Despite Upper Freehold Township’s lack of support, the second phase of the Breza Road land preservation project refuses to die.
The township had entered into a partnership with Allentown, the Trust for Public Land (TPL), New Jersey Green Acres, the Monmouth Conservation Foundation, Monmouth County and private donors to purchase 101 acres of open space adjacent to Heritage Park in Allentown and Upper Freehold. A year ago, Upper Freehold backed out of the second phase of the project after an environmental firm determined that 45 acres along Breza Road formerly contained two landfills. Before receiving the report from the environmental consultant, the township had also considered putting affordable housing on the site.
Members of the Upper Freehold Township Committee stated in July that they would not support the acquisition of the contaminated land for open space, even though the state and neighboring Allentown wanted to go forward with the project and take responsibility for it. The Township Committee said it would support changing municipal boundaries so the property could become part of Allentown.
At the Sept. 2 Township Committee meeting, the issue came up again in the form of a resolution that said the township would support the acquisition of the tract by other parties, since “the township will not incur any cost or liability for such preservation.”
The resolution failed in a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Stan Moslowski Jr. and Committeeman Robert Frascella voting in favor, and Deputy Mayor Lori Mount and Committeemen Steve Alexander and Bob Faber voting against it.
The resolution noted that property owner Neil Van Cleef, as Indian Run Golf Associates, closed the landfill under the regulations of the New Jersey Bureau of Landfill and Hazardous Waste, and that Allentown has agreed to an environmental monitoring plan for the landfill sites.
Township Attorney Granville Michael Magee questioned the information presented in the resolution, stating that he had not seen a copy of it prior to it coming up for a vote that night.
“Have you seen a contract?” Magee asked the committee members. “How can you say that these are facts? If you’re just acting on what you read in the paper, it’s not the best way to make decisions.”
Resident Michael Renzulli, an environmental professional, accused Magee of presenting “a biased position based on ignorance or blatant disregard of the facts.” Renzulli said J.M. Sorge Environmental Consultants, of Somerville, prepared the June 2009 landfill closure report. He also said that a Sept. 21, 2009, letter from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) states that the closure report meets conditions for approval, with the exception of an access restriction gate for the northern landfill. The letter states that the property owner would be responsible for inspection and maintenance of the site and for submitting reports to the DEP within 30 days of the semi-annual inspections.
“It is appalling to me that everything gets manipulated for political reasons,” Renzulli said.
Resident Sal Diecidue said the property is located in the only sewer district in the township and alleged that some people want to see the site developed. Moslowski, who works in the construction industry, said the property has wetlands and very little usable ground, which would make development unfeasible.
Magee said the last correspondence he received regarding the site was a landfill closure plan dated March 18, 2009. Magee said he had not been copied on the information Renzulli referred to because Upper Freehold was no longer part of the project. Magee said he did not know that Allentown was still considering the project until July 8.
Alexander later said that he could not condone spending public money on land that was de facto preserved.
Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders Director Lillian Burry noted that while Faith Hahn, supervising planner for the Monmouth County Park System, does not see anything wrong with preserving the property, the freeholders have never favored purchasing land with environmental hazards or problems.
“The freeholders don’t have to vote on [the preservation] one way or the other, but the money comes from us in the end,” Burry said.
Burry said she would conduct her own investigation into the project.