Council to discuss future of complex

Don’t even think about asking Howell Mayor Robert F. Walsh for a peek at the basement in Town Hall.

Howell Mayor Robert Walsh looks at mold that is growing on the overhang of the entrance to the Howell engineering and planning building. The condition of facilities at the municipal complex is a current topic of discussion among township officials. JEFF GRANIT staff “You’re not going in there,” he recently told several visitors to the municipal complex. “Forget about it. It’s not happening.”

Many of the files stored in the basement of the 100-year-old building have been ruined by mold and water seepage. Asbestos insulation covers the pipes.

The Howell Township Council meeting room on the first floor seems fairly up to date, unlike the rest of the building. There are no water stains on the white ceiling tiles, but appearances can be deceiving. Asbestos — a hazardous material — lurks behind the tiles.

Howell Mayor Robert Walsh (right, top photo) examines the basement of the Howell engineering and planning building with construction official Paul Orlando (l) and township engineer Bill Nunziato. Exposed wires (above) and other issues in the municipal buildings on Preventorium Road have led Howell officials to consider purchasing a corporate center on Route 9 and converting it to township offices. PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff “If you move the white tiles and expose the asbestos, you have to remove it all,” the mayor said.

For several years, township officials have been hashing out what should be done with the aging municipal complex at the top of the hill on Preventorium Road.

And the topic — stay, remediate and renovate the current site, or buy the Global Corporate Center on Route 9 north and make that the municipal complex — is on the agenda for the March 16 council meeting.

“A lot of reports are back, with a lot of information,” Walsh said. “It is on for discussion.”

Township officials in December hired Accredited Environmental Technologies Inc., of Media, Pa., to conduct hazardous materials inspections at town hall and several other buildings that are used for municipal services.

Walsh does not hesitate when asked whether Howell’s offices should stay on Preventorium Road or move to Route 9.

“I believe the Global Corporate Center is a better alternative,” he said. “I try to be objective, but how can the second largest town in Monmouth County have facilities that are outdated and spread all over town? It’s not the most cost-effective way to run the government and service the citizens. I do understand these are difficult times, but difficult times are when you get the most bang for your buck.”

When the building that is now town hall opened in 1910, it was a “preventorium,” or “the Prevent,” as locals called it. Preventoriums were built in the early decades of the 20th century as havens for children and young adults believed to be at risk for contracting tuberculosis, a major killer in those days.

The building’s early use is reflected in its interior construction. Various township departments operate out of a warren of small rooms covered in 1950s paneling and narrow corridors.

Town hall had to be shut down for about five days a few years ago because an asbestos problem had to be taken care of, Walsh said.

Asbestos is also present on insulation basement pipes, some windows on the second floor and eight insulated fire doors. Many locations in the building also have enough lead in the paint on the walls to meet the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of lead-based paint. The building is not handicapped accessible to the second floor and does not have security or sprinkler systems.

The problems in the municipal complex are not limited to town hall. The recreation building, the fire prevention building and the engineering building up the road all have similar problems.

Children can no longer attend programs in the old recreation building because of asbestos, lead paint and visible mold conditions, Walsh said.

The Engineering Department is headquartered in a building up the hill from town hall. The structure also houses the planning, zoning and code enforcement offices. It also has asbestos, lead paint and mold problems.

“This is in even worse shape,” Walsh said.

Metal file cabinets on the second floor had to be moved because of large cracks in the ceilings in the offices on the first floor. Files are stored in a trailer outside the engineering building, construction code official Paul Orlando said.

“In the winter we have to run out to the trailers to get files,” he said.

A number of outdated air conditioners are stored in the basement of the engineering department, just for parts. Window air conditioning units are used in the building, but units made today do not fit in the old, single-pane, metal-frame windows, Township Engineer William Nunziato said.

“This is like the ‘Sanford and Son’ collection,” Nunziato joked as he pointed to the clutter of air conditioning units on the dusty floor.

So what are the township’s options?

It would cost about $1,590,000 to remediate the four buildings to make them environmentally sound, according to officials. Only then could the township proceed with renovations for each buildings, to add a total of 16,000 square feet of space. Total estimated costs for the additions would run around $4 million.

Elevators for town hall and the engineering building would have to be installed, for an additional $500,000, according to figures provided by the township manager’s office.

Officials said the township can buy the 90,000-square-foot Global Corporate Center for $8 million. The building is handicapped accessible, has sprinklers, includes office furniture, has room for growth and revenue potential from leasing out space.

Putting most of the township services in one building would improve the centralization of government, the mayor said.

The corporate center is assessed at $14.6 million, Walsh said.

“To build it would probably cost $25 million,” he said. “It’s a beautiful building. We would definitely lease out part of the building.”

Howell would need at least another $2 million for the Global Corporate Center, including $1.5 million for renovations and another $500,000 in “soft” moving costs.

Township operations are currently run out of eight buildings spread over a number of locations. The tax collector’s office, food pantry and veterans’ building are 4 miles away from the Preventorium Road municipal complex, Walsh said.

“We can get them all consolidated into one [at the Global Corporate Center], with the exception of the Department of Public Works and the police department,” the mayor said.

The township already has $5 million bonded by a previous administration for acquisitions, he explained.

“If we had to bond for another $5 million and we kept $400,000 in leases, it would not cost the taxpayers of Howell one penny more than they are paying in taxes now,” Walsh said.

The mayor said he would like to see Monmouth County buy some of the land and buildings at the municipal complex. The acreage is next to a county-owned golf course, he said.

“We have spoken to the county,” he said.

Walsh said he understands the historic value of the Preventorium Road site.

“But these buildings are too far gone to put $6 million to $7 million into them,” he said. “One-hundred-year-old buildings? Even the paneling is 50 years old.”