If deal goes through, Back Timberlane athletic fields effort would be beneficiary.
By John Tredrea
An impending deal that could generate over $500,000 for development of the Back Timberlane athletic fields was endorsed by the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education Tuesday.
The board agreed to sell the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association (SB-MWA) a vacant 30-acre parcel of land off Pennington-Rocky Hill Road for $507,580.
School district spokeswoman JoAnn Meyer said Wednesday that the school board and SB-MWA have reached verbal agreement on that sale price.
"Tuesday’s school board vote authorizes the board’s attorney, Robert Martinez, to meet with the Watershed and finalize the sale of the land in writing," Ms. Meyer said.
If the deal goes through in its current form as expected, a $25,000 contribution by the Hopewell Valley Recreation Foundation would be made on the condition that the district use the full proceeds of the sale for development of athletic fields at Back Timberlane. In addition to the foundation’s $25,000, $34,470 would be contributed by Mercer County. Added to the $448,100 the SB-MWA would put into the pot under the verbal agreement Mr. Martinez will seek to finalize, the contributions from the foundation and county yield the $507,580 the school district would get for the land.
The Recreation Foundation has been a staunch supporter of a project calling for construction of nine new athletic fields at Back Timberlane, a 48-acre tract on the western end of Timberlane’s extensive grounds in central Hopewell Township. Two fields have been built at Back Timberlane so for, with $500,000 raised by the foundation.
School district officials have been saying for years that they urgently needs new fields. "This year, we’re busing nine athletic teams off campus because of our field shortage," Ms. Meyer said Wednesday.
The Back Timberlane fields are slated for use by nonschool athletic organizations as well school teams. Like the district, those organizations have been saying, for years, that they need more fields. Several years ago, a referendum to fund Back Timberlane was soundly rejected by the voters. The project also has been vigorously opposed by neighbors of Back Timberlane.
The 30-acre parcel, which is more than one-half wetlands, has been owned by the district since 1968. It was rejected last year as a suitable site for a new school by district architect David R. Fraytak, who determined it too small and too wet. Industry standards require between 60 and 70 acres for high schools, 35 and 40 acres for middle schools and a minimum of 20 acres for elementary schools. More than 17 acres of the parcel are freshwater wetlands and nearly all of them bisect the site.
Asked Wednesday what the SB-MWA might do with the land, if the agreement with the school board is finalized, a spokeswoman said no plans have been made as yet.
A non-profit, member-supported organization, the Watershed is a regional environmental leader, promoting the protection of water quality and supply and the quality of the natural environment in the 265-square-mile region drained by the Stony Brook and Millstone River. Its education department runs a variety of seasonal programs for community members, children and teachers and is an active participant in land-use policy debates throughout the state.

