If you don't already know Justin Manley, you know his
signs. Giant smiley faces have
been lining the streets of Metuchen for months now as Justin has been working
tirelessly to get his message out.
Many residents became aware
of Justin Manley when they received an e-mail from him regarding the
development of the old Stop & Shop area.
But Justin is not a political newcomer--he ran for Borough Council in
1998 and 1999. Although he lost
both times, he says he learned invaluable lessons on how to run and win a campaign. Last year's election of Councilmen
Chris Morrison and Will Waldron, whose joint campaign Justin ran, provides some
evidence of this.
A self-described "super geek," Manley created his website www.justinmanley.com himself
and has used the Internet extensively in this campaign. In fact, his work experience is mainly
in technology--he presently serves as the Chief Software Architect and Technology Officer for Arch Reinsurance.
He was also a town employee for seven years in the early 1990s. Justin loves Metuchen--he has
been a resident for 36 years--and the only thing he considers more important
than town is his wife Suzi and their three school-age children.
RENAISSANCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
In his prior bids for Borough Council, he ran on tickets that were opposed to the Franklin Square development. This resulted in his being cast as an anti-development candidate, which he feels is an unfair portrayal. He states that he is committed to development that is smart and stays within the character of Metuchen. Justin makes it clear that his original position on the Renaissance development was to inform people about the specifics. "I am not opposed in any way to developing this piece of property reasonably. It is my opinion that we should seek to balance the residential, commercial and retail spaces in town to maximize revenue and maintain costs."
Justin feels that an office component within the development plans is "what Metuchen needs to some extent to sustain its local economy." He adds, "those of us who live in town do a really good job of supporting it on nights and weekends, but this is a bedroom community and a lot of people get up and leave to go to work and they spend their daytime dollars elsewhere." He thinks foot traffic created by those workers using this new office space will help existing businesses: "they'll use our banks, they'll use our dry cleaners, they'll have lunch downtown. They'll use the things that are succeeding downtown." He feels that his concerns regarding this additional space have been addressed by the present Renaissance Development plans.
Justin does have some lingering concerns regarding the size of the food store that has been drawn into these plans. "The proposed grocery in this complex is 16,000 sq. ft. In comparison the old Stop & Shop was 26,000 sq ft. [the store being built into the Renaissance development] is really small." He adds, "I'm not against bodega-type stores, but I'm not sure that's what the people who do the shopping in town want. I think that would satisfy some, but not all." There's a 10,000 sq. ft. restaurant currently planned; however, Justin would like to see the entire 26,000 sq. ft. space used to build a larger grocery store instead.
"My other big concern about the project was its impact on traffic. [The current plan] will exacerbate the problem." He references an engineering study that "says the cycle time on Central Avenue approaching Renaissance is now a two-minute wait time at its peak; the traffic study says it will be twelve." He continues, "that plan went before the state and county because it's a state and county highway and it was rejected by both agencies. Now they're back at the drawing board trying to redo it."
TRAFFIC
Justin has been promoting a plan, one originally proposed by Middlesex County in the early 1990s, that would extend Amboy Avenue to Middlesex Avenue over old CSX rail tracks. He feels this will, "provide immediate relief to the Central/Middlesex/Lake intersection." The property, which had been planned for continuation of the Greenway, is already owned by the county. Justin's plan would move the Greenway to the Memorial Parkway underpass, "which is suited perfectly for foot and bike traffic." The key to this project is the CSX rail underpass, which is wide enough and high enough to accommodate truck traffic.
THE POOL
Although Manley feels the potential for problems at the Metuchen Pool this summer were well known and those in charge should have anticipated them, his main criticism is how those problems were addressed when they arose. "I don't think it was communicated well. I felt the decision-making process was slow. I don't think those in charge took it serious enough." He cites the danger in not handling such situations properly since the pool has a limited customer base. "You tick those people off and you chase away your revenue stream. You chase away your revenue stream, you don't have money to fix the pool."
MAIN STREET
When asked how the town can help with empty storefronts and keep downtown strong, Justin thinks Metuchen can make it easier for new businesses to come in. "Anytime a place goes empty the ability for that to go from one approved use to another is a challenge. By our borough code a change of use, even if both are approved uses, forces the business to go down to Borough Hall, file a change of use application, and put down a minimum $1000 deposit. The most important things to a new business are time and money. This slows them down and costs them money, money that could be better used to grow their business."
He also believes that researching the concept of allowing office space on the first floor, which is currently not permitted, could help fill some of the storefronts and add foot traffic for existing downtown businesses during the day. He would also explore additional events like the successful June Bug Fest this past summer as another way to drive people downtown.
Justin Manley is raising 4th generation Metuchenites and wants to ensure that they grow up in an environment much like he and his wife did. He says, "I also want to hand them a town where they will raise my grandchildren, the 5th generation. We must maintain our quality of life and town and I will work tirelessly in that pursuit."
Leave a comment