Middlesex County Improvement Authority clears first-phase work at New Brunswick station and affirms RWJ parking MOU
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Summary
The authority approved moving forward with first-phase lighting and railing improvements at the New Brunswick train station and confirmed an MOU with Robert Wood Johnson Hospital will govern garage operations without money changing hands; staff said the garage is meeting revenue expectations.
Chairman James Nolan convened the Middlesex County Improvement Authority meeting on Oct. 8, where Executive Director James Polos announced the authority will proceed with first-phase improvements at the New Brunswick train station and discussed a parking operations memorandum of understanding with Robert Wood Johnson Hospital.
Polos described the train station work as “new lighting and railings that are gonna be put underneath the trestle area … where Easton Avenue is,” and said, “We should be submitting 90% plans to NJT in approximately 2 weeks for that plan.” He said the work is the first phase of station improvements and noted that 60% design comments for the North Brunswick portion are under review.
Polos also summarized a parking project MOU on the agenda that “creates a partnership between … RWJ and the MCIA, where they're patrolling and some of the operational elements of the garage.” A member of the public, identified as Charlie, asked whether the MOU includes a financial payment. A staff member responded, “No. There's no money being exchanged. It's an agreement, between the partnering, entities.” Polos also said the garage is generating revenue roughly as anticipated: “We're getting a lot of daily users. Of course, we have our monthly agreement with RWJ as well. So, we are generating, a fair revenue for the property, much as we had anticipated.”
The authority did not take a separate roll-call vote on the train-station project in the portions of the transcript that were read into the record at this meeting; Polos framed the train-station resolution as a first-phase action and a submission of plans to New Jersey Transit. The MOU with RWJ appeared on the consent agenda and was considered part of the parking project materials the authority discussed; the meeting record shows the consent agenda passed.
What happens next: Polos said staff expects to submit 90% plans to NJ Transit in about two weeks; the project will proceed through the authority’s usual design-review and permit processes and any further board approvals required by bond counsel or NJ Transit requirements will be scheduled as needed.