HILLSBOROUGH: House panel OKs GSA Depot transfer

By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
   The township is now one step closer to being able to officially proceed with the closing of the 369-acre General Services Administration Belle Mead Depot, as the Government Reform Committee of the United States House of Representatives approved on Tuesday the early transfer of the land.
   Todd Mitchell, chief of staff for Rep. Leonard Lance’s, R-7th, office, said they contacted the committee about the situation, and were told Wednesday that a letter was sent to the GSA approving the transfer.
   ”This was a small piece, but a very important sticking point,” he said.
   This approval allows the township and Somerset County to take ownership of the property prior to the environmental remediation of the land, which will be paid for by the funds used to purchase the depot.
   Now that this approval has come through, the township must just wait for the final stamp of approval from the GSA before it can officially proceed with the closing on the property.
   ”Now we are on a path where we can work toward the closure of the sale,” Mayor Frank DelCore said.
   Mr. Mitchell said they are in the process of contacting Gov. Jon Corzine — who gave his approval for the early transfer a couple weeks ago — about the federal approval.
   Still, Mr. Mitchell said, they are pleased that this final approval came through quickly.
   ”There are times where (the House) does not sign the approval,” he said. “But they gave it quickly. We will continue monitoring (the purchase).”
   Mayor DelCore said the biggest part of this puzzle was getting the approval from the governor and, once that came through, the township was optimistic about receiving the go-ahead from the House of Representatives.
   ”I think the governor approval was the bigger piece of this,” he said. “But we are pleased the approval came quickly from the House.”
   The final step before the environmental cleanup can begin, Mayor DelCore said, is to finalize all the logistics of the sale, which he said he anticipates will take between 30 and 60 days.
   ”I don’t think there are any more real obstacles, nothing problematic,” he said. “This is fantastic.”
   The purchase is costing the township and county $15.735 million, all of which will be placed into two separate accounts for the environmental cleanup of the land.
   According to the plans for the depot, about 321 acres will be used for parks and recreation, while the remaining 48 acres will be used for research and development.