By:Alec Moore
Recent comments made by the Township Committee regarding the Van Derveer house, a historic 250-year-old house situated on Route 206 just north of Andria Avenue, were not well received by members of the Historical Commission.
Commission members Arnold Radi and Suzanne Ochse appealed to the committee not to dismiss the historic home as being beyond restoration at Tuesday’s committee meeting.
They pointed out that while restoration cost estimates conducted by the township’s building department may give the committee a sense of how much it will cost to bring the historic home up to code, the department is not in a position to perform a historic restoration analysis on the house.
Township Building Officer Ron Estepp previously stated analyzing historic homes for possible restoration was not his department’s area of expertise.
Ms. Ochse pointed out that she was particularly disappointed by the fact that no one on the committee seemed to be aware that the county had a $15,000 grant available for historic restorations.
Mr. Radi later pointed out that while the $15,000 grant would not nearly cover the costs of a full restoration of the home, acquiring it would pave the way towards other larger grants which could fund a complete restoration.
"This $15,000 grant is not the ‘end all,’ but it does open the door to other grants," said Mr. Radi who noted that acquisition of the $15,000 grant and a subsequent formal restoration appraisal by a historic restoration specialist will allow the Van Derveer to be placed on the state’s registry of historic homes. Once on the state’s registry the home would then be open to substantial amounts of grant funding, Mr. Radi said.
Committee members said they planned to discuss the grant and restoration of the home during two work sessions, the first occurring on July 8 and the second to be held in early August.
Discussion at both meetings should allow time for the township to apply for the $15,000 county grant before its August deadline.
"Whatever we have to do to preserve that home is what we have to do," said Mayor Tony Gwiazdowski, who said he believes grant funding offers a viable means of restoring the home.
During Tuesday’s meeting the committee unanimously approved an expenditure of $4,000 for emergency plumbing repairs needed for the historic home.
