NPDC deal sealed as agreement is signed

Montgomery and state take a significant formal step on sale of 250-acre property

By: Jake Uitti
   MONTGOMERY — The Township Committee, after meeting in executive session for more than two hours Wednesday, unanimously approved a memorandum of agreement with the state to purchase the former site of the North Princeton Developmental Center.
   On Thursday, the agreement was signed by State Treasurer John McCormac and Township Mayor Louise Wilson in Trenton.
   "Hallelujah!" proclaimed Committeeman John Warms after the decision was reached Wednesday — a decision nine years in the making.
   The purchase price for the 250-acre site, $5.95 million, is to be paid by the township at the deal’s closing.
   Now that the township and state have approved the memorandum of agreement, which becomes the essence of the purchasing agreement, the township has 60 days to conduct — at its cost — site investigations, borings, inspections, testing, and soil and water samplings to determine the status of the environmental condition of the property.
   The township may cancel the memorandum of agreement any time prior to closing if results of the tests reveal conditions that are unsatisfactory to the township, township Attorney Kristina Hadinger said.
   The township has slated Jan. 17 as the deadline for having a binding contract establishing the terms and conditions for the purchase agreement with the state. A date for the official closing on the property has not yet been set because the township still has to work out the details of environmental insurance, environmental liability and the cleanup of the site, Mayor Wilson said.
   According to the memorandum of agreement, the sale of the property shall be "as is," meaning the state is not required to pay for any repair, demolition or remediation of the existing environmental conditions at the property.
   The township, therefore, takes on the burden of remediation — a process that could cost millions. But Mr. Warms, whom the committee thanked for his "tireless" efforts on the negotiations, said he does not think the burden of remediation will prove to be too heavy.
   The township actually preferred to the cleanup itself, he said, "so we wouldn’t have to worry about it in the future."
   The agreement says the township, or the township’s designee, must remediate the site pursuant to a remediation agreement with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which is to be entered into prior to the closing. The DEP, therefore, has to be fully satisfied with the remediation the township conducts.
   Although the memorandum of agreement gives the township 60 days to examine the site, the township hopes it can conduct the examination more rapidly. Mayor Wilson noted the longer the process takes, "the older the buildings get and the more (opportunity) the new administration coming in" has to affect the transfer.
   "It is important to have a binding agreement in place," the mayor said.
   The township is responsible for cleaning up the deteriorating buildings, the pollution from landfills, mold, poor air quality, lead and the potential existence of asbestos.
   The township is contracting a third party to ensure the remediation is done properly. It has been working closely with Christopher Daggett, a former state DEP commissioner and regional Environmental Protection Agency administrator, of JM Sorge Inc. of Somerville to find a suitable provider of insurance. The memorandum of agreement requires insurance to be in place before closing.
   The details of insurance and transfer of environmental liability are still being worked out, Ms. Hadinger said.
   "The township will enter into a process involving the state, the DEP and environmental firms that provide for the township to transfer liability to a third party backed up by insurance," Ms. Hadinger said.
   The township will pay a fixed fee for its insurance of the site, and the township is in the process of "whittling down" the proposals for the cleanup it has received from a request it sent out in July, she added.
   Once the environmental investigation is complete — assuming the township will still want to purchase the land — the agreement will have to go through several layers of approval. The State House Commission, as well as the Legislature, must approve the purchase, Mayor Wilson said. Then, if the state and township obtain legislative approval, the parties will have 30 days to sign the binding contract that would transfer the property over to Montgomery.
   "The state agencies and Treasury people have to bless this before it closes. It is an important step, not one where there should be a fuss, but it needs to be done soon," Mayor Wilson said.
   Another important feature of the memorandum of agreement is that the township is required to split any net profits it makes from the site once all the costs for the remediation, pollution-liability insurance and remediation and building demolition have been recouped. Building restoration and the purchase price are not deductible from the net profit. There is a 10-year limit to this provision.
   "I want to stress that this document was negotiated," Committeeman Mark Caliguire said, noting that both the township and the state made concessions during the talks. "The state has owned this property a long time … and has neglected it. And now Montgomery is being asked to take responsibility for the whole thing.
   "We are buying it as if it were clean, but we still have to pay for the cleanup," he continued. "Sometimes you have to look beyond what’s fair and look to what’s possible. It is not perfect, but it is the best deal we can get."
   Once the township completes the purchasing agreement with the state, it will go ahead with upgrading the wastewater treatment facility that is located east of Burnt Hill Road, which was sold to the township along with the plot of land it occupies. Ultimately, the plant will serve the schools in the area, Ms. Hadinger said.
   There are no plans yet for development on the site. The township has "a lot of work to do" involving the cleanup and insurance of the site right now, Mayor Wilson said. Any redevelopment to come, however, will involve a team of professionals who understand how to handle a contaminated site and who would work with potential landowners, Ms. Wilson said.
   One possible facility that could be established on site is a 24-hour satellite hospital of the University Medical Center at Princeton, Mr. Warms said.
   The property is already occupied by Village Elementary School.
   The redevelopment plan for the site must be consistent with the Smart Growth plan established by the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan. This plan includes provisions for bicycle and pedestrian-friendly pathways, connections to neighboring sites, affordable-housing arrangements and sustainability.
   Another provision of the memorandum of agreement is that 140 of the 250 acres will be set aside as open space. Furthermore, the township shall be responsible to decommission or restore the Sylvan Lake dam to the satisfaction of the DEP.
   The township had filed a lawsuit against the state in U.S. District Court after negotiations had broken down prior to reaching an agreement, and as a condition of the agreement, the township must file a voluntary stipulation to dismiss the litigation.
   Following the state’s approval of the memorandum of agreement in Trenton on Thursday, Mayor Wilson said Mr. Warms, Mr. McCormac and Ms. Hadinger deserved a "great deal of credit" for their rolls leading up to the signing.
   "All five members of the Township Committee feel comfortable with the agreement," Mayor Wilson said. "That is very important."