Demolition approaches on Helmetta water tank
BY BRIAN DONAHUE
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff A worker for a phone company is lifted to the top of the new water tower in Helmetta last week. The last of the cellular equipment from the old tower is still being moved.

HELMETTA — With the last of three cell-phone companies relocating its antennae to the borough’s new water tower, the demolition of the old tower is imminent.

The old water tower, which dates to at least 1925, will be added to the list of structures to be demolished by Kaplan Cos., which owns the Helme Snuff Mill site and is expected to redevelop it with senior condominiums and retail stores.

The borough had the new, adjacent water tower built in 2003. The modern tank holds 750,000 gallons of water, as opposed to the older tower’s 50,000 gallons.

Officials are hopeful that the new water tower and its increased storage capacity will enable the town to save money on water, which the borough purchases from the Middlesex Water Co. However, that has not yet happened, as the borough had to absorb an increase in the amount it is charged for water, according to Mayor Nancy Martin.

JEFF GRANIT staff A view of the old water tower from a window in the snuff mill.

Residents have been asked to be conservative with water use, since the borough must pay 1.5 times the water rate when water use exceeds the borough’s maximum gallons for three consecutive days.

“We do anticipate controlling future water costs with the new water tank,” Martin said.

Demolition of the borough’s old water tank has been held up as the wireless carriers’ anntennae is being moved to the new structure.

Martin said the cell phone companies received permits a few months ago to relocate their antennae to the exterior of the tank and their equipment cabinets to the ground next to the tank. The project also received state Historic Preservation Office approval, which was required because the snuff mill property is an historic site.

Verizon, AT&T and Omnipoint have existing contracts with the borough for locating on the tower. Each pays more than $25,000 a year for leases that run for about 20 years. The last of the three companies to move its equipment is still

in the process of doing so this week, Martin said.

The mayor did not know exactly when the old tower would be taken down, but she said officials would discuss that with Kaplan after all of the equipment has been moved.

Kaplan began demolition at the snuff mill site in September. The initial phase of demolition included a large warehouse building that was more than a century old and the more modern, adjacent silos.

This week, the redeveloper began to knock down structures on what is known as Parcel 1, which is adjacent to Jamesburg County Park. An old wooden warehouse building at Maple and John streets, dating to the late 1800s or early 1900s, was razed Monday.

Though some of the surrounding buildings are being torn down, the mill’s larger structures along Main Street are now expected to remain and be renovated for the age-restricted condominiums.