BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer
UPPER FREEHOLD – Three members of the governing body voiced their support for a controversial warehouse development at the July 20 Township Committee meeting.
Mayor Stephen Fleischacker and Committeeman Sal Diecidue did not voice opinions on the matter, because they sit on the Planning Board, which is currently hearing the New York City-based Rockefeller Group’s application to build 1.8 million square feet of warehouse space on Breza Road.
Former mayor Bob Abrams attended the meeting and brought a folder with “hate mail” he has received because of his public support of the warehouse project.
“A lot of people have short memories,” he said, citing the 750 houses once planned for the tract.
Abrams said a court fight reduced the number of homes to 500 and permitted a Commerce Park overlay for 10 years. He alleged that none of the people who sent him angry mail had any real suggestions for the site.
Committeeman Stephen Alexander, who recently returned from four months of active duty in Iraq, said that when he left in February, he thought the warehouses were on target.
He said that the top 25 businesses in town generate roughly $600,000 in tax revenue. Representatives from the Rockefeller Group have claimed that their project would generate $1.5 million in annual ratables.
Alexander said some who oppose the warehouses state that the project would generate only $600,000 in annual revenue. It would still double what the township is presently receiving, Alexander said. He said he would like to work with the Rockefeller Group and move forward.
Deputy Mayor William Miscoski said he has supported the Commerce Park idea all along.
“We need ratables in this town,” he said.
Committeeman David Reed said that he is for any ratables that would reduce the tax burden. He said he is for any project that would be a benefit for the township.
Reed said he wants to know “exact numbers” for the Rockefeller Group development, so he could know what the township would have to provide versus what revenue the project would bring in.
“As long as the taxes all work out, I have no problem with Breza Road, if the bottom line is it will reduce taxes a decent amount,” he said. “People pay too much taxes in this township, no doubt about it.”
Keith Becker is a spokesperson for Communities United, an information chain on the Internet that is against warehouse development on Breza Road, and is read by nearly 200 people from the greater Upper Freehold area.
Becker said, “Mr. Reed is on record for any ratable that will decrease the township’s tax burden. So, we assume that he would be against any ratable that increases our taxes.”
Becker said he has documentation that shows that towns with more commercial and industrial development tend to have higher, not lower taxes.
“In the 1990s the farming community of South Brunswick started aggressively building warehouse ratables while we, Upper Freehold, kept our integrity and preserved farmland. From 1994 to 2004, South Brunswick’s average annual property tax grew 62 percent faster than that of Upper Freehold.”
Becker also said that during that same period, South Brunswick’s property tax rate increased ahead of the state average.
“Today South Brunswick is no longer a farming community,” he said. “All this in less than 15 years.”
According to the Cost of Community Services (COCS) developed by the American Farm Trust, Becker said, development demands a much higher level of services than open land, which amounts to higher costs.
“Commercial development and residential development tend to go together, as new businesses attract workers who demand housing,” Becker said. “This additional development creates the need for higher municipal expenditures to provide public services.”
The COCS study found that farm and open land have a net positive impact on local budgets in Monmouth County. Residential development was found to have high service costs, resulting in a net drain on local budgets, according to Becker.
“In a report to the Upper Freehold Economic Development Committee dated June 5, 2006, the Rockefeller Group says the township will only be paid $140,000 of the total tax ratable with the rest going to the school district and Monmouth County,” Becker said. “[This will give] us a ratable that generates a negative $2.36 million that we the taxpayers will pay for. That is how a tax ratable becomes a tax increase.”
Becker said he believes the warehouse development would increase taxes and have secondary impacts on the community such as increased traffic, pollution and crime.
Becker said Communities United agrees with Alexander, who was once a spokesman for Central Jersey Residents Against Matrix in 2002. The group opposed warehouse development in nearby Washington Township.
“We couldn’t agree with Mr. Alexander more when he said, ‘We’re getting trucks, noise, lights. We’re not getting support from Monmouth County. We want hard-nosed, pen-to-paper support.’ Granted, he was speaking about Washington Township, and yet we still agree even to this day,” Becker said.
Becker said after careful thought and consideration of the facts, emotion, Country Code, and of the people affected, Communities United believes Alexander, Reed and Miscoski “will honor their stewardship and will indeed leave a positive legacy for all of us to be proud of on this issue, now knowing what a bad idea the Rockefellers are feeding us.”