RED BANK The Borough Council approved a resolution designating portions of the borough as an Area In Need of Rehabilitation under state law.
According to a map provided by the borough, the area is bordered by the Navesink River on the north, English Plaza on the east, parts of Oakland Street and Monmouth Street to the south, and part of West Street to the west.
About a year ago, the borough began looking into areas to determine a need for rehabilitation, according to Director of Planning and Zoning Glenn Carter. The council approved the resolution during a July 26 meeting.
The Local Housing and Redevelopment Law contains three processes or designations a municipality can utilize under the law: a redevelopment area with condemnation, a redevelopment area without condemnation, and an area in need of rehabilitation, according to the council agenda.
The area in need of rehabilitation designation is the only one of the three that does not allow either condemnation or long-term tax abatements. A program of rehabilitation, as defined by state law, may be expected to prevent deterioration and promote the overall development of the community, according to the agenda.
One of the conditions qualifying an area in need of rehabilitation is that more than half of the housing stock in the delineated area is at least 50 years old. The delineated area contains approximately 217 total tax parcels of which approximately 90 parcels contain residential units or housing stock, according to officials. Of these 90 parcels, approximately 83 of the structures containing housing stock were constructed prior to 1967. Therefore, approximately 92 percent of the housing stock in the delineated area was constructed prior to 1967 or is at least 50 years old, according to the council agenda.
The borough’s next step is going to be to prepare a redevelopment plan for all or any part of the area, according to Carter.
Also during the meeting, Mayor Pasquale Menna and Councilman Michael Whelan promoted five police officers to higher ranking positions.
Lt. Michael Frazee was promoted to captain, Sgt. Juan Sardo and Sgt. Wendy Samis was were promoted to lieutenant, and Detective Robert Campanella and Patrolman Matthew Ehrenreich were both promoted to sergeant.
The council also approved a resolution to hire Probationary Police Officer Frank Metta, who will began effective immediately.
“I think it really sets up our leadership team even better than it was. We have been down for about six months due to some retirements, so this fills all the ranks and gets us back to where we should be and makes us run more efficiently, and its sets up the future of the department which is always important for us to keep the progression going [and] get people in the right spots,” Chief of Police Darren McConnell said.
Menna also presented two checks each worth $10,000 from the proceeds earned at this year’s annual Red Bank Mayor’s Charity Ball.
Brother Donald Ronning accepted the check on behalf of St. Anthony of Padua Social Concerns. Monmouth Day Care Center Director Heidi Zaentz, president of the Board Lanae Herman and Board Member Debra Lee Iapicco accepted the check on behalf of their organization.
For more information, visit www.redbanknj.org/agendacenter.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
