The city of Red Bank is now ready to move forward with renovations of a building two doors away from the city hall on Dayton Boulevard. It was bought last year for less than the appraised value. City officials had recognized the need for more space, but the opportunity became available to buy the building so close to the existing municipal facilities before plans had been made formalized for an expansion.
The Red Bank Commission on Tuesday night voted to hire Artech Design Group, Inc.
for architectural services. The contract for $39,320 will allow the architects to begin the design phase. The amount includes creating plans and assisting with the bid package and associated costs to renovate the building.
The commissioners also held a condemnation hearing for a house located at 140 Alden Ave.. The building burned two years ago, and despite the best attempts from Tim Thornbury, director of public works, and Dan Knight, Red Bank’s codes enforcer, to have the property owners make repairs, they were never made. Multiple letters were hand delivered or sent by certified mail and notices were posted at the site. An independent evaluation made by an engineer in April 2016 determined that the building is now in worse shape than it was immediately after the fire because water used to fight the blaze pooled in the basement and stayed there leading to mold and mildew and more deterioration.
The structure now is valued only at $6,000 and would cost an estimated $62,000 to bring it up to minimum code. The formula used to determine if a building should be condemned is if repairs would cost more than 50 percent of the value. Ownership changed in September this year after J.P. Morgan Chase Bank foreclosed on the property. The bank, too, has been unresponsive to requests coming from the city and sent no representative to the hearing. Mayor John Roberts said that, based on testimony and photo evidence, the house is dangerous and unfit for habitation. Since the city gave every reasonable chance for the owner to make repairs, he made the motion to condemn the building and demolish it 60 days from Nov. 2 and put a lien on the property for the cost. The commissioners passed the motion unanimously.
The Red Bank Police Department will be receiving monetary help in the form of grants and gifts. In a resolution during an earlier meeting, the commissioners accepted the TML Risk Management Pool Safety Partners “Driver Safety Grant, which requires a match from the recipient. More money was received than expected which required the city to chip in $1,500 more in matching funds. Approval was given to do so at the Tuesday meeting. This money will be used for the police department’s GPS monitoring. The GHSO “Distracted Driving Reduction Program" is another grant for $14,996 that will benefit the police department and requires no match from Red Bank. It will be used to implement a distracted driver program.
A $300 gift to the police department from an individual will be used for the police back-pack program.
On second and final reading, the city amended an ordinance in order to clarify who can be tested for drugs related to a drug-free workplace policy. It adopted provisions related to random testing. The changes also enhanced employee information protection by clarifying who can have access to an employee’s file.
The amended zoning ordinance that was passed Tuesday night gives the planning commission and board of city commissioners some flexibility concerning the building of a planned Unit Development (PUD). The current code had excluded some developments due to the hilly terrain in Red Bank. The commissioners will be sent a project for a final decision after the planning commission either approves or rejects the PUD.
Also approved upon second reading was rezoning a building at 4708 Dayton Blvd. from C-1 Commercial to L-1 Light Manufacturing. R&J Tactical is moving into Red Bank. The company makes tomahawks used by the military and also sold to the public. The business also makes fine cutlery. A condition included in the ordinance specifies that the property will revert to C-1 if or when that company moves.
The Mapco located at 3603 Dayton Blvd. was given a permit to sell off-premise beer. A new license as needed due to an ownership change.
Tuesday night’s meeting was the last for Commissioner Rick Causer, who is not running for re-election. He took the time to thank the heads of each city department for their support and great work during his time serving on the commission.