From the BCCT.
First off, congrats and good wishes to Councilman Albertson.
Now let's check the box scores:
* Dems 6, GOP 2 (a big swing from the GOP control of a few months ago)
* Council 3, PJRP 0 (this most recent defeat for PJRP might be better to call a forfeit since the plans were withdrawn. Anyone know the scoop on that?)
* Citizens: zero tax relief (let's hope Councilman Albertson can help turn that around. Can we afford to wait another year to sweep out the do-nothing council?)
Memo to the Dems: The GOP may have ruled the roost for many previous years, but you're in charge now. If you don't get your collective act together and get new life in this town, you'll be tagged with the error on the play and be relegated back to minority status.
P.S.: Go Phils!
Council appoints Democrat to fill vacant seat
The Morrisville Borough Council appointed Democrat Edward Albertson to fill a council seat left vacant last month by Republican George Bolos.
Albertson, who works for the Public Service Enterprise Group energy company in New Jersey, Monday night edged out Fred Kerner, vice chairman of the Morrisville Democratic Club, for the Third Ward council seat in a 4-3 vote.
Council Democrats Eileen Dreisbach and Rita Ledger, as well as Republicans Jane Burger and Stephen Worob voted to nominate Albertson. Democrats Nancy Sherlock, Kathryn Panzitta and David Rivella voted for Kerner, who works in the mail room at Rider University.
The face of the eight-member board is now made up of six Democrats and two Republicans.
Albertson was sworn in by District Judge Michael Burns. He shook hands with his new colleagues and took his seat behind the council’s dais.
Bolos resigned last month because he moved to Virginia with his family.
In other business Monday night, the council unanimously denied preliminary plans for an office building at East Bridge Street and North Delmorr Avenue that was developer Penn Jersey Real Properties’ second attempt of sorts for a Morrisville Gateway Center.
The controversial Gateway Center proposal was killed in May by a lack of council support. A month later, Penn Jersey proposed an office building that was less than half the size of the Gateway Center proposal.
The council denied the second project because Penn Jersey withdrew its plans, officials said.
The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching Penn Jersey officials for comment.
Showing posts with label PJRP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PJRP. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Gateway Vote on Monday
Monday May 19, 2008. 7:30 P.M. at Borough Hall, Union Street.
Borough council to vote on Gateway Center proposal
Developers still need 2,000 square feet of land from the borough for the building to fit.
By DANNY ADLER STAFF WRITER
Morrisville’s council has scheduled a vote for Monday on the controversial Morrisville Gateway Center.
Such a motion would not make the project a shoo-in, however. It would simply say that the council likes the concept or it doesn’t. The developer would still have to go through the borough’s regular planning process, officials said.
But Penn Jersey Real Properties needs the borough vote because the project will require some borough-owned land and the developer can’t submit plans for land it doesn’t own.
The proposed Gateway Center on East Bridge Street between North Delmorr and Central avenues, if approved, is expected to bring about 180 jobs to the borough, Penn Jersey’s Dan Jones said. The 49,680-square-foot building would need at least 2,000 square feet of borough-owned land.
The developer would also need an agreement to either purchase or lease another 2 acres of borough land at the south end of Williamson Park for a parking lot, or to build a parking lot for the borough there and then license it from the borough.
The borough council met Tuesday night with the developer and the Morrisville economic development corporation at an agenda meeting, where it agreed to put a motion on next week’s agenda.
“Let’s not drag it out,” said EDC attorney John Warenda. “If you don’t like it, just say no.”
David Truelove, an attorney representing Penn Jersey, asked a similar question: “Do you want it to move forward or not?”
Morrisville’s borough solicitor, James Downey III, urged the council not to vote on anything more than “I like it or I don’t like it.”
On April 14, Morrisville’s EDC and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission came to an agreement of sale for 1 acre of bridge commission land on East Bridge Street, where most of the actual building will be built.
According to the agreement with the bridge commis sion, Penn Jersey needs to submit plans to the borough by mid-June and needs all borough approvals within 180 days after that, EDC officials said. If these restrictions are not met, the agreement is void and the land goes back to the bridge commission.
Some Morrisville residents have praised the proposed center, saying it could assist in Morrisville’s revitalization and bring in more tax money. Opponents are against the developer’s request to buy or lease about 2 acres of unused land at the south end of Williamson Park and are concerned about traffic and environmental issues.
Resident Patricia Schell urged the council not to sell any borough land to Penn Jersey. “If you sell the land, you give someone else control of the land,” she said.
Johanny Manning, a resident and former school board member, said the building would help the community.
“We need that building on that spot,” Manning said.
Morrisville’s regular council meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday at borough hall, 35 Union St.
Borough council to vote on Gateway Center proposal
Developers still need 2,000 square feet of land from the borough for the building to fit.
By DANNY ADLER STAFF WRITER
Morrisville’s council has scheduled a vote for Monday on the controversial Morrisville Gateway Center.
Such a motion would not make the project a shoo-in, however. It would simply say that the council likes the concept or it doesn’t. The developer would still have to go through the borough’s regular planning process, officials said.
But Penn Jersey Real Properties needs the borough vote because the project will require some borough-owned land and the developer can’t submit plans for land it doesn’t own.
The proposed Gateway Center on East Bridge Street between North Delmorr and Central avenues, if approved, is expected to bring about 180 jobs to the borough, Penn Jersey’s Dan Jones said. The 49,680-square-foot building would need at least 2,000 square feet of borough-owned land.
The developer would also need an agreement to either purchase or lease another 2 acres of borough land at the south end of Williamson Park for a parking lot, or to build a parking lot for the borough there and then license it from the borough.
The borough council met Tuesday night with the developer and the Morrisville economic development corporation at an agenda meeting, where it agreed to put a motion on next week’s agenda.
“Let’s not drag it out,” said EDC attorney John Warenda. “If you don’t like it, just say no.”
David Truelove, an attorney representing Penn Jersey, asked a similar question: “Do you want it to move forward or not?”
Morrisville’s borough solicitor, James Downey III, urged the council not to vote on anything more than “I like it or I don’t like it.”
On April 14, Morrisville’s EDC and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission came to an agreement of sale for 1 acre of bridge commission land on East Bridge Street, where most of the actual building will be built.
According to the agreement with the bridge commis sion, Penn Jersey needs to submit plans to the borough by mid-June and needs all borough approvals within 180 days after that, EDC officials said. If these restrictions are not met, the agreement is void and the land goes back to the bridge commission.
Some Morrisville residents have praised the proposed center, saying it could assist in Morrisville’s revitalization and bring in more tax money. Opponents are against the developer’s request to buy or lease about 2 acres of unused land at the south end of Williamson Park and are concerned about traffic and environmental issues.
Resident Patricia Schell urged the council not to sell any borough land to Penn Jersey. “If you sell the land, you give someone else control of the land,” she said.
Johanny Manning, a resident and former school board member, said the building would help the community.
“We need that building on that spot,” Manning said.
Morrisville’s regular council meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday at borough hall, 35 Union St.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Gateway
While this does not directly apply to the current issues with our schools, it certainly does apply to the level of taxation in the borough.
Right now, the same people who stopped the school, supposedly to lower the taxes, are also opposing the Gateway project, which would generate tax revenue, lowering the tax burden on all of us. The logic seems sound. Up is Down, Good is Bad, Black is White. Paging George Orwell: It's 1984 in Morrisville and doubleplusgoodthink is alive and well.
Here is an email that I received covering some of the background on the project. I also have a Power Point presentation with more information on the project. As soon as I can get it posted somewhere I will, but if you want to see it ASAP, drop me a line and I'll email it to you.
(You asked for information on the Gateway Center. Please share the enclosure and this e-mail with those you think may find it of interest.)
The enclosed is the materials that I presented to the Borough Council on October 2, 2007 – now almost four months ago. This provides some very interesting information which I would be pleased to discuss with you and others interested in the project.
To give you the brief update from October – nothing has happened! A slightly longer answer follows …
The basic issue holding up the project for the last year and a half has been acquiring the land from – 1) the Bridge Commission, and 2) the Borough Council.
If I understand the Borough Council’s comments on Tuesday, they implied that the Council cannot do anything until we submit a preliminary development plan. If this is what they said, it is misleading.
As I explained to the Council on October 2, October 9th, and October 15th there are two aspects of the proposal that impacts the Borough Council – 1) approval of a preliminary development plan, and 2) agreement to sell land for the parking lot.
Preliminary Development Plan
The first item – the preliminary development plan – is a routine but costly part of the development process. Once prepared the preliminary development plan is submitted to the Borough Planning Committee and Zoning Committee which upon approval would ultimately require the Borough Council’s approval.
The Bridge Commission asked PJRP to submit a preliminary development plan before they would agree to sell the Morrisville EDC (who would sell the land to PJRP) the Bridge Commission portion of the project land. The Borough also wanted us to submit a preliminary development plan before they agreed to sell us their land for the project. PJRP objected to submitting a preliminary plan before having a purchase agreement with either the Borough or the Bridge Commission for two reasons –
1) It is a very expensive process to go through – over $50,000 – without having a commitment from either land owner that they are willing to sell their land; and
2) It is illegal, which the Borough Solicitor agreed with at the October 15th Borough Council meeting, and which has since been communicated from the Borough to the Bridge Commission. PJRP cannot submit a preliminary development plan until PJRP has an “economic interest” in the property to be developed. The preliminary development plan must come after a purchase agreement.
So, the bottom line with the preliminary development plan is that we cannot present a plan until we have a purchase agreement with either the Bridge Commission or the Borough. (The purchase agreement, by the way, would be contingent on the approval of the preliminary development plan. If the plan is not approved – neither the Bridge Commission nor the Borough is obligated to sell their land and we are not obligated to buy their land if the plan is not approved.)
Agreement to sell (buy) Borough land
This brings us to the “Catch-22” that the Borough has us. One, however, they have the ability to fix. As noted above, the preliminary plan must come after PJRP has an “economic interest” in the land. One way that PJRP gets an economic interest in the land is that the Borough enters into a purchase agreement with PJRP to buy the Borough’s land.
The Answer to the Borough Councils comment
So … If the Council or anyone else says “we can’t do anything until the developer submits a preliminary plan.”
A good response would be, “Doesn’t the developer have to have an economic interest in the land before they can submit a preliminary plan?”
The appropriate response from the Borough Council would be, “uh huh.”
A good response to that would be, “then if the Borough Council enters into an agreement of sale with the developer wouldn’t the developer be able to submit a preliminary development plan?”
The appropriate response from the Borough Council would be, “uh huh.”
A good response to that would be, “then why doesn’t the Borough Council enter into an agreement of sale with developer for the Borough land so that the developer can submit a preliminary plan?
I haven’t been able to get an answer to that question for four months now …
Dan
Dan Jones
Penn Jersey Real Properties, LLC
56 E. Bridge Street, Suite One
Morrisville, PA 19067
(267) 799-4481 (Office)
(215) 378-6279 (Cell)
danieljones@pennjerseyproperties.com
Huh? We've got a chance for 400-600 jobs coming INTO the borough and an estimated $300,000 in tax revenue, and we're not showing interest in moving forward? Both the borough and school district budgets are in the toilet and here's a hometown group who want to improve Morrisville and bring money in? Why is anyone stalling on the decisions for this project?
You need to contact YOUR ward's council members and tell them to move forward with Gateway. It's that simple. Go to the borough website from the link on the sidebar to the left and find your council members. Let them know you support Morrisville.
MAYOR
Tom Wisnosky: 215-295-0439
COUNCIL MEMBERS 2008
President:
Nancy Sherlock 215-736-1264
Vice President:
Kathryn Panzitta 215-295-1264
George Bolos: 215-428-0667
Jane Burger: 215-736-1321
Eileen Dreisbach: 215-295-1914
Rita Ledger: 215-295-4344
David Rivella: 215-295-5030
Stephen Worob: 215-736-2987
Right now, the same people who stopped the school, supposedly to lower the taxes, are also opposing the Gateway project, which would generate tax revenue, lowering the tax burden on all of us. The logic seems sound. Up is Down, Good is Bad, Black is White. Paging George Orwell: It's 1984 in Morrisville and doubleplusgoodthink is alive and well.
Here is an email that I received covering some of the background on the project. I also have a Power Point presentation with more information on the project. As soon as I can get it posted somewhere I will, but if you want to see it ASAP, drop me a line and I'll email it to you.
(You asked for information on the Gateway Center. Please share the enclosure and this e-mail with those you think may find it of interest.)
The enclosed is the materials that I presented to the Borough Council on October 2, 2007 – now almost four months ago. This provides some very interesting information which I would be pleased to discuss with you and others interested in the project.
To give you the brief update from October – nothing has happened! A slightly longer answer follows …
The basic issue holding up the project for the last year and a half has been acquiring the land from – 1) the Bridge Commission, and 2) the Borough Council.
If I understand the Borough Council’s comments on Tuesday, they implied that the Council cannot do anything until we submit a preliminary development plan. If this is what they said, it is misleading.
As I explained to the Council on October 2, October 9th, and October 15th there are two aspects of the proposal that impacts the Borough Council – 1) approval of a preliminary development plan, and 2) agreement to sell land for the parking lot.
Preliminary Development Plan
The first item – the preliminary development plan – is a routine but costly part of the development process. Once prepared the preliminary development plan is submitted to the Borough Planning Committee and Zoning Committee which upon approval would ultimately require the Borough Council’s approval.
The Bridge Commission asked PJRP to submit a preliminary development plan before they would agree to sell the Morrisville EDC (who would sell the land to PJRP) the Bridge Commission portion of the project land. The Borough also wanted us to submit a preliminary development plan before they agreed to sell us their land for the project. PJRP objected to submitting a preliminary plan before having a purchase agreement with either the Borough or the Bridge Commission for two reasons –
1) It is a very expensive process to go through – over $50,000 – without having a commitment from either land owner that they are willing to sell their land; and
2) It is illegal, which the Borough Solicitor agreed with at the October 15th Borough Council meeting, and which has since been communicated from the Borough to the Bridge Commission. PJRP cannot submit a preliminary development plan until PJRP has an “economic interest” in the property to be developed. The preliminary development plan must come after a purchase agreement.
So, the bottom line with the preliminary development plan is that we cannot present a plan until we have a purchase agreement with either the Bridge Commission or the Borough. (The purchase agreement, by the way, would be contingent on the approval of the preliminary development plan. If the plan is not approved – neither the Bridge Commission nor the Borough is obligated to sell their land and we are not obligated to buy their land if the plan is not approved.)
Agreement to sell (buy) Borough land
This brings us to the “Catch-22” that the Borough has us. One, however, they have the ability to fix. As noted above, the preliminary plan must come after PJRP has an “economic interest” in the land. One way that PJRP gets an economic interest in the land is that the Borough enters into a purchase agreement with PJRP to buy the Borough’s land.
The Answer to the Borough Councils comment
So … If the Council or anyone else says “we can’t do anything until the developer submits a preliminary plan.”
A good response would be, “Doesn’t the developer have to have an economic interest in the land before they can submit a preliminary plan?”
The appropriate response from the Borough Council would be, “uh huh.”
A good response to that would be, “then if the Borough Council enters into an agreement of sale with the developer wouldn’t the developer be able to submit a preliminary development plan?”
The appropriate response from the Borough Council would be, “uh huh.”
A good response to that would be, “then why doesn’t the Borough Council enter into an agreement of sale with developer for the Borough land so that the developer can submit a preliminary plan?
I haven’t been able to get an answer to that question for four months now …
Dan
Dan Jones
Penn Jersey Real Properties, LLC
56 E. Bridge Street, Suite One
Morrisville, PA 19067
(267) 799-4481 (Office)
(215) 378-6279 (Cell)
danieljones@pennjerseyproperties.com
Huh? We've got a chance for 400-600 jobs coming INTO the borough and an estimated $300,000 in tax revenue, and we're not showing interest in moving forward? Both the borough and school district budgets are in the toilet and here's a hometown group who want to improve Morrisville and bring money in? Why is anyone stalling on the decisions for this project?
You need to contact YOUR ward's council members and tell them to move forward with Gateway. It's that simple. Go to the borough website from the link on the sidebar to the left and find your council members. Let them know you support Morrisville.
MAYOR
Tom Wisnosky: 215-295-0439
COUNCIL MEMBERS 2008
President:
Nancy Sherlock 215-736-1264
Vice President:
Kathryn Panzitta 215-295-1264
George Bolos: 215-428-0667
Jane Burger: 215-736-1321
Eileen Dreisbach: 215-295-1914
Rita Ledger: 215-295-4344
David Rivella: 215-295-5030
Stephen Worob: 215-736-2987
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