SCOTCH PLAINS — The township council on Tuesday expressed its opposition to a plan by Westfield to place a new cell tower adjacent to township residents’ properties.
Last month, three township residents spoke to the council about the proposed 130-foot cell tower that is set to be placed at the Westfield Conservation Center on Lamberts Mill Road and close to their properties on Winding Brook Way, Jacobs Lane and Bayberry Lane. The residents criticized how Westfield officials have dealt with their concerns, which include negative effects on their property values.
Last week, Scotch Plains officials, including Township Manager Al Mirabella, Deputy Manager Margaret Heisey, Deputy Mayor Ellen Zimmerman and Councilman Matthew Adams, met at the center with Westfield Town Administrator Jim Gildea to get a better sense of where the tower might be placed and the reasons for its placement. Mayor Joshua Losardo said that Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle had informed him that the town’s consultant had determined that the conservation center was the ideal location for the tower.
The resolution passed this week urges Westfield to halt any further work on the tower and to find an alternate location. An initial idea to place the tower down the road at the Houlihan/Sid Fay soccer fields was put aside by Westfield officials.
Prior to the council’s approval of the resolution at its meeting on Tuesday, a Jacobs Lane resident spoke and called for Westfield to “move this huge monstrosity to a more suitable location.” Mr. Mirabella admitted that there are “limited things we can do” regarding the tower’s placement. Mrs. Zimmerman thanked residents for bringing the matter to the governing body’s attention and said the tower’s location “is not in the best interests of our residents.” Mayor Losardo said he hoped that the resolution “persuades [Westfield] to reconsider.”
In other business, Mr. Mirabella said that the 2024 operating budget will be introduced at the council’s next meeting on March 19, noting that the average $68 increase in the municipal portion of property taxes will be lower than last year. He also pointed out that the township’s portion of the total tax levy amounts to just 14 percent, among the lowest in the state. A public hearing on the budget will be held in April.
The council approved the appointment of Anders Hasseler as chief financial officer, starting Monday,April 1. Mr. Hasseler, who was CFO in Garfield, comes “highly recommended,” said Mr. Mirabella. He will replace Chris Macaluso, who left his position at the end of January after 18 months. That role has been filled on an interim basis for the past five weeks by former chief financial officer Theodore Georgiou.
The council also passed a resolution expressing support for the efforts of “Union County Connects,” which is seeking to convert underutilized and abandoned railroad right-of-ways in the county into bicycle and walking trails. Mr. Mirabella called it “a great project” that will resemble the Highline project on the west side of Manhattan that turned a mile and a half of old elevated subway tracks into a park. William Nierstedt, a Garwood resident who is involved in the group, spoke briefly and said much of the old Rahway Valley line hopefully will be converted in the years ahead and, ultimately, connect points throughout the county.
