RiverCenter expands to mixed reviews
West side streets added to Special Improvement District
BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer

The Red Bank Borough Council passed a resolution Monday that would expand the Special Improvement District (SID) to areas of the west side commercial district, and business owners expressed mixed views on the move.

The Special Improvement District is the area of the borough's downtown managed by Red Bank RiverCenter, a non-profit alliance created in 1991 to revitalize a then-dwindling commercial district.

The ordinance passed at Monday night's council meeting expanded RiverCenter's district down Monmouth Street, west of Maple Avenue and along Bridge Avenue and Chestnut Street.

All businesses included in the SID pay an additional tax for the services provided by RiverCenter, which include streetscaping, general advertising for the downtown and the organization of special events.

The amount each business pays is based on the assessed value of the property. The rate is .00204 per $100 of assessed value, so a building assessed at $1 million would pay about $2,040 annually.

The current RiverCenter budget is $434,000, and the downtown alliance has two full-time employees.

The expanded district would add 136 properties on the west side to the SID and was a welcome change for some business owners whose property will now be included in the district, although not for all.

Alan Jacobs, the owner of a building on Chestnut Street near the Red Bank Train Station, told the council that he believes his building should not be included in the district.

"My building is 95 percent or more office space," he said. "There is no retail except for Pauline's Bakery, and even her business is not really walk-in. It's more of a 'by-appointment' business. About 80 percent of my building is occupied by the state of New Jersey. I can't understand how DYFS would benefit by the SID. I am requesting not to be included."

Jacobs said he spoke to a RiverCenter official and was told that he could be paying an additional $4,500 annually in new taxes if included in the SID.

Danny Murphy, owner of Danny's Steakhouse and Seafood Grill, Bridge Avenue, said that he has been in favor of being included in the district since it was first formed, and that he believes it will only be a benefit for the businesses that will now be included.

"We all see what the SID has done for Red Bank," he said. "It has really turned it around. It's time for this side of town to become one with the other side of town. I'm absolutely thrilled."

David Prown, owner of Prown's Home Improvements, Monmouth Street, said that he was a part of the original creation of the SID, and that at that time the borough had sought a mandate from business owners in the proposed district before it would officially create it and tax them.

"The council said it would only create the SID if there was a mandate from property owners," he said. "In hindsight, we see that [the decision to create the district] was the right decision.

"One outreach meeting is not enough," he continued. "As a business owner, I know that it takes a person six times to see an ad before they really see it. I just would want to make sure that this is really a consensus among the people."

Former Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr., who was in office at the time of the creation of the SID, was at the council meeting and said the borough's SID is one of the top five in the country.

"I think the west side of Red Bank is the most exciting part of town right now," he said. "Many people over there have felt deprived of the SID."

McKenna said that businesses that do not wish to be included in the SID can appeal their status, but that he felt it would be better to pass the ordinance first and fine-tune it later.

Rachel Decker, owner of an appliance store on Monmouth Street with her husband John, said that with the increased residential development along Monmouth Street, she believes it may be difficult for RiverCenter to fulfill its goals.

"There are Zoning Board applications being passed for Monmouth Street," she said. "Twenty nine units have been approved right down the street from us. How can RiverCenter promote businesses when acres of land have been stomped out, mostly for commuters?"

Mayor Pasquale Menna said that it is really a land-use issue, and that although many residential developers cite the idea of a "Transit Village," which encourages residential development near mass transit stations, the council is not in favor of a Transit Village.

"We have to look at the vision for the Monmouth Street corridor," he said.

Peter Soverio, owner of Mayo Auto on Monmouth Street, said there are some problems in the area of his business that he wonders if RiverCenter could really address.

"I can't remember the last time I walked down Broad Street and saw a homeless person asleep on the curb," he said. "But I have that outside of my business. Everyday, I go outside and pick up at least a dozen liquor bottles, mostly in brown paper bags. In the last three years, I've had to chase away four or five homeless people from my property. The police come down and take care of it, sure. If my money is going to go into the SID, I want to see something done at that end."

Councilman John Curley said he believes that expanding the SID to the west side was "jumping the gun" since no precise plan is in place to fix the problems specific to that area of the borough

"I just don't like to tax people without some specific program in mind," he said. "I think the SID has done a wonderful job in the downtown, but there is a tremendous amount of development in the pipeline and there will be a great disruption of the area."

Councilwoman Kaye Ernst said that although she had originally been opposed to the idea, business owners in the area have been gradually getting more excited about it, and she said she would vote in favor of it.

The council passed the ordinance by a vote of five to one, with only Curley voting against expanding the district.