Gov. Whitman: Mercer's location, talent bodes well for county

Mercer Business, Aug 01, 1998

Governor Christie Whitman outlined her plans for the future of New Jersey and praised Mercer County as one of the best places in New Jersey to live and work in a "Town Meeting" attended by some 50 members and friends of the Mercer County Chamber of Commerce gathered to hear her at the Trenton Country Club recently.

Billed as a "roundtable discussion," Mrs. Whitman's remarks was followed by a series of questions posed by Chamber and Mercer Business Magazine officials.

"Mercer County has many advantages," said a smiling governor, "not the least of which is the fact that Mercer and especially the Route 1 Corridor has become what I like to call the 'Silicon Alley' of our state."

"Not only is Mercer one of our best places to live and work, but we have the Mercer Business Magazine to tell us where to look for the best location, which in real estate -- as we all know -- is of paramount importance."

"Every day you (the Chamber members) and the employees you represent make me proud to be the governor of New Jersey. You reinforce what I say when I am traveling out and about our country, as I sometimes get to do, and that is to come to New Jersey and especially to Mercer County where you will find more talent and brains than you will find in many entire states."

The popular second term Republican praised the Chamber for its initiatives and cooperation in bringing such things as Waterfront Park Double A baseball to Trenton, as well as the Roebling Complex, the future hockey arena with its projected 10,000 seats which will attract ice skating exhibitions, circuses and other fun events as well as hockey, and the potential of a professional basketball team. Saying that the state (government) "is happy to be a part of Trenton's renaissance," Mrs. Whitman urged the city, county and private sector to become more active in attracting tourists.

"Tell them that Trenton is not just big state buildings. The city has much to offer, Waterfront Park and The Thunder (baseball team) for instance, have been just great in attracting families. The new walkway soon to be constructed will attract visitors as will the newly renovated, and beautiful War Memorial building. We've recently completed renovation of the Old Barracks on the State House grounds. And I don't have to tell you about Trenton's fine restaurants, they are renowned throughout the state and the country."

She was less positive on the hopes of the city in building a new hotel on grounds behind the War Memorial, a pet project of Mayor Doug Palmer and other city boosters.

"A new way to finance a downtown Trenton hotel is under study," she said, "but we can't afford another failure. We want a hotel that works, and I'm hoping we can achieve this goal."

The state's chief executive talked at some length about the State House dome restoration project now underway. Calling it a major undertaking, she described the deterioration of the famed dome with its flaking gold leaf, rotting substructure, leaks and lack of proper supports. The newly renovated gold dome should be shining in place in about a year, she predicted.

Speaking of transportation issues and open space preservation, the governor urged support for a five cents a gallon gas tax to be decided by the voters in the November election.

"New Jerseyans deserve to drive with confidence and in comfort. I didn't bring with me the crumbling piece of the underside of a bridge I usually carry with me, but hundreds of our bridges desperately need repair. The Conrail bridge on Trenton's East State Street is a good example. We must not let these bridges and many roadways to become more dangerous than they are today. More than one third of our bridges are structurally deficient, right now."

She also discussed the "25 most congested locations" in the state and said that these bottlenecks must be eliminated. Without the renewal of funds for the Transportation Trust, the Camden to Trenton proposed light rail line which will serve downtown Trenton as well as communities along the Delaware River will be in jeopardy. Forty percent of the busses operated by NJ Transit need replacing and some $300 million of vital federal funding will be at risk.

"When business looks for a place to locate, they want to know that the means are available to move their goods and employees easily without sitting in traffic for hours," Mrs. Whitman told the group.

Turning to land reservation, the governor said, "The Garden State can't afford to lose any more acreage. We've lost 80,000 acres to development in just the past decade. One half of our farm land has been lost since the '50's. My goal is to preserve a million acres of land over the next 10 years."

The governor then responded to the following questions asked by Chamber officials:

Chairman of the Board Wendell T. Breithaupt:

Q. How can the state, county, city and chamber work together to improve Trenton?

A. We are already working very hard and cooperating in the ongoing progress Trenton is making. I could cite new restaurants such as the very successful KaManDu along the river and Maxine's on Warren St. The city's schools need more help and we are working on that and with local churches to improve the quality of life in our state's capital city."