Letters to the editor

Simple questions deserve answers

By: centraljersey.com
Last week I read with interest Mayor Frank DelCore’s response to resident Tom Prusa’s letter about the "incentivized" zoning for the Hillsborough Elementary School parcel, potentially one of the largest and most valuable tracts of land in Hillsborough. I am disappointed that Mr. DelCore attacked Mr. Prusa rather than responding to his questions and concerns.
I attended the meeting at which the ordinance was passed by the Township Committee on Aug. 10, and here are the very simple questions which were not answered at that meeting, or anytime since:
– What is the value of the current HES parcel, rezoned for mixed use, both with and without the 3 for 1 incentive?
– Why was a three-for-one incentive picked, versus two-for-one, or four-for-one? How can we be confident that we will not leave taxpayer money on the table, or conversely that there will be enough incentive to build a school?
– What is the cost estimate they are using for the new school? Exactly how much additional value do they expect the incentive to generate?
– What parcels of land exist in Hillsborough that are large enough and close enough to the current HES school district that could even be considered as a replacement location? Could an ideal site that’s smaller in acreage lose out because it receives only a portion of the incentive?
– In short, how does this get us a school?
And why did this have to be voted on this summer, five years before the bypass is expected to be completed and at a time when real estate prices are their lowest in 20 years? The resolution was put on a July Township Committee agenda for introduction with no special notice to the public and without apparent discussion with the Board of Education until after the resolution was passed by the Planning Board in June. At the Aug. 10 meeting, only three of five Township Committee members were present. A request from the public to postpone the vote until more committee members could be present, was turned down.
For years I have witnessed the annual hand wringing on school taxes at multiple spring and summer Board of Education meetings, and this year, at Township Committee meetings as well when the school budget was voted down. We have agonized over far less than the tens of millions that this deal represents. The sale of the land and the building of the school may be the Board of Education’s responsibility but there is no question that the zoning has the potential of limiting the number of competitive bids and tying the hands of the school board. Three years from now I don’t want see us taxpayers stuck for $1 million or $5 million or $10 million balance on construction of a new school because the numbers didn’t compute.
So, Mayor DelCore, when you say so stridently in you letter that "the people of Hillsborough are entitled to the facts," then can we please finally know what those facts are?
Meryl Bisberg Hickory Hill Road
Provide answers to real questions
To the editor:
To the editor:
I was both surprised and shocked by Mayor Frank DelCore’s letter to the editor in last week’s Hillsborough Beacon. I was surprised because I figured Mayor DelCore would have preferred the bizarre rezoning incentives for the redevelopment of property involving Hillsborough Elementary School (HES) to quickly disappear from the public limelight.
Given that Mayor DelCore wants to talk about my views on the economic incentives, I am happy to respond.
For readers who missed the issue while away on summer vacation (something is likely true for most township taxpayers), the mayor and the Township Committee have designed what in my opinion is a most peculiar incentive to increase the value of the property. I believe most Beacon readers would agree that the simplest, most transparent plan would involve clearly establishing the number of condo units that a developer can build on the site. If it were me, I would propose the maximum under the current Master Plan – 150 units. This incentive "levels the playing field" as all potential developers have the same development incentive: 150 units. With such a clear incentive plan, Hillsborough residents – the real owners of the property – would have the best chance to get multiple bidders for the property. If done correctly, there is no reason why that property could not be sold for enough to allow the school board to rebuild all three buildings that currently reside on the HES property. And it is certainly possible, perhaps likely, that money would be left over. This money could be used to keep taxes down.
Instead of opting for a transparent incentive plan, the Township Committee (well, the three who showed up to vote, two members failed to even come to the meeting) structured the development incentive as giving a builder three units for every one acre of land the builder transfers to the town.
Seriously. I am not making it up. Rather than offer a plan that guarantees the maximum value for the HES, Mayor DelCore wants to tie the value of the HES development to how much land a local landowner has. A landowner with 12 beautiful acres, perfectly located for the new school would only get an incentive of 36 units. A landowner with 30 terrible acres, say next to the new bypass, railroad tracks, or trash dump would get to build 90 units.
In this example, the landowner with 30 acres only has to offer slightly more than the landowner with 12 acres. As a result, the millions in profits that come from building the 54 extra condo units (90-36=54) almost entirely will accrue to the landowner with 30 crappy acres. Mayor DelCore incentive plan does not create a level playing field. In addition, Mayor DelCore is effectively saying that local landowners determine the density of housing in our town center.
Mr. Mayor, instead of attacking me please tell taxpayers why you did not choose the most transparent plan, a plan where the number of condos are established by the town? Why did you choose three-for-one incentives? Why not four-for-one? What was the Township Committee’s estimated value of the HES property? Please don’t say you don’t know the value – you must have had some idea of the value when you chose three-for-one. If not, what confidence does this give the taxpayers about what you are doing?
You say that the current bizarre plan is good as long as a single builder offers to build a new HES. That is silly. As I said before, your logic means trading in a Mercedes Benz and getting a Chevy "for free" is a good deal. In my opinion your plan potentially leaves millions on the table.
I also mentioned I was shocked by your letter. I was shocked by the personal attack on a taxpayer wanting a few answers about arguably the biggest Hillsborough land deal in a generation. Mayor DelCore, I am not a politician and I have no desire to seek office. I am a taxpayer. Suggesting I am politically motivated denigrates my status a concerned citizen and taxpayer.
Of course, the real issue for Hillsborough taxpayers is not your personal attack on me – one of your constituents. Rather, the real issue is your refusal to give taxpayers real answers to honest questions. You don’t need to apologize to me, just explain why the obvious transparent plan was rejected and a "pay the landowner" plan was chosen.
Thomas Prusa Michelle Lane