Bridgewater pumps brakes on municipal billboard plan

BRIDGEWATER – The Township Council has postponed a public hearing and vote on a $1 million deal with a Pennsylvania company to place a "monument sign" on township property next to Route 202-206 near the municipal complex.

The Council gave no reason for postponing the hearing and vote until April 20.

But after three residents voiced concerns about the agreement with 100 Commons L Bridgewater LH LLC, part of Catalyst Experiential, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, at Thursday's Council meeting, Councilman Timothy Ring said the township should provide residents with more information about the agreement.

Ring said he had received phone calls and emails with concerns about the deal and said there was a need for the township to share "accurate information."

Catalyst Experiential also has three pending applications for monument displays in Bridgewater – one on the west side of Route 22 a quarter mile east of Route 28 and Garretson Road; another on westbound Route 22 by Adamsville Road and a third, which will have a "water display," on northbound Route 202-206 just north of the Time to Eat Diner.

Each project is owned by a separate limited liability company under the Catalyst Experiential umbrella.

Those projects are scheduled for a public hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Variances from the Board are required because Bridgewater's zoning ordinance does not permit advertising signs in any zone in the township.

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When the Township Council introduced the ordinance March 2, few details about the deal were discussed about the proposal, except that the township would receive a $1 million initial payment and $12,000 annually for the next three decades.

The Council did not give details about the appearance or height of the sign, nor its exact location, its lighting or what percentage of the electronic messages would be given to the township.

As part of the lease, the township would be allowed to post messages on the electronic display as part of its rotation of advertising images. Emergency alerts would also be posted.

At the March 2 meeting, Township Attorney Christopher Corsini said, "the parties are anxious to get going on this."

"Let's face it," resident Cathy Franco told the Council, "it's a billboard."

Franco asked the Council if the money would be spent either for capital projects or in the current expense budget.

Franco also said the location of the sign on Route 202-206 south of the Interstate 287 exit ramp would be "just another distraction" in an area with a high volume of accidents.

In an open letter to Mayor Matt Moench and the Township Council, former Mayor Dan Hayes said that during his time as mayor, councilman and Planning Board member, "never did a resident express that Bridgewater needed more billboards."

He wrote that the officials were trying to "fast-track" the proposal.

Hayes, who lost a primary battle to Moench in 2019 for the Republican nomination for mayor, wrote that "doubts arise because of your lack of transparency and your rush of less than two weeks from announcement to deal closure."

Hayes, recently appointed to the Somerset County Park Commission by the all-Democratic Somerset County Board of Commissioners, said the deal was a "monumentally bad idea."

Catalyst Experiential also has built a clocktower display on southbound Route 202 in Raritan Township just east of Case Boulevard.

On its website the company says the Raritan Township sign is "a gateway that emphasizes the history and natural beauty of the township, and which provides a stately backdrop to the visual communications technology that enables the installation to serve as a community communication platform."

But a Brokaw Court resident called the Raritan Township sign "quite an eyesore" and "not scenic."

In 2019, Flemington approved Catalyst Experiential's proposal for a gateway monument with a "living wall" on the Flemington Circle. That project has yet to be completed due to supply chain delays with the curved video screens that are made in China. Officials say the screens should be arriving in early summer.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bridgewater NJ pumps breaks on municipal billboard plan