Board roots for Cheer University
Cheerleading academy to open in Millstone's Moto Business Park
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer

MILLSTONE - Hip, hip, hooray.

Cheer University received a use variance to open a cheerleading academy in the Moto Business Park off Rike Drive at theMarch 31 Zoning Board ofAdjustment meeting.

There were tears in the eyes of Cheer University owners Barbara Monticello and Janine Bellini when the Zoning Board approved their application in a 6-1 vote shortly before midnight. Board member Frank Curcio cast the dissenting vote and had previously made a motion to deny the application that was not seconded.

Board members said they had mixed feelings about approving another business that caters to children in an industrial park.

Millstone resident Hope Gray, whose children take gymnastics lessons from Monticello, commented that Cheer University would bring great value to the community.

Thomas Pado, a Millstone resident and member of the township's Planning Board, owns the 11,900-square-foot building currently under construction that will house Cheer University. The academy will use 9,000 square feet of the building for its operations while Pado uses the remainder of the warehouse space for personal items.

Pado also owns a 15,473-square-foot building at the site, which houses his business, TPL Climate Control Systems Inc., as well as All-American Promotions and NetOptic USA. The latter rents office space from Pado.

Michael Geller, Cheer University's engineer, said that the academy requires a variance because it is not a permitted use in the business park zone.

He said the site already has landscaping and lighting. He said all parking spaces face the front of the building for safe ingress and egress.

Geller said the facility has 47 parking spaces, of which the existing uses in the building need 23, according to township ordinance. He said the academy would need a maximum of 26 spaces and added that its busiest hours of operation take place after the other users' normal business hours.

Pado said that his company has 16 service vans but that technicians work on assignments from their homes. He said that the site rarely has trucks larger than delivery vans.

Geller said that the other businesses on the site operate from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and are not open on weekends. Cheer University would be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the week, with preschool and special needs classes earlier in the day and the majority of students arriving after 5 p.m.

The academy would host a maximum of 103 students and 11 employees per day, he said. The facility would have bathrooms but no showers or on-site food preparation, according to Geller.

Geller said the facility's water usage is expected to measure five gallons per student per day.

Cheer University's architect, Lawrence Slawson, said the primary change necessary for the academy in the building under construction is the location of windows and doors. He also said two interior columns would be moved to accommodate the needs of the business. The height of the building and its roofline would not be changed, he said.

William Meier, Cheer University's attorney, told the board that Pado prefers not to put additional doors and windows in the part of the building that he would use for storage due to security purposes, but remains flexible on the issue.

Pado said the law does not require the installation of sprinklers at the site. Slawson added that the cut off for sprinkler use in such buildings is 12,000 square feet.

"If it's a state-funded school it would need sprinklers but under the square footage it's not mandated," Pado said.

Meier noted that there would not be a lot of flammable material in the building.

Monticello, who owns the Gymnastics Club in the Pond Road Shopping Center in Freehold, said she has been involved in gymnastics and cheerleading her whole life. She said that cheerleading trains a child physically,mentally and emotionally.

While children ages 2-18 could take classes at Cheer University, the majority of students would be 9-13 years old, she said.

The academy would hold preschool classes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings but few morning events on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, she said. While small classes would be held from 3:30-5 p.m., competitive cheer classes would begin at 5:15 p.m. and last for two hours, she said.

Parents would generally drop students off at the facility, Monticello said. There would be a maximum of 35 children and six employees on site at one time, she said.

The facility would have a spring floor, which is a rug with a six-inch spring underneath, and a small tumble track. All classes would be scheduled with no walkin customers, she said.

Monticello noted that local cheerleaders currently use a facility near Farmingdale to practice and said she would work with community teams.

The facility would host birthday parties limited to 20 children on weekends but no competitions, according to Monticello.