Amwell Valley Conservancy to borrow $385,000
By: Cynthia Williamson
WEST AMWELL – The Township Committee has entered into an agreement with Amwell Valley Conservancy Inc. to become co-borrowers for a $385,000 state Department of Environmental Protection loan to repair a dam the conservancy group owns in West Amwell.
The Township Committee voted 3-0 to approve the agreement at a special meeting Monday.
The state DEP will approve the 2 percent low-interest loan now that the township has agreed to become co-borrower, which is mandatory under the state’s program to provide funding for privately owned dams.
"The work has to be done, and if we didn’t co-sign, I don’t know what perils they (the conservancy) would be in," Mayor William Comly said. "It’s in the public’s interest to get this thing repaired, so it makes sense for us to help and endorse them."
The conservancy will repay the loan to the state over 20 years by assessing its 110 members. If the conservancy defaults on the loan, the township would be responsible for paying the balance, which it could do by passing an ordinance authorizing it to levy a special assessment on "property owners benefiting from the project," township attorney Phillip Faherty said.
The committee decided not to consider the ordinance at this time with the understanding it may pass such an ordinance later if the conservancy group defaults on the loan.
"We feel comfortable engaging the township in something like this," Mr. Comly said.
But Committeewoman Nance Palladino said she wanted it "stated up front, we will pursue this if need be."
"The township would get the land if something goes south," Committeeman Gary Bleacher commented.
As part of the agreement, Amwell Valley Conservancy will establish an escrow account with the township to fund attorney, engineering and any other fees associated with the dam project.
The dam, known as Amwell #2 Dam, sits on a manmade 17-acre lake in the northwest quadrant of the township off Queen Road near Route 202. The structure was built in the 1940s and damaged during Tropical Storm Floyd in September 1999.
Mayor Comly was unsure of the extent of the damages. No one at the Conservancy answered the phone Tuesday as it was a holiday, Election Day.
In January, Gov. Christie Whitman signed legislation providing $3.5 million for the repair of dams affected by the tropical storm. The loan program is administered through the DEP’s Dam Safety Section.
The West Amwell dam was among three privately owned dams approved for funding through the state program. Eight dams in all have been approved for low-interest loans.
The conservancy is a nonprofit local land trust group with a headquarters on Bowne Station Road in the township.
In October, the organization closed on a deal to purchase 325 acres in East Amwell Township from David and Shirley Bond and Roger and Alice Everitt. The parcel is contiguous with land the Conservancy owns in West Amwell Township and is bordered by Route 202 and Boss and Garboski roads in East Amwell.
East Amwell was involved in the land acquisition by purchasing the development rights to the parcel, which it funded through a bond issue specifically earmarked for farmland preservation.