Democratic mayoral candidates talk open space, budget

Township Democrats will choose a mayoral candidate June 6.

By: Joseph Harvie
   The two township Democratic mayoral candidates have different plans to preserve more open space and control township spending.
   Mayor Frank Gambatese is seeking re-election and is backed by the South Brunswick Democratic Municipal Organization. He is running against former Mayor Debra Johnson, who is running as an Independent Democrat without the support of the local party.
   Township Democrats will choose a mayoral candidate June 6.
   Mayor Gambatese and Ms. Johnson both said that they would work with the state to preserve the Van Dyke Farm on Davidsons Mill Road, which residents of the eastern section of the township have been fighting to save from development for more than a year. Joe Morris, a developer with an option to purchase the farm, has approached the Planning Board with a concept plan for 76 single-family homes on the parcel.
   However, they differed on what approach to take to other parcels, with the mayor wanting to focus on some smaller parcels in an effort to retain some green spaces in developed areas and Ms. Johnson wanting a review of the open-space program and a focus on saving remaining larger parcels.
   The candidates also discussed the proposed $43.68 million 2006 municipal budget, which the Township Council said would be altered before it is adopted in late July or August. The township has applied for $700,000 in state extraordinary aid, which will not be released until after the state budget is adopted on June 31. The proposed budget calls for an 8-cent increase in the municipal tax rate to 60 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
   Mayor Gambatese was elected to the then-Township Committee in 1997 and to the Township Council in 1998. He was elected mayor in 2002, after Ms. Johnson decided not to seek re-election.
   Ms. Johnson was elected to the committee in 1994, served a year as mayor in 1997. In 1998, she became the township’s first directly elected mayor.
   Republicans do not have a mayoral candidate, but could qualify someone for the November ballot if a write-in candidate were to gain at least 44 votes.
   Also on the ballot are Democrat Chris Killmurray and Republican Lynda Woods Cleary, who are running unopposed for their parties’ nomination for the council. The pair are likely to face off during the November general election.
   The mayor is a voting member of the council and does not have special executive authority. It is a four-year position. The single council seat on the ballot also has a four-year term.
Frank Gambatese
   
Mayor Gambatese, a retired accountant, said Tuesday that the township has been working with the state to try and preserve Van Dyke farm. He said that he set up a meeting with Mr. Morris, who has since filed an application to preserve the farmland.
   He said the next step would be to see how much Mr. Morris is asking for the farm and to see if the township, the state Farmland Preservation and Green Acres programs and the county farmland preservation program can work together.
   "If the price is deemed reasonable by the state Green Acres and Agriculture Department, they would go out and get two appraisals to confirm the value of the land," Mayor Gambatese said. "If those appraisals were close then we would sit down with the state and I would then get the county involved."
   He said if the price is too high in comparison to the appraisals conducted, he would try to negotiate with Mr. Morris.
   In addition to the Van Dyke parcel, Mayor Gambatese said the township is looking to preserve smaller parcels to keep certain areas wooded.
   "The number of large parcels is becoming less and less in the township," Mayor Gambatese said. "As that happens we’re going to start looking at little pocket areas, 2- or 3-acre lots, and try to keep the greenery."
   One parcel in particular, he said, is 7 acres at the center of Heathcote Park off Raymond Road, Mayor Gambatese said. The parcel has not been preserved.
   "Putting houses up in the middle of a county park is not good for anybody," Mayor Gambatese said.
   Regarding this year’s municipal budget. Mayor Gambatese said the process has been difficult, because state aid remained flat from last year and because of a $900,000 increase in employee pension payments.
   He said that, to keep the municipal tax rate from rising more than 8 cents, the township applied for extraordinary aid. To do so, however, the township had to use about $4.3 million of its $4.7 million surplus as revenue.
   Mayor Gambatese said that if the township does not receive enough extraordinary aid it would have to come up with a different plan to keep taxes from increasing.
   "If we don’t get anything, then we have to go back to drawing board," Mayor Gambatese said. "We can’t leave it at that low of a surplus. We will probably have to make major cuts in certain areas. We provide a lot of items that are quality-of-life items and those would be hard to cut."
   He said he would rather see a surplus equal to about 10 percent or 15 percent of the township’s budget.
   He said the township will pay off a short-term loan used to refinance about $4 million in debt in 2004.
   "And then we’ll be back to being in good shape," he said. "Things happen, so even though it looks like we’re in good shape, you never know what can occur."
Debra Johnson
   
Ms. Johnson, general counsel and vice president of legal for Bergen Medical Center in Paramus, said Wednesday that she wants to see the Van Dyke farm preserved, but she is unsure whether the developer is really interested. She said the Morris company is prepared to build housing and that she is "not sure if it is a political ploy or if it is a serious application" for preservation.
   If he is not serious, she said, then the township needs to get "get any petitions that we can together and get in front of the (township Planning Board) and make ourselves very active in preserving this farm."
   Ms. Johnson said preserving the farm would require that the township government work with neighbors to "let the state know how serious we are about preserving this farm."
   As for other parcels, Ms. Johnson said that she wants the township to take a step back and look at its preservation plan. She said the township should look at how much it is spending to maintain the open space it has purchased and to make sure residential properties are the priorities. She wanted to make sure the township is not preserving places in commercial zones unless necessary.
   "We should stop and assess our plan and see what we have available in town," Ms. Johnson said.
   Ms. Johnson said that she is not sure about plans to go after smaller parcels and that the program is designed to purchase tracts. She said that, if smaller parcels are considered, they should be used for neighborhood parks.
   As for the municipal budget, Ms. Johnson said township staff should review it and come before the council with a better spending plan. She said she is opposed to the township using so much of its surplus.
   "You really need to have rainy day money," Ms. Johnson said. "This administration is digging into its surplus increasing taxes and increasing water and sewer rates and to me that’s incredible."
   She said the township has applied for extraordinary aid before and has been denied. She said that the township should only apply for extraordinary aid when it is absolutely necessary.
   "If the town does in fact need extra aid then it should do it," Ms. Johnson said. "I just don’t like dipping so deep into our surplus."