Letter To The Editor: 'Please Do Not Sign BAC Petition'

After reading the press release in the Patch, I feel the need to clarify a few things regarding the proposed BAC facility. 

First of all, the BAC is misleading the public as the amount of revenue the sewage hookup will bring to Berkeley Heights. Having attended all the meetings in both Warren and Berkeley Heights, I can assure you the amount is insignificant; it comes to about $6 per taxpayer. Remember, this is a one time fee, the yearly revenue is much smaller.

What is significant is the impact this huge 51,000 square foot facility will have on a quiet, two lane, residential road.  Emerson Lane only has sidewalks on about 1/3 of its length. Sight lines are poor in parts and children on bikes and moms with strollers use this road. The BAC is currently planning at least 40 swim meets a year with up to 500 attendees per meet. While they assure us NO ONE from the BAC will use Emerson Lane as a cut-through, my common sense tells me otherwise. Can they guarantee others coming to this premier facility will also refrain from using the street? The hours of operation are to be from 5:30 a.m. until after 10 p.m., 7 days a week. That’s a lot of traffic for Emerson Lane and Hillcrest Road to handle. Can you imagine trying to turn onto Plainfield Avenue after a swim meet? 

Speaking of  which, when my daughter was in high school, the Governor Livingston swim team had to practice at a pool in Cranford at 6 a.m. on weekdays before school. How helpful was the BAC to the swimmers in Berkeley Heights who could not afford the extremely expensive fees charged for the older teens in the program?

Finally, who gets the benefits – $$$$$ – from this proposed sight?  Warren Township will be the grateful recipient of the tax revenues. Berkeley Heights will be the recipient of increased traffic, noise, and the loss of a quiet residential neighborhood. 

Thank you,

Karen R. Freudenberger – 36 year resident of Emerson Lane