At a combined meeting held this past Monday, the Friends of the Secaucus Public Library asked the Library Board of Trustees to give the town permission to develop a plan that could generate as much as $3 million for the proposed new library over the next 50 years.
Under a plan presented to the board by Mayor Dennis Elwell and Town Administrator Anthony Iacono, the town would lease an eight by eight-foot piece of property to the Friends of the Library for a small amount (maybe $1 per year). This property, located behind the town’s Department of Public Works, sits just outside the fence delineating the 16E exit for the New Jersey Turnpike and would be used for a billboard. The Friends would then get to lease out the billboard to companies over 50 years and get the money. The expected income could be used by the library to help secure bank loans, which they need for expenses for the new library, presently under construction on Paterson Plank Road. The money can also help with upcoming purchases for the building, like furniture.
Several members of the Friends were concerned that they had been left out of the approval process for the plan. Two weeks ago, the Town Council introduced an ordinance that set aside the land, with a final vote set for July 24. Mayor Elwell, however, assured these members that the ordinance needed to be in place before, or in anticipation of, library trustee approval, and said that the town needed to take a series of steps just to make certain the project was possible.
Town Administrator Anthony Iacono said the non-profit group can use the contract with the billboard company to gain advance loans that could be used for more immediate needs.
Town approached almost a year ago
At the end of 2000, a broker approached Elwell at the annual League of Municipalities meeting in Atlantic City asking about possible sites that might be used for a billboard.
“This person knew that the New Jersey Turnpike went through our town and wanted to look around for a site that he might be able to use,” Elwell said. “He wasn’t looking for town-owned property; he was looking for any site.” Iacono said the town had previously dealt with the broker in setting up a program that gave the town fees for advertising on bus shelters. While this didn’t generate a lot of money for the town, the percentage of advertising sales was “pretty steady,” Iacono said.
Billboards in Secaucus, however, faced some significant opposition from various government entities. The Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission, which is one of the public bodies that has jurisdiction over zoning in that area, tended to be against placing too many billboards along the roadside. Indeed, even the state Department of Transportation’s rules for the Turnpike did not allow more than one billboard every 1,000 feet.
The town had to seek a variance from the Department of Transportation. The variance was granted partly because of the nature of the project, which was going to fund a non-profit organization. Elwell said the DOT would not likely have allowed the variance if the town had looked for this as a municipal revenue. The broker also hired lobbyist at his own expense to accompany town officials on their trip to Trenton.
Income can help Friends secure bank loans
Elwell said a bank will be willing to loan the library money against this income, because the billboard money is a guaranteed payment for the next 50 years. Iacono said the Friends can expect to get about $60,000 for the first 10 years, with income increasing in intervals over the remaining 40 years of the contract.
Joan Millevoi, a library trustee, wanted to know if it was possible to get more money from the billboard companies. Iacono said billboard companies will bid with the broker for the use of the billboard. But the fees will largely be about the same with each since calculations are based upon a simple formula of how many cars go by that site daily. This is made easier by the fact that this billboard would only be visible to cars coming north. All fees associated with the project so far have been paid by the broker, and not by the town or the library.
Insurance costs and other related costs for the billboard will be borne by the broker and the billboard company. The Friends of the Library will likely have to put up money to hire an attorney to help finalize the deal, but this fee will be taken out of the first year’s payment from the billboard company. The broker is Paul Levinson of Middlesex County.
The town is hoping to have everything in place by October or December, so that the friends of the library and the library trustees can then seek loans to furnish the library.
Meanwhile the friends of the library are seeking non-profit status in order to qualify.
“We’ve been assured that this will not be a problem,” Elwell said.
The Friends of the Library, Elwell said, can put restrictions on the kind of advertising which will appear on the billboard such as no tobacco, alcohol or sexually explicit ads.
The town is on a tight time frame and needs to have some of the approvals in place within 70 days. Iacono said town officials are currently working with the broker to prepare a contract for presentation to the Friends of the Library.
The vote by the Friends of the Library and the Library Trustees on July 9, however, was not to authorize the contract with the broker, but instead to allow the town to proceed with steps leading up to the contract, to continue getting approvals and making plans.
“We want to have everything in place so when ready to do it, we can just do it,” Elwell said. “But the actual contract will be done by the Friends of the Library with the approval of the Board of Trustees.”
Still need to fundraise, Mayor said
While the billboard money will help finance payments for furniture as well as future needs, but it is not money the library will have immediately.
Because the town used all the money set aside by the town and the library board for the construction of the library, no money was left for purchasing furnishings.
“I’m not saying that the library wouldn’t have had furniture when it’s finished,” Elwell said. “But without something like [the billboard contract] in place, the town would have had to bond for money to buy the furniture. This way the taxpayers won’t get hit with the burden. This money will help defray some of the costs.”
The estimated cost of furnishings for the library is between $300,000 to $500,000.
Louise Rittberg, a member of the Friends of the Library, said she feared the public might mistakenly believe the library now has enough money to do what it needs.
Elwell said he agreed with Rittberg’s concern over the possible impact of this program on other fundraising efforts the Friends have planned.
“My fear is that if we put out there that the library will be getting $3 million, people who might otherwise have donated, may not donate,” Elwell said. “But they need to understand this is an endowment over 50 years, a steady flow of income – the library will need more.”
Elwell also said people should not believe that the library will get less money from the town as a result of this billboard agreement
“The town must give a certain percentage of its tax income to the library every year, that percentage is set by the state,” he said.
The Friends of the Library will still need to raise money, Elwell said, because the billboard deal only guarantees the friends a yearly income. Many other more immediate expenses will likely arise, some foreseen such as the furniture, others unforeseen.
Elwell said one of the reasons that the town opted to set up the program through the Friends of the Library was because of the professional away in which the Friends had been set up, complete with bylaws and other safeguards for quality management of the funds.
“These people have shown themselves to be extremely responsible,” Elwell said. “And we believe this will be true in the future.”
Council action slated for July 24 simply subdivides the DPW site to allow the town to lease the property to the Friends of the Library, Iacono said.
“There will be a public hearing that night,” he said.