Municipal officials say they are willing to work closely with school representatives
By: Greg Forester
MONTGOMERY Montgomery Township officials say they are willing to discuss with the Board of Education the placement of asbestos monitors within Village Elementary School, but maintaining the devices might be more effective outside, on the school perimeter.
Much of the township committee meeting Thursday revolved around the cleanup, or abatement, of asbestos within buildings on the Skillman Village site, and placement of asbestos monitors within the school. There are 900 or so children currently taking classes at Village Elementary, which is located in the former North Princeton Developmental Center.
A schedule for the cleanup of the structures containing asbestos was also discussed.
"The asbestos-filled pipes that are located far away from the school should be cleaned up immediately, while the pipes in close proximity to the school should be taken care of during spring break," said Mayor Cecelia Birge. "The rest of the abatement, especially in the buildings, should take place during the summer when the children are away from the site."
Residents said the township is taking too long to come up with a final plan for the cleanup process at NPDC, but township officials said they need time to work on the plan with the Board of Education, upon whose property any asbestos monitors would have to be placed.
"The township is in charge of the NPDC site, not the school," said Mayor Birge. "We need to speak with the Board of Education before we could place asbestos monitors within the school. We will work with the school board to deliver what they want in a prudent way."
The committee members said they could place asbestos monitors on the NPDC site, not actually on the school property, without working with the Board of Education, but this idea got a mixed response from the public.
"The children are in the school, not on the site," said Bill Randolph, a Montgomery resident.
"We brought up the idea of asbestos monitors at the school to this committee long ago," said township resident Court Throckmorton. "It’s the township’s responsibility if any child gets sick during the cleanup."
Township officials said that although they understood the public’s desire to have asbestos monitors within the school, it would be better to put them on the NPDC site, and at the perimeter of the school.
"An asbestos fiber could drift around monitors, and by the time it got to a monitor in the school, it would be too late," said Deputy Mayor Louise Wilson. "It isn’t warranted to have monitors in the school."
Committee member John Warms said there was support on the committee for monitors for other reasons than asbestos, but the school board would still have to agree before they could be put in place.
"There are other preventative reasons to put monitors in place," said Mr. Warms. "There will be dust and other things besides asbestos, leading to the potential for respiratory ailments."
While township officials said they need to work through this entire process with the Board of Education, several members of the public said the township needs to make a greater effort to work with the board.
"The Board of Education and the township need to work together 100 percent," said Frank Drift, owner of the Daube Farm on Sunset Road. "Not two or three of the committee members, but all of them."
Jon Russo, who said he recently moved from California to take advantage of the Montgomery schools, said he was anxious about his children, and where they would be when abatement was taking place.
"I am perplexed by the discussions between the Board of Education and the Township Committee," said Mr. Russo. "When will the abatement take place and how long will it take?"
The committee members said they had heard the same questions at community forums held at the Village Elementary School, and that they had come up with some ideas of what will occur with regard to the children at the school.
The site may be a public safety risk but, "this is not a Love Canal," said Mayor Birge, referring to a highly contaminated site in Buffalo, N.Y., that drew national headlines in the late 1970s. "We want to clean it up."

