Downtown Cheshire mayor updates commissioners on sewer project, landfill solar and rising EMS costs

Mayor Michael Rothman of Downtown Cheshire told the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 24 that the town’s long-running sewer and infrastructure projects are advancing but face regulatory hurdles and community impacts.

Rothman said the downtown Circular Lake Border treatment plant is in final design with Newterra and that Agate Construction is the contractor. He reported lateral lines are installed in Fortescue and Gandy’s Beach and that only a few grinder pumps remain to be set. "All the infrastructure in Fortescue and Gandy's Beach is in place," Rothman said, adding that remaining design questions concern the plant building and outside protection features.

The mayor said the project has run into a continuing dispute with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection over which residences fall inside the sewer service area. Rothman described DEP’s exclusion of some homes and said the municipality asked the Division of Community Affairs to waive hookup fees but was denied: "If that $150 could be waived to each home for this project, that would help every resident out," he said.

Rothman also outlined a planned 7.4-megawatt community solar array on a 20-acre closed landfill. He said the developer will close the landfill to DEP standards, build the above-ground array and lease the parcel to the company at $90,000 per year for 40 years with no escalator. "Once they flip the switch and start generating energy, payments start coming in after that first year," Rothman said. He added residents will be offered energy at roughly a 50% discounted rate.

On local economic prospects, Rothman said Downtown Cheshire has entered an agreement with a cannabis cultivator and that licensing and local regulation could yield between $500,000 and $800,000 annually to the township. "That would be a huge thing," he said.

Rothman spent substantial time describing an EMS transport problem facing multiple municipalities. He said Downtown Cheshire previously paid about $8,000 per year for transport services through Inspira but that the countywide arrangement has changed: "Beginning Jan. 1 our contract went to $12,000 per month. Come Oct. 1, our contract goes to $25,000 per month. That represents $300,000 just to Downtown Cheshire," he said. Rothman described the shift as a countywide risk and urged a move toward a paid EMS model, noting Sheriff Donato has led intermunicipal meetings and a county study is in progress.

Rothman publicly recognized Jamie Hudson, area supervisor for Cumberland County Public Works, for responsive assistance to his township.

Members of the board asked follow-up questions about DEP's rationale for excluding some properties from the sewer service area and whether hookup fees collected by DCA flow back to DEP. Rothman reiterated DEP made the determination and clarified DCA charges the $150 license fee to residents for hook-ups. The commissioners expressed support for continued coordination on EMS and infrastructure issues.

The next procedural step for projects described by Rothman will be continued design work, coordination with DEP and DCA over service-area boundaries and participation in the county study of regional EMS options.