A n effort by Manalapan’s Republican Mayor Andrew Lucas to place 95 acres of land on Iron Ore Road, Manalapan, into farmland preservation continues to be a topic of debate.
The latest discussion of the matter took place at the June 15 meeting of the Manalapan Township Committee.
Democratic Committeewoman Michelle Roth reiterated an assertion she has made at previous meetings — that Lucas’ attempt to secure funding from township, county and state farmland preservation programs is, in her opinion, his attempt “to get taxpayers to buy him a farm.”
Roth said Lucas stands to be paid $1.15 million for the development rights to the 95 acres. If the land is accepted into the farmland preservation program, it will be deed restricted and will never be able to be used for anything other than an agricultural purpose.
It is not known how much of the $1.15 million would be profit to Lucas, who acquired the 95 acres of farmland when he acquired Diamond Developers, a corporation that had municipal permission to build eight houses on the property.
Lucas has not disclosed the terms of his agreement to acquire Diamond Developers, and he said during the June 15 meeting that he signed a confidentiality agreement that prevents him from disclosing any information about what he said was a private deal.
In her comments, Roth referred to a recent published report that indicated that a certain amount of wetlands on the 95-acre Iron Ore Road property had been filled with debris in violation of wetlands regulations.
A subsequent published report indicated that Lucas had addressed the problem to the satisfaction of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The time frame between the initial published report of the problem and the report that indicated the DEP was satisfied with Lucas’ actions to address the situation was a little more than one week.
“The DEP’s response (to the problem) was uncharacteristically rapid,” Roth said, noting that in the past the DEP has taken a year or more to respond to municipal issues that are within its jurisdiction.
Lucas’ application for farmland preservation funding has already received approval at the municipal and county levels. The application awaits a review on the state level.
Roth restated her previous assertion that Lucas’ application for farmland preservation funding was filed within days of his acquisition of Diamond Developers and the 95-acre parcel, and that his request for funding is getting exceptionally favorable cooperation from multiple government boards.
Monmouth County’s government is under Republican control, and Roth said, “As taxpayers continue to struggle, why does (Republican) Freeholder (Lillian) Burry put the weight of her office behind getting Mr. Lucas a farm?”
Burry did not respond to a request for a comment in reply to Roth’s statement.
Republican Committeeman Don Holland, who oversees Manalapan’s farmland preservation efforts, responded to Roth’s comments, saying, “Mrs. Roth keeps making unsubstantiated accusations. I see no documentation.”
Holland said various boards and agencies have looked at Lucas’ farmland preservation application and determined there is nothing inappropriate taking place. He said there is no statute that prohibits a sitting mayor from seeking farmland preservation for a piece of property.
In response to Roth’s comments, Lucas said, “I am not going to waste taxpayer time answering questions (from Roth). I got involved in government to keep taxes stable and to preserve open space.”
The mayor said he will not shy away from pursuing those two goals.
Later he said Roth is pursuing a “political vendetta.”
“You do not make money on this (farmland preservation). You take a sacrifice on this,” Lucas said, adding that if farmland preservation produces such a windfall, “How come every farmer does not seek farmland preservation?” — Contact Mark Rosman at [email protected]