Historic Buildings

[Debora Acierno]

Has anyone checked on the progress of the Ford Avenue site? This is a historic site as the first Michilin plant in the
U.S.
Are there plans or any attempt to try to save the buildings?
I heard the historic ordinance has not been brought before the council because the clerk is reviewing the wording. Although the attorney has previously approved the ordinance, it is the clerk who has the ordinance and he stated he was going over it at home on his own time. I last inquired at a council meeting and was told that he was going to be busy watching the world series. Still it is not on any agenda as of this writing. Hopefully more residents will inquire and tell the council we need this for our town. Stacy, Brian, and the mayor ran for election on the historic presentation. There needs to be more involvment from residents who are concerned that our town does not wind up with no historic buildings. Much of the character of our town was lost when the Forney House came down. Is there any discussion on these issues within the group?

[Barbara Wright]

Deborah, it very frustrating that we have such minimal political impact. On numerous projects and for numerous buildings we have tried to share our opinions, gather signatures on petitions,and encourage our friends of history to participate in the political process so that Milltown history and historic buildings can be preserved. We have not had success or much community support. The political realities of this small town is that we have very few tax ratables, and are not a wealthy community. Politicians in power answer more to the residents who want the borough to do what they can to hold property taxes down, and raise ratables. The Ford Ave property is privately owned, but many many residents have been speaking out for years to try and preserve what they can on that site. I haven't heard much of efforts lately. The clean up of the site seems to be speeding up. Many people have encouraged the prospective developers to save some of the stronger buildings and repurpose them, but then, we don't have impact on the private owner of the site. I don't think that it is on the National or State Registry of Historic sites.

[Debora Acierno]

Barbara,
I am on the environmental commission in town, and they have been actively working on the historic inventory and the master plan. I beleve one key element to the master plan is to have the towns character maintained. This has also been incorporated into the master plan in a vague way with wording which instructs new developers to keep with the character of our main street. I believe there are about 70 properties that have been included in the inventory. A new avenue to preserve would be the historic ordinance that is stuck on the borough clerks desk. The attorney has already approved the wording in this ordinance yet the clerk says he brings it home to look at in his spare time. It is stalled, and specifically Ford Avenue is a site which the council elected not to include in the ordinance. The Mill was renovated, I'm sure the Michelin buildings can also be renovated. There are some people still deeply involved in preserving the character of this town and I am not seeing the groups work together. It would be very helpful if there were a join effort to preserve. Debora