TOMS RIVER. NJ – Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill is angry today. On Tuesday, Toms River Councilmen Daniel Rodrick and Justin Lamb blocked a request by Hill for a $13.9 million line of credit to fund the groundbreaking and prep work for the mayor’s proposed plan to “go vertical” in the small village.
Last week, Hill said the small village would soon expand with multiple hi-rise buildings. But, before that, he needs to take out a sizable municipal loan to build up the infrastructure in the downtown village by expanding roads and raising roadway elevations of certain low-lying waterfront roads in the area of the new ten-story twin-tower apartment building he has championed.
“Rodrick and Lamb said their votes were intended to stop the Downtown Loop/Water Street widening project that is designed to accommodate traffic from the Downtown Revitalization project which includes 285 new high-end apartments,” Hill said in a statement today. “The $13.9 million bond ordinance included $1.5 million for the Township’s share of the Loop/Water Street project.”
That loop project is similar to loop projects in other major cities, such as ‘The Loop’ in Baltimore and the ‘Capital Beltway’ in Washington, D.C.
Hill said by voting no, and effectively stopping that funding, Rodrick and Lamb were ‘reckless’ in their decision to block further downtown expansions.
“Rodrick and Lamb have really hurt the taxpayers with this stunt,” Hill said, through a press release issued by his press department today.
Hill said he would push the funding bill again, this time hoping he has the majority vote needed to pass it. Hill is hoping to defeat Rodrick in the June GOP primary election.
Rodrick reaffirmed that he opposes Hill’s plan to turn Downtown Toms River into a city at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We know what Mayor Hill’s plan is. He wants to build more apartments and bring more people into Toms River,” Rodrick said. “We already have 100,000 people and we don’t need ten-story apartment buildings downtown. Mayor Hill’s plan is clear. The only way to stop it is to vote for a new mayor.”
Hill, a Lakewood native who attended Lakewood High School, wants to see Toms River’s quaint downtown village become a bustling city like his native Lakewood, Long Branch, Red Bank, and Asbury Park.
Last week, Hill said the town can expect more hi-rise apartment buildings to accomplish that goal. A plan introduced by the township in 2019 calls for as many as twenty large apartment buildings on the last remaining open spaces in the Downtown region.
A massive banquet hall to be used for weddings, birthday parties, nisuins, and bar/bat mitzvahs will also be built along the waterfront.
Although allies of Mo Hill said the blocking of the bill also blocked funding of a few new police cars, Hill made it clear in a press release that he was upset after the funding for the downtown project was rejected.