LAMBERTVILLE: City taxpayers off hook for open space loan

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   LAMBERTVILLE — City taxpayers are off the hook for a sizable chunk of money now that the state has converted 70 percent of Lambertville’s low-interest loan into a grant.
   The original loan was for $250,000 at 2 percent interest. Now, $175,000 of the loan will be converted to a grant and will not require repayment.
   The loan helped pay part of the $1.4 million purchase price for the 16.5 acres of land behind Ely Field known as the Buchanan property. The city has preserved the land as open space.
   In addition to the $250,000 loan, the city had received a $400,000 grant from the state to defray the cost to taxpayers.
   The city collects a 2-cent open space tax for every $100 of assessed property value to help pay for the remainder of the purchase. There is almost $300,000 in the open space fund.
   The conversion from grant to loan was made because the state’s Green Acres program initially approved the land purchase at the higher cost of $1,650,000, according to city officials.
   Voters approved the open space tax in 2004.
   For a house assessed at the average of $367,100, the 2-cent open space tax means a payment of $73.40 a year.
   Voters this year approved expanding the purpose of the open space tax to include the purchase of another tract of land. Voters agreed to earmark 10 percent of the collected tax for the maintenance needs of the preserved properties and the city’s parks, including Mary Sheridan Park, Ely Field and Arnett Park.
   Voters gave the go-ahead to the city to buy more land adjacent to the Buchanan property. It consists of 6.741 acres.