Officials OK $1.1M to preserve local farms
Committeeman says properties could have held up to 20 homes
MILLSTONE — Two more farms are expected to come off the rolls for potential residential development.
Last week the Township Committee voted 4-0 to bond $1,097,647. The bond will contribute toward the $1,155,418 cost of two farms which are entering the state’s Farmland Preservation program.
In March, the committee authorized the purchase of the development rights of 32 acres of farmland on Forman Road from Paul and Irene Livak for $673,818, and of a 27.4-acre farm on Stagecoach Road from Brandon Mullery for $481,600.
By selling their development rights, the landowners agreed not to develop their properties but to retain ownership of the land and continue to use it for active farming purposes.
The committee voted 3-0 to buy the development rights to the Livak property. Mayor William Nurko, Deputy Mayor Charles Abate and Committeeman Cory Wingerter voted to support the measure, while Committeemen John Pfefferkorn and Chet Halka abstained.
At the advice of the township attorney, Halka, who was sworn into office in January, recused himself on all matters involving the Livak property. The Livaks are relatives of his.
Officials noted that negotiations to place the Livak and Mullery farms into preservation go back more than a year, before Halka’s term in elected office began.
Pfefferkorn cited the appearance of a potential conflict of interest as the reason for his abstention in March. He said Halka took place in some closed-door meetings where the Livak property was discussed as a committeeman-elect in December. However, he voted in the affirmative on the bond ordinance last week.
All bond ordinances require four votes of the five-member committee to pass on second reading. Officials said preserving the farms took the potential for some new houses out of the equation.
"These are two nice pieces of property," Committeeman Cory Wingerter said, noting that 20 homes could have been built on the farms if they were developed.
Committeeman Charles Abate said that it was important for the township to increase preserved farmland to offset development.