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About Collingswood's debt problems: most residents seem to hold on tightly to the idea that Jim Maley is the last hope of keeping Camden on the other side of Rt. 130, so expect his reelection next year. Remember, a lot of them have a personal real estate investment for themselves and their kids in Colls, even if they were sold a bill of goods that doesn't really exist. It's a lot of hands over ears and "la la la la la la la la la I can't hear you" to anyone who tries to speak the truth around Collingswood. That's why Jim keeps PR people and others on staff, drawing salaries (not to mention ad buys in Philly magazines, etc), when people who provide essential services are being laid off.
I know quite a few older residents, people who have lived in town for decades, people who used to be in public service in town, people who were raised there and chose to raise their families there who are very upset at the general direction of the town. Especially as they are staring down declining property values that many of them were counting on as part of their retirements. It becomes a double hit when their taxes are also going up and straining their fixed incomes.
They were promised a lot and put up with a lot to help Maley attain his vision, but it hasn't worked and rumor is that this latest boondoggle was the icing on the cake. I think you're going to see the seniors vote with their pocketbooks and go against Maley this time around.
Strange that Maley can "keep full time PR people on staff" just to bolster his accomplishments. I'm not sure that transparent tax dollars can allow that? I'm pretty sure that their are plenty of people to keep Camden on the other side of 130 besisdes Maley. If he can do that stuff then Woodlyne would not be sending kids to Colls, they would be in Camden.
The seniors have the most to lose if taxes go up and I can't see how they won't. Colls is basically "Greece" right now and coming up with money and hoping restaurants will flourish seems like a huge gamble to me.
I heard nothing at the meeting coming from the mayor last Wed that sounded progressive. To me it sounded like the villain was Moody's Investing and that they should be the one's held to task, not him nor his crew.
The Woodlynne-as-a-sending-district to Collingswood isn't something that any mayor can just wave a magic wand and resolve. There are all kinds of laws around the bond referendums that took place for the school construction loans for the original high school that would make untangling that mess very complicated.
I think everyone has a lot to lose. I don't think the project debt alone is the apocalypse, because if the units do sell at some point, whether to a rental company to rent them out, or as condos once NJ/Philadelphia job markets pick up, etc. the project debt will be significantly reduced to a manageable amount.
To the comment earlier about people having money tied up in the success of the town and that making Maley a shoe-in for re-election, I disagree. The people who have all of the money tied up in this deal are the politicians like Maley, who stand the most to gain from these kinds of projects, but shoulder none of the risks by sticking the aftermath bill with the residents via higher property taxes (if the debt is called by the bank). The average homeowner has nothing to gain.
At some point, this town needs to figure out what it wants to be. With the high school issue, it will never be Cherry Hill East or Haddonfield Lite. Also, everyone around my house is OLD. The neighbors at the end of the block are in their 80's, so is the couple at the end of the other block, the rowhomes are filled with mostly older folks, etc. The reason I mention this is that there is going to be a TON of turnover here in the next 10 years.
With the high school issue, the only vision that makes sense is a town that provides great access to Philadelphia, a downtown with restaurants, a small nightlife scene for young South Jersey professionals and families just starting out, a great elementary school system, and AFFORDABLE property taxes and home prices, etc.
The town needs to find a way to get the business district occupied with businesses that generate traffic and business tax revenues morning, noon, and night. This excludes businesses like Another Italian Restaurant and My Stupid Novelty Food Place. This includes a one-time liquor license sale. The town needs to "just say no" to the school district - they are sucking up ever-increasing property tax revenue for a district whose enrollment is in a 3% decline. Also, cut employees from the ridiculous number of 100+ for a 2 sq mile town, share police and fire services, maintain infrastructure, reduce pension obligations with fewer employees, and ultimately lower property taxes to a sustainable and affordable level.
From there, market appreciation would allow young families to trade up, new owners to come in at reasonable prices, and provide something that no other town in South Jersey could boast with a location as good as Collingswood.
Agreed 100%. They should capitalize on their proximity to Philly and if that means becoming "little Philly" than so be it. My taxes are almost 10K and that gets my trashed picked up. My home value is down 35K from what I paid in 2006 and I don't see anything but sale and rent signs on the avenue.
Again, I heard Maley respond to the alcohol question with " I don't think that's a good idea...and I'm Irish!" or something like that. You mean you can't class it up with a wine bar or bistro or some other stores besides tanning salons, religious artifacts or another risky restaurant? Do you realize you are between two malls and the garden state park center?? You already compete with Capital Grill, Cheesecake Factory and Brio?? The restaurants and stores are never open at the same time and nobody wants to pay $55 for a fire extinguisher ( or matchbox car...same store) when they can go to Home Depot and get that and a hundred other things for less.
I hope someone with better ideas runs Maley and all of his hangers on out of office.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GraysFerryB4
Agreed 100%. They should capitalize on their proximity to Philly and if that means becoming "little Philly" than so be it. My taxes are almost 10K and that gets my trashed picked up. My home value is down 35K from what I paid in 2006 and I don't see anything but sale and rent signs on the avenue.
Again, I heard Maley respond to the alcohol question with " I don't think that's a good idea...and I'm Irish!" or something like that. You mean you can't class it up with a wine bar or bistro or some other stores besides tanning salons, religious artifacts or another risky restaurant? Do you realize you are between two malls and the garden state park center?? You already compete with Capital Grill, Cheesecake Factory and Brio?? The restaurants and stores are never open at the same time and nobody wants to pay $55 for a fire extinguisher ( or matchbox car...same store) when they can go to Home Depot and get that and a hundred other things for less.
I hope someone with better ideas runs Maley and all of his hangers on out of office.
Liquor doesn't have to be a factor. Don't market the town as the hippest place on earth, deal with the high school problem, & understand that downtowns need to be a mix of specialty shops that don't attempt to compete with malls & large shopping centers or neighboring towns (Haddonfield).
I remember when Collingswood did have a good mix & there really was a lumberyard that people came to to buy lumber. The decline started when RX Pharmacy left.
The aging population puts them where Haddonfield was in the 60s & 70s.
It's hard to start a business right now. Too many people are hurting financially & banks don't give loans easily any more. There are various ways to go with this, but apparently the mayor can't think of any & is too stubborn to shift gears.
No one wants a Tom Fischer's type place in the middle of Haddon Ave, but a high-end gastropub would be ideal. Keep the riff-raff and kids out, but give people a place to go before, after, and even for, dinner.
Maley's comments, that "he doesn't think alcohol is a good idea" is based on what, his personal opinion? He's proven himself as a buffoon, and even embarrassed the borough nationally. I have no faith in his leadership and opinions.
This town is (was?) on the cusp of something great, but it appears that some poor choices have and will continue to prevent that from happening.
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Here's the thing. I can remember when Haddonfield was a sleepy little Quaker town with strict Blue Laws besides being dry. The A&P was across the street from Woolworths & those were the biggest things going for Kings Highway. A lot of businesses came & went before downtown Haddonfield hit the right mix. The mix is different for each town, but the public decides what's right, as well as the residents. Not a delusional mayor.
You don't put high-end condos in Mayberry. You don't fill the street with restaurants. You get a mix. With a dry town, getting some draws helps. Turning away Starbucks was stupid.
Turning away Starbucks was not stupid. Grooveground would have gone under, and besides, Starbucks is terrible. Wawa has coffee product across the street. How much coffee do you need in 2 square miles?
The mix of stores works for Haddonfield because their residents have the coin to frequent high priced restaurants, exclusive retail, travel agencies, etc. It would never work for Collingswood.
Also, you can't just fix the school issue. That's what I'm saying - it will NEVER get fixed. It's not a money issue. If it were, Camden should be a top 10 school district given their Abbott status - they spend $24k per kid courtesy of the NJ state income tax; Collingswood around $12k. No amount of funding will fix it, and unless the town can come up with another place for Woodlynne's kids to go and Woodlynne agrees, then Woodlynne will always attend Collingswood high school and disrupt the educational experience there. This is of course barring the Camden renaissance that has been promised since the 60's.
So, the town should focus on what it does have - elementary schools - and focus on young families, young professionals, etc. Also, I live in the town, and liquor should be our decision since we vote here.
I will concede that the biggest issue with a liqour license auction would be that NJ laws would ensure that national chains would be the likely benefactor of an auction, unless the town found some other way to get what they wanted onto Haddon Ave. This is because chains would be most able to outbid, pay big bucks for the license, and to insure the bar. Think Applebee's on that one sliver of Collingswood land near the Route 30 circle instead of a Philly-style gastropub on Haddon Ave. Places like Tom Fischer's and other dives, smaller establishments, etc. have grandfathered licenses. You couldn't open a Tom Fischer's today if you wanted to - you'd go belly up on acquisition costs even if you were able to secure bank financing.
NJ liquor laws need to be revamped. Sadly it will never happen due to the vested interests and corrupt politicians. This state will continue to go further downhill. People (especially people who aren't used to this area) don't want BYOBs - they want to go to a restaurant/bar and order a drink. This is probably why restaurants in SJ are, in general, abysmal.
Again, it goes back to a mix. The aging poulation is also tired of footing the bill. Who is going to update the supposed Heights of Collingswood that they said and agreed is in horrible disrepair? The town goes too heavily on restaurant success which I believe is 40% failure the first year and 60% the second? The
The main point is not impetus for youth to come in and BUY homes in town and use the schools for what they are. You will never fix the Woodlyne thing...too much of a political hot potato with a racial element...they will say "Collingswood does not want black and poor people and that will be the end of that fight." Who in their right political mind would even take on that fight?
You have to work with what you have if you already know you will never attract Haddonfield and Moorestown Ph.D. families to your town. Part of that are things like small scale chains...Cosi, Starbucks, etc...and YES...liquor.I really don't want to hear the Mayor say "I don't think it's a good idea." I'd rather some options be tabled to townsfolk like gastropubs, wine bars, small IPA? and let the taxpayers decide if it's a good idea or not.
Last edited by GraysFerryB4; 09-28-2011 at 12:28 PM..
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. A lot of businesses came & went before downtown Haddonfield hit the right mix. The mix is different for each town, but the public decides what's right, as well as the residents. Not a delusional mayor.
You don't fill the street with restaurants. You get a mix. With a dry town, getting some draws helps. Turning away Starbucks was stupid.
