Township and borough agree on sharing deed to 120-acre River Road site

By Nick Norlen, Staff Writer
   At a rare joint meeting of the municipalities Tuesday, Princeton Borough agreed to add the township to the title of the Sewer Operating Committee lands deed — but not before the full slates of both governing bodies engaged in a sometimes intense debate about the purpose of the meeting and the nature and history of the agreement.
   Though township officials suggested an adjournment of the meeting early on — because they anticipated the borough was not going to confer the title — the Borough Council eventually voted 5-1 to name the township as a joint tenant, which implies an equal partnership.
   Despite that 50-50 share of the land, changes cannot be made without the agreement of both parties, officials said.
   The frequent disagreement during the meeting didn’t deter officials from both towns from expressing hope that Tuesday’s session could be the first in a series of joint meetings to discuss a number of issues that are in dispute.
   Nevertheless, the SOC lands were the only matter discussed Tuesday.
   The approximately 120-acre site, located off of River Road, was the topic of a report released in November by Regional Planning Director Lee Solow.
   Mr. Solow completed it after interviewing officials from the entities that are looking to make use of the land: the borough, the township, and the Princeton Regional School District.
   In his presentation of the report Tuesday, Mr. Solow detailed the present state of the property as well as its potential uses, which include a public works facility for both the borough and the township, a new Sewer Operating Committee facility, outdoor storage for both communities and school bus storage and office space for the school district.
   Currently, the site houses Sewer Operating Committee buildings, borough and township outdoor storage areas, an 11-acre closed landfill, a waste drop-off facility, and a practice shooting range used by both police departments.
   In March, Tax Assessor Neal Snyder said the tract’s market value is more than $41 million.
   Mr. Solow noted that portions of the site, which includes approximately 50 acres of wetlands, are “fairly heavily wooded” and that others are in a flood plain, which makes River Road inaccessible at times.
   Still, he said there should be plenty of land to use, noting that the entities have identified the need for approximately four acres — and that 11 acres have been identified as suitable for development.
   Though he said the landfill has potential for recreational uses, it won’t likely be able to developed until it’s completely closed in 2014.
   Site plans and studies will need to be done before any final plans on redevelopment, he said.
   The township’s stake in the property was the subject of an ordinance approved by the Borough Council in 2003, but the addition of the township’s name to the title was delayed by a lengthy survey of the site.
   Although the borough and the township held a discussion of the issue in March of this year, Tuesday’s session featured a debate about what agreements had been made — and what they meant.
   Although Mayor Mildred Trotman opened the discussion by stating that the borough intended “to carry out commitments” that had been made, she said the November report had raised issues that were not addressed in March.
   Disagreement between the two sides began when Borough Attorney Michael Herbert said the agreements indicate that the property should be shared based on contributions made to its purchase and maintenance throughout the years — a formula that could have, hypothetically, resulted in a 60-40 split in the borough’s favor, he said.
   However, Township Attorney Ed Schmierer said that issue was new to him and township officials — and argued that the purpose of Tuesday’s meeting was simply for the borough to confirm the transfer.
   Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand said she expected to hear the report, to accept the deed transfer, and then to schedule future discussion about the development of the SOC lands.
   ”If that isn’t going to happen tonight and we’re going to be sitting here listening to percentages and issues that we have never heard before, I don’t think it’s worth sitting here any longer,” she said.
   But Mayor Trotman said those issues came as a result of the report, which she noted had not been discussed by the Borough Council because some members have been traveling abroad recently.
   Borough Councilman Roger Martindell — who eventually cast the lone vote against the title transfer — said the issue was not simply about the division of lands or the use of lands, but about questions of who will pay for demolition and other costs.
   Still, both Borough Councilwoman Wendy Benchley and Township Administrator Jim Pascale reminded officials of their belief that the agreement was already made — and simply needed to be formalized by the borough.
   Citing letters and memos between the two towns to support their views, officials then argued about whether conditions to the agreement had been met — including the formation of a committee that was supposed to be part of the process.
   While Mr. Martindell said he wanted to meet with Borough Council about the report, Ms. Benchley said further discussion would prevent the towns from having “the 50-50 partnership that we need to stop quibbling.”
   She added, “You can see from this conversation tonight, this could go on for five years.”
   Township Committeeman Chad Goerner added, “The real losers of this continued delay and this continued impasse are really the residents of the township and the borough.”
   Borough resident Mark Freda echoed that sentiment during the public comment session, when he told the Borough Council that transferring the title was a “pretty simple” decision.
   ”From a resident’s perspective, this is embarrassing,” he said.
   Later, Borough Councilman David Goldfarb made a motion to transfer the title, but Councilman Andrew Koontz and Councilwoman Barbara Trelstad attempted to table it.
   Eventually, after further discussion, Mr. Goldfarb added a provision for the formation of the promised committee, which would include at least two members from each governing body and which would be formed within two weeks.
   That drew the support of the majority of the council, who voted 5-1 in favor.
   Mr. Martindell said he was disappointed that the borough agreed to hand over a share of multi-million-dollar property without the township’s promise to address the other issues that he said involved millions of dollars.
   ”It’s really a sad commentary on how bad the borough is at negotiating on anything with anybody,” he said. “I’m looking to build a relationship and not just transfer a title to a deed. There’s more at stake here than some land.”
   Though Mayor Trotman said she held some of the same concerns about the “severe outstanding issues” between the towns — North Ridge connection fees and Princeton Public Library parking, among others — she said she fully intends “to start having regular meetings” on those matters.
   And Mayor Marchand said the township’s administrators are already working on potential meeting dates.
   Earlier in the meeting, Township Committeewoman Victoria Bergman said she and township officials had come to the meeting ready to schedule such joint sessions.
   ”But if we’re going to get sandbagged at meetings with new questions, I don’t want to be there,” she added. “I don’t want to be in a position where I feel like I’ve sort of been brought out to be confronted with issues that I didn’t intend to be addressed.”
   But Mr. Goldfarb said he hoped the borough’s transfer of the title would “increase the level of confidence that the township has with us, which isn’t terribly difficult because it’s so low that it can’t go any lower.”
   Though Deputy Mayor Miller said he had been “despairing” earlier in the meeting, he said the title transfer signals hope for progress in other areas.
   ”I think that the step that has been taken this evening opens the possibility of dialogue,” he said.