Letters to the editor

Mayor fires back at critic

To the editor:
   Last week, former mayor Doug Tindall asked if I was joking about the possibility of condemning future housing on the south side of Town Center. I wish I was.
   For background, Mr. Tindall is the same person who said the Herman-Updike farms could not be preserved and wanted 90 homes on that property. Last year, our administration worked with the county to save the land.
   For years, Doug Tindall supported residential zoning on Route 130 because he thought commercial zoning would create traffic. Today, we have few ratables or places to shop, and the traffic just whizzes by to stores in East Windsor or Hamilton.
   Finally, this is the same former mayor who ignored 12 floods in our municipal building, as well as employee health problems. He actually told a member of our staff that he would have left them in that building until they all got sick.
   Now, this person believes condemnation would bankrupt the town.
   I should remind residents that this is the same former mayor and Planning Board member who presided over the density giveaway on the south side. Approvals there allow nearly twice as much housing density as the north side. This the same person who allowed the south side developers to get away with almost no affordable units, forcing us to look at achieving our COAH requirements elsewhere in town.
   Doug Tindall claims condemning the south side will cost $50 million, with no analysis given. Our professionals do not believe the number is that high, but to be certain we are retaining an appraiser.
   Let’s pretend Mr. Tindall’s estimate is accurate. The unfortunate truth is that $50 million is likely to be far less than the cost of letting the south side proceed as planned. Unless our school aid situation improves radically and soon, the reality is bleak:
   * Slightly more than 450 homes are planned on the south side
   * Each house will pay about $10,000 in taxes; although they will be new, the lot sizes will be among the smallest in town.
   * Of that amount, nearly 62 percent, or $6,160, would go to the school system at current rates.
   * If the new houses produce an average of 1.5 children — a reasonable estimate based on recent experience — the school cost burden would be $15,000 per house.
   * So far, we have an average "hole" of $8,840 for every one of the 450 houses. At build-out, the gap grows to $3.98 million a year.
   * Over 20 years — the typical period for carrying the debt to buy out the south side — the gap is $79 million.
   * Keep in mind all those new children may require another school on top of the new one we need now. Throw in another $20 million to $25 million, at we’ve reached $100 million. That’s double Doug Tindall’s doomsday figure.
   * The fact that we are considering condemnation speaks my administration’s commitment to leave no solution off the table, no matter how radical it may seem.
   I do not disagree with the letter writer last week who stated that New Jersey has an acute housing shortage. Washington Township recognized this a decade ago and tried to work the state on a Town Center that would create an affordable housing mix while protecting farms and open space. Without state aid to follow population, this vision fails. As mayor, I cannot sit idly by, hoping that at some point the state does the right thing.
   I also cannot let Doug Tindall’s scare tactics pass without comment. I have taken responsibility for my part in the current tax situation as well as the problems in the municipal building. The difference between Doug and me is that I admit my mistakes; I don’t cover them up with paint and carpet.
Dave Fried,

Mayor, Washington