State won’t stop plan to condemn 135 acres

Monmouth County continuing effort to secure Vigh tract

By mark rosman

T

he State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) will not stand in the way of Monmouth County’s plan to acquire a piece of Mill-stone Township farmland for use as a regional park.

Following a presentation in January by county representatives, the SADC determined that the county’s plan to condemn and acquire approximately 135 acres of farmland at Millstone Road near the municipal complex will not have an adverse effect on what is known as an agricultural development area or on the state’s agricultural preservation and development plan, a spokeswoman for the board told the Examiner last week.

With that determination in hand, the county is still pursuing a large portion of the land owned by Elmer Vigh, according to Andy Coeyman, the supervisor of land acquisition for the Mon-mouth County Park System.

Park system plans call for a regional park to be established at and around the Perrineville Lake, Sweetman’s Lane. The county considers Vigh’s property to be an integral part of that plan.

The park would provide passive and active recreation opportunities and visitor amenities similar to facilities now found at Holmdel Park, Holmdel, and Shark River Park, Neptune, Coeyman said.

"We are still proceeding with the eminent domain and we are still proceeding with negotiations with Mr. Vigh," Coeyman told the Examiner on March 29. "We are in the process of completing our survey of the property."

County officials have previously stated that their goal is to acquire just over 500 acres at and around the Perrineville Lake. Of the 145 acres that make up Vigh’s property, the county is interested in acquiring approximately 135 acres, according to Coeyman.

The county previously closed deals on two properties around the Perrineville Lake totaling 94 acres. Within the past two weeks, the county closed a deal on an additional 17.5 acres across from the lake, he said.

In December, the Monmouth County Agriculture Development Board voted 6-2 to reject a letter of intent from the county Board of Recreation Commissioners to condemn the Vigh property.

At that time it was revealed that a state Green Acres appraisal of the land placed its value at about $1.54 million. A park system representative said Vigh was offered that amount for his land but turned it down.

Opinions were split among members of the county agriculture board on the question of condemnation.

In voting for condemnation to proceed, board members Hal Rifkin and George Illmensee said they believed a park would be a better alternative to the possibility of homes being built at that site.

Rifkin said, "There’s a time where everything has to come out of agriculture. Mr. Vigh can’t farm it forever. I support the park system’s proposal rather than 200 homes being built there, despite the fact that I’m a farmer myself."

In voting against condemnation, board member Taylor Palmer Jr. said, "There are a lot of open-ended and unanswered questions about this whole process. … Mr. Vigh has a right to fair market value for his land and the right to say no. Condemnation would be a detrimental way to preserve open space and farmland."

In November, the Millstone Township Committee passed a resolution supporting the county’s effort to obtain Vigh’s property for the purpose of establishing a regional park in Millstone.

The resolution stated that the governing body "is of the belief that the creation of such a park would benefit both the residents of the township and the county in general by providing recreation and open space."