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or the past several years, Monroe Township has taken an aggressive stance toward preserving farmland and open space within its borders.
It also has lobbied to have the New Jersey Training School for Boys closed. Short of that, township officials have asked that two separate state-owned properties in the vicinity of the school be designated as open space.
The state can help Monroe accomplish its preservation goals by coming through on its promise to grant the township 92 acres of open space near the correctional facility now.
Monroe, after asking for the property for several years, was promised the land, along with a nearby five-acre tract, just days before the November 1999 election.
The “gift” was supposed to have been a reward for playing host to the training school; however, it wasn’t until June that the State House Commission approved a leasing arrangement for Monroe to use the five-acre property. The fate of the remaining 92 acres still is in question.
The township currently is leasing the five-acre parcel from the state for $1 a year for 25 years. The mayor and council are hoping for a similar deal for the 92-acre lot, which it intends to use as open space and sport fields.
What is holding up a decision on the remaining property may be a case of miscommunication. According to Mary Lou Murphy, a spokeswoman for the state Department of the Treasury, several state agencies are interested in using the area for open space. In addition, the county is interested in the tract for farmland.
Whoever gets to control the property, the land will remain, for the most part, free of development.
That should make the state’s decision simple — let Monroe be the caretakers of the property. The township deserves the perk, in exchange for hosting the youth jail. And the township’s plans would guarantee that the land is used by residents, yet will remain open, a goal shared by the township and the state entities vying for its control.
In addition, granting the township the land is just another way the state can help Monroe reach its goal of preserving open space. By using the state’s open space and farmland preservation programs, the township is closing in on having more than 2,000 new acres dedicated for preservation by the end of the year.
Much of the preservation in Monroe is part of a larger effort to secure a 5,000-acre section of open space and preserved farmland in the center of the township.
While the North State Home Road property is not in the center of town, using it as a park and for ball fields would mean one more green swath of land in the township. It also would be in line with the township’s goal of providing residents with usable green space while limiting future development.
And, aside from instituting security measures at the training school, the state has done little in the way of providing Monroe with any sort of host benefit for being home to the facility. Giving Monroe the land would be a long overdue benefit.
