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PILOTs popular in Kearny redevelopment By Ron Leir rleir@theobserver.com KEARNY — As more and more real estate in town gets gobbled up, Kearny is going out of its way to make it easier for those properties to be built up as revenue producers. And the vehicle that seems to make most sense in facilitating those future ratables is the PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes), in the eyes of Mayor Alberto Santos. Carlstadt developer Edward Russo, for example, has persuaded the town to grant him three PILOTS, so far, for the first two phases of his new rental apartment complex on both sides of Bergen Ave. and one for his Passaic Ave. residential project. Kearny has also agreed to give a tax abatement for a Hartz Mountain commercial tenant — a refrigerated warehouse project — off Harrison Ave. along Bergen Ave. And, in the near future, Santos told The Observer, he anticipates at least one other PILOT application to be filed by the owners of the old bat factory property on Passaic Ave. in support of redeveloping the site for residential use. The mayor said he couldn’t provide details about this project until a formal application is received by the town construction office. And, Santos said, “we do expect additional applications [for PILOTs] later this year if there is further activity in our redevelopment areas.” That could mean a new phase for Russo’s Bergen Ave. residential projects and/or a new tenancy at the rapidly expanding Kearny Point along S. Hackensack Ave. To help review the PILOT applications, the municipal governing body voted Jan. 23 to award one-year financial consultant contracts to The Banker Group LLC (Thomas Banker) of West Caldwell at $175 per hour and not to exceed $10,000 and to NW Financial Group LLC of Hoboken at $160 to $225 per hour not to exceed $10,000 to review PILOT applications by redevelopers. “It’s usually very time-consuming work to analyze the application and determine what would be a fair amount of in lieu of taxes to provide the town,” Santos said. The governing body also authorized maintaining its connection with another type of real estate expert by voting to extend its contract with Nationwide Consulting Company Inc. of Glen Rock for appraisal services related to the Keegan landfill through June 30, 2018, at the same hourly rates ranging from $200 to $300 but increasing the contract maximum from $15,000 to $25,000. Kearny is embroiled in litigation with the N.J. Sports & Exposition Authority over an eminent domain condemnation
action initiated by the NJSEA which is seeking to take over the landfill and continue its operations. The authority had been leasing the land from the town and when the lease ended, Kearny sought to discontinue that arrangement and shut down the landfill in favor of developing some type of ratable or public recreational use. The town is also looking to upgrade several of its municipal parking lots and, to that end, it has awarded a $160,059 contract to JTG Construction Inc. of Newark to undertake improvements to four sites: the lot behind the Davis Ave. firehouse, the lot across the street from police headquarters, the lot at the rear of the Kearny Ave. firehouse and a change to the American Legion lot to accommodate additional spots. JTG submitted the lowest of 11 bids ranging up to a high of $286,239. Neglia Engineering of Lyndhurst, the town’s consulting engineers, will be paid an amount not to exceed $26,820 to manage the parking lot improvement project. In other business, the mayor and council: • Approved a negotiated tax appeal settlement for 680 Belleville Turnpike, site of the 135,115 square foot Pepsi bottling center, sitting on an 11-acre property. Appeals for 2016 and 2017 have been withdrawn but, for 2018, assessment on the property rises, from $2,750,000 to $4,226,900, as does taxes, from $160,000 to $452,489, according to John Peneda, town assessor. The town had filed the appeal, he said, based on the property having been sold for $32,050,000 in November 2014. “We felt its value was extremely underassessed,” he said. • Accepted the Feb. 1 retirements of police Sgt. Michael J. Blevis after 30 years and five months of service; Sharon A. Dominguez, principal account clerk in the finance department after 35 years and 11 months; William J. Pettigrew, public health investigator/ registrar of vital statistics after 38 years and nine months; and Catherine M. Santangelo as registered environmental health specialist after 33 years and nine months. Blevis is due about $72,000 in terminal leave and unused vacation time; Dominguez is getting nearly $52,000 in unused sick leave, unused vacation and longevity; Pettigrew will receive about $58,000 in unused sick leave, unused vacation and longevity; and Santangelo will collect close to $57,000 in unused sick leave, unused vacation and longevity. • Granted permission for eight members of the Kearny Fireman’s Mutual Benevolent Association to attend the annual FMBA Mid-Year Convention Feb. 6-8 in Wildwood.