Artifacts found on park site

Monroe sees little impact on land swap; foes want project scuttled.

By: Bill Greenwood
   MONROE — An archaeological survey on the proposed site of a new high school has uncovered 18th-century artifacts along with pits and walls, but Assistant Township Attorney Peg Schaffer said she doubts they would affect plans for a land swap between Monroe and Middlesex County.
   However, Archaeological Society of New Jersey President William Liebeknecht, who has visited the site, said he believes the swap and a proposed high school should be scrapped because the artifacts show the 18th-century Bethel Indian Town Mission was located there.
   The township is trying to acquire the 35-acre section of Thompson Park from the county in exchange for 175 acres of undeveloped land so that the Monroe School District can build a new high school across the street from its current high school. The proposed high school site is protected by Green Acres regulations, so the trade needs approval from the state.
   The swap has preliminary approval from the State House Commission, but needs approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection because there is a dispute over the location of David Brainerd’s Leni Lenape Indian mission. Richard Grubb and Associates, of Cranbury, conducted an initial survey, which determined that the mission was located 2,500 feet north of the site. The DEP ordered that additional work be conducted.
   Ms. Schaffer said Thursday that officials from Grubb and Associates told her that they found artifacts and features "that need to be discussed," though they did not think any of the findings would stop the land swap from occurring. She said the company is examining the artifacts and "features" and trying to determine whether they are significant.
   She said the township is waiting for Grubb and Associates to issue a report. After reviewing it, the township will be able to speak more about the issue, she said.
   However, she added that she believes the new high school will be built in Thompson Park.
   "I have no reason to doubt that the school will ultimately be built on that site," she said.
   Officials from Grubb and Associates did not return calls seeking comment.
   Mayor Richard Pucci said the DEP is expected to make a decision within four or five days of receiving the report.
   "I’m optimistic that within a couple weeks we’ll be able to get from the DEP a final determination," he said.
   Mr. Liebeknecht, who in July encouraged the DEP to require more survey work, said he believes the Bethel Mission is located on the proposed high school site. He said he thinks the DEP should recommend "avoidance," which would put a stop to the land swap and force the township to find another site for the high school.
   "I think this is a part of Bethel, and I think the school should be built somewhere else," he said.
   He said data recovery, in which a full-scale archaeological excavation would be conducted, is a bad idea because it would "remove a significant part of that site forever.
   "It would be like going to Valley Forge and taking out a portion of that site," he said.
   Mr. Liebeknecht said he visited the site Aug. 6 with the executive board of the society, a nonprofit group that seeks to preserve New Jersey archaeological sites. He said that, during the visit, he observed that metal, glass and ceramic artifacts typical of the 18th century had been found. He also said there were a number of pits discovered in the ground.
   "They could be almost anything," he said.
   Board of Education President Kathy Kolupanowich said she is waiting to see Grubb and Associates’ report, which she said is due by the beginning of September. She said the board would have to come to a decision regarding whether to look for possible alternative sites in September "based upon the results of the report and the recommendations of the DEP."
   However, she said she does not think the artifacts will be tied to Bethel.