"On Friday, when I hung up the phone with Congressman (Rush) Holt’s assistant, I was under the impression that the meeting would be rescheduled," said a member of the DePalma family who did not wish to be identified.

"We did not want the press conference to be held on Monday on our property."

Instead of meeting at the farm, Congressman Holt (D-12), who has been a frequent visitor to Holmdel lately, addressed Mayor Gary Aumiller and other Holmdel officials on the importance of preserving open space on Wind Hill Road, which splits the De Palma property.

Holt supports a bill that would phase out state taxes for family-owned businesses and farms.

"People care about open space, and I think we should go to extraordinary measures to save it," said Holt. "This bill is intended to support what towns and states are trying to do."

Despite the last-minute location change, Larry Fink, who chairs the township’s Environmental Commission and is a member of the Open Space Advisory Council, felt that the meeting was productive.

"I think it is an honor to have a congressman take interest in a local issue," said Fink. "If we don’t preserve farms we won’t be able to call ourselves the ‘Garden State.’"

Fink added that although Holmdel has missed opportunities to preserve open space in the past, purchasing the DePalma property is something that Holmdel officials support wholeheartedly.

The acquisition would be in keeping with the township’s open space study, which calls for preserving "at least one large tract in northern Holmdel … for continued use as farmland" and for expanding an existing park or providing a new park in northern Holmdel. It also calls for preserving one large tract in southern Holmdel for continued use as farmland.

Should Holmdel’s bid to purchase the land be successful, the town plans to continue leasing the land to the DePalmas.

According to Wall, the township’s bid, which was submitted March 3, was based on an appraisal and made through attorney James Cleary, who has been appointed by the court to liquidate the property to satisfy out-