Borough Jeopardizing Relationship With University

The following letter was sent to Township Committee Members: 

By now you are aware of the unfortunate ordinance introduced by boro council 
Tuesday night which will take  a second right of way from the university for an imaginary train which would connect to a ROW that will not exist in the future in what is now the Township. Next, it will go to the Planning Board for review. 

Could this train be Hogwarts Express? Children tell me that a "leap of faith" is 
required to board that train. First you must go to a specific location and then push your luggage cart into a brick wall. If it lets you through, then you're on.  How prescient of them! 

In reality this ordinance erases all progress made in the last year in normalizing relations with the university and throws everything from the MOU to the Arts District project into question. This move was  done unilaterally and does not save the dinky.  Who knows what it might do to any future pilot payments?  It jeopardizes the university's relationship in the future with the new  government.  I've read the comments in the papers from some of you and I agree.  Kevin Wilkes summed it up nicely when he said that the ROW in the MOU may not be the best, but it is the one that the parties agreed to and  that agreement is what is allowing us to move forward. 

Apparently the Planning Board is considering a master plan update endorsing 
multi-stop light rail. When I challenged them last year about their lack of professional future transportation planning the response was that there was no funding for studies. Now that the studies have been enabled by the MOU (with results by November) they decide to make their conclusions without the benefit of the results? In the MOU it states that the study results must go to them for possible inclusion in the Master Plan. Recently I commented to boro council that "they had a one track mind" with respect to light rail. This only reinforces that observation. 

You've got three options: 

A. Lay low, don't do anything, and hope the Planning Board does not approve 
it and then hope that the votes required for a boro override will not materialize.  Then we can all watch its slow and agonizing death with months more of bickering. Alternatively, it could pass. Then the boro would bring along the baggage of a huge financial liability both for putting the ROW in place and then for exercising the option to keep it. Either way, good relations with the university would be unlikely. The option carries no political risk, right?  But wait, not so fast.  What it does do is start our new government out on the wrong foot.  Many of you hope to be a part of that government. Won't there be enough problems without this? Actually this option has a huge political risk. 

B. Introduce a companion ordinance and then resoundingly defeat it.  To the 
public, that just looks like semantics and game playing.  We have enough of that already in the boro. 

C. Step up and display leadership. Pass a resolution stating that this is 
not they way the Township does business and that the new government shouldn't act that way either. State that your word is good in an agreement and you feel that principle should be carried forward.  State that taking a second ROW is a bad idea and why. Point out that the Transportation Task Force is moving forward as 
the MOU intended. Suggest that the Planning Board wait until the study results are in before altering the Master Plan. 

Take the high road and take action at your next meeting.

Chip Crider

Princeton