RESOLUTION REAFFIRMING THE CITY COUNCIL’S COMMITMENT TO CREATING A SOUTHWEST PARK AND DIRECTING THE PLANNING BOARD TO COMPLETE THE SOUTHWEST REDEVELOPMENT STUDY

Excerpt:

“WHEREAS, September 19th, 2009 marked the second anniversary of the introduction of “SW6, A Greener, Greater Hoboken,” a plan that was the first of its kind, created by community activist members of Hoboken Southwest Parks Coalition; and

WHEREAS, the SW6 plan which proposed a 6 acre park and included flood remediation measures and neighborhood “green building” targets was widely accepted by the public and unanimously endorsed by the City Council at the time of its introduction; and

WHEREAS, all current City Council members have publicly committed to the creation of additional park and recreational space within the City of Hoboken; and

WHEREAS, events of the past few weeks have brought to the forefront the dire need for active space to service youth athletic programs citywide; and

WHEREAS, members of Hoboken Southwest Parks Coalition on behalf of the City of Hoboken did submit to the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund an application for grant funding to be applied to the purchase of land in Southwest Hoboken for park space, and were awarded a grant of $500,000; and

WHEREAS, the City of Hoboken has since submitted a grant application to New Jersey Green Acres for additional funding;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Hoboken, Hudson County, State of New Jersey, does hereby renew its commitment to the furtherance of the objectives put forth in the SW6, A Greener, Greater Hoboken plan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Planning Board is hereby directed to take up the southwest redevelopment study that was underway, rectify any outstanding issues impeding the progress of that study and return the completed study to the City Council for its consideration at the earliest reasonable date.”

Please attend the council meeting and show your support for the SW park! City Council chambers, City Hall, 94 Washington St.

Recently HSPC announced that we were successful in acquiring county funds for park land, however it has come to our attention that applications for more high-rise buildings in the SW area are moving forward. For more information on the current Zoning Board application go HERE.

Some good news to report: The City’s grantwriter, Stephanie Hottendorf, has followed up on HSPC’s collaboration with the City with another grant application for Green Acres funding. Stephanie essentially duplicated the application HSPC wrote for the county (to acquire funding for SW6), requesting an additional $3,000,000 grant. Times are not good for grant awards, however, we may get something, and a big thanks goes to Stephanie for putting the application together and submitting it on time.

On behalf of the city of Hoboken, HSPC completed the grant application in March, and gave a presentation to the board in April. The board was inundated with grant requests from 12 municipalities in Hudson County, all competing for a finite amount of distributable funds in what is currently one of the worst economic climates for charitable giving.

What does this mean for Hoboken?

HSPC secured $500k (one of the largest grants given this year) to help start the process of park land acquisition in southwest Hoboken.

This is great progress and HSPC will continue to work with our new Mayor to put other funding mechanisms in place for the SW6 Park.

Although the SW6 application scored very high last year, both in proposal and presentation, the application was not awarded any funds because the City had not completed the appraisals. However, thanks to Council President Nino Giacchi and Councilwoman Beth Mason, a new and improved Appraisal Resolution was submitted to the council on January 7, 2009 and the appraisals have since been completed. HSPC is happy to report, at the end of their presentation, they were able to provide the Hudson County Open Space Advisory Board with the necessary appraisals to start the land acquisition process.

HSPC wants to thank Councilwoman Mason for attending the presentation and providing the board with more detailed information. They also want to thank Councilwoman Theresa Castellano for being an ardent supporter and cheerleader of SW6, unfortunately, a family emergency prevented her from attending this year’s presentation.

The County will announce financial awards within the next few months.

HSPC speaks to Hudson County Division of Planning

HSPC speaks to Hudson County Division of Planning

Beth Mason & HSPC speak to Hudson County Division of Planning

Beth Mason speaks to Hudson County Division of Planning

Last Friday, January 30th, Ann Holtzman and Sara Stojkovic of HSPC attended the two hour mandatory pre-submission meeting for the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund. Twelve municipalities get to participate, but only those who attended the conference qualify to apply for funding. Councilwoman Beth Mason was the only elected official from Hoboken who also attended the conference.

I thought we already did this application?
Yes, that’s right. Last year HSPC solicited over 1100 signatures for the SW6 park petition and spent a few months preparing the application and presentation for the county funds. We were seeking $3 million at the time and although we weren’t awarded the grant, the County Open Space Advisory Board (Division of Planning) told us we had the best proposal and best presentation and strongly encouraged us to reapply in 2009.

Why didn’t we get the county money the first time?
The City of Hoboken did not complete the appraisals, therefore, despite our best efforts, the application was deemed incomplete.

What is different this time around for 2009?
Recently, a new and improved resolution for appraisals sponsored by Councilwoman Mason and Council President Giacchi was passed by the city council and it provides not only the Greenacres-approved appraisal firms, and a funding mechanism to pay for the appraisals, it has approval from the state fiscal monitor, Judy Tripodi. IT’S GOOD TO GO!

At the February 4th council meeting, Councilwoman Mason stressed to the city attorney that the appraisals need to be done within in the next 45 days to meet the first deadline of the county application submission process.

Who is going to put the application together and submit it?
Once again, HSPC will work with the city administration to complete the application and then HSPC will present it to the county board this spring.

What happens if the County grants us the money?
If selected by the Hudson County Open Space Advisory Board, the City gains to receive a substantial grant that can help purchase the first few parcels of park land in Southwest Hoboken, the SW6 Park. Now is the opportunity to buy land since the prices are dropping. We are also looking at other funding sources as well.

“I think the SW organization had a wonderful application. I wish every municipality demonstrated the kind of community support that the SW demonstrated.”

~ Stephen Marks, PP, AICP, Board Secretary, Hudson County Division of Planning

The official title of this resolution is:

A Resolution by the city Council Promoting the furtherance of the public Interest in Acquisition of Land for Open Space, Flood Remediation and Enhancement of Property Values, Supporting the Issuance of the contract for Appraisal Services, to be funded through allocation of already collected park tax dollars.

This is the third time a resolution for appraisals has been put forth, the previous failed to have any follow through. Here’s why the new resolution is different:

• It has a funding mechanism in place to cover the costs of the appraisals.

• It provides two appraisal firms that have already submitted their RFP’s (Request for Proposals) and meet the NJ State Greenacres requirements.

• The State Fiscal Monitor, Judy Tripodi, approved and signed off on the resolution.

This time, the appraisal resolution has been improved by tightening its language of intent (including flood remediation) and by providing details on qualified professionals and a funding source. But a crucial factor is that Judy Tripodi has signed off on this resolution whereas in the past, the administration did everything in their power to thwart this effort.

In her introduction of the resolution, Councilwoman Mason explained that the economic situation with dropping property values has created a unique opportunity for the city to improve our quality of life by pursuing the acquisition of park land.

A special thank you goes to Councilwoman Mason for her work and follow through on the Appraisal Resolution.

A special thank you goes to Council President Nino Giacchi for his support and co-sponsorship of this resolution.

A special thank you goes to HSPC Board Member, Ann Holtzman, for her diligent research and watchdog efforts.

See the press coverage:

http://hoboken411.com/archives/11220
http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2009/01/the_future_of_parks_in_hoboken.html

[caption id="attachment_140" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="Adult "I like grass" T-Shirt (Back)"][/caption]

For a full list of products and information on prices, sizes, and shipping, visit http://www.cafepress.com/hobokenspc. Proceeds of each sale help promote and support HSPC’s continuing goal of building a 6+ acre park in the southwest section of Hoboken as outlined in the SW6 Plan.

Take part in making the SW6 Park a reality!

Please join us Saturday, October 25 between 8:00pm & 11:00pm at The Goldhawk Bar & Lounge for a delicious buffet of Indian delights and beer & wine.

By attending this event, you’ll help the Hoboken Southwest Parks Coalition raise funds for legal fees associated with making the SW6 Park happen.

To purchase tickets via PayPal or credit card, click the ‘Add to Cart’ button below:

   

Walk-ins are welcome to pay the $75 fee at the door of the event.