayor Steinmann also commended the donation by a Ewing resident and pet lover who donated $100K for a dog park that will be built at Banchoff Park this year and thanked those that give back to the community.
Local BusinessHe elaborated on several positive business trends in Ewing. Businesses such as Church and Dwight, Computer Associates and FMC at Princeton South are all doing well and in fact, Homasote, which is busier than ever, had an opportunity to relocate but decided to stay in the community they have long called home. Real estate is starting to pick up a little bit. And NJM, Ewing’s biggest employer and mainstay of Ewing’s economy for many years, remains firmly rooted in our town with a new CEO to take office in April.
Steinmann also talked about the importance of keeping businesses in town and assured business that “the administration is on your side,” also stating that “we are going to make sure that you survive no matter what happens.” He further remarked that their survival is crucial to the survival of Ewing Township.
Ewing SchoolsHe also took the opportunity to express his pride in and promote the Ewing School System as “quality schools” and felt that they had long gotten an undeserved reputation due to a zip code problem. He described Ewing students as achievers with 4 -5 kids graduating recently with full scholarships to Princeton and other outstanding colleges.
Train StationTCNJ College President Barbara Gitenstein will be retiring at the end of June this year and he commended their working partnership, saying that she had been “a jewel to work with.” Conversations with the college were always positive and he will be “sad to see her go.” He looks forward to working with new president Kathryn Foster from the University of Maine at Farmington.
Campus TownCampus Town is also “doing great!” New businesses continue to open there including Insomnia Cookies, InFocus Urgent Care, RedBerry Yogurt, and Hair Worx with a number more still in the pipeline such as Namaste Fine Indian featuring Indian cuisine, and Landmark Americana coming in late fall.
Reevaluation UpdateMayor Steinmann discussed the upcoming re-evaluation process which he said was a long time coming. The tax maps have finally been approved by the state after 3 years of submission. There will be a series of public meetings about the process in Council Chambers of town hall:
April 18th at 10 am | April 23rd at 6 pm | April 25th at 6 pm
After they are completed, representatives will go out in the field to begin the process. He addressed public concern with the process, stating that usually because of reevaluation the taxes of about 1/3 of the properties go up, 1/3 go down, and the last 1/3 stay the same. Our goal is to have properties assessed at true property value.
Overall, in the last 7 ½ years, except for his first year (2011) when he inherited a $3 million budget deficit, the Administration and Council have worked diligently to erase the tax hike. Subsequent tax increases have been kept to 2¢ annually. This year there will be a 1 ¾ ¢ increase or about $21 on an average Ewing home valued at $125,000. He reiterated that only about 25% of taxes collected actually go to Ewing Township. The balance goes to Mercer County, the library, and Ewing schools.
He explained that the Township has experienced ratable growth during his administration due to hard work and diligence about the companies we bring in and who we do business with to enhance the Township’s potential. The “sky’s the limit,” he exclaimed about future growth potential and value to residents living in town.
View the address on the Township's YouTube Channel.