Make terms of agreement public, two councilmen say
By Nick Norlen
Staff Writer
Let the public see Princeton Borough’s “final offer” to downtown developer Nassau HKT.
That’s the suggestion two members of Princeton Borough Council plan to make to their fellow council members Tuesday night.
Councilmen Andrew Koontz and Roger Martindell said Monday that they want to make public the borough’s August proposal that was made in an attempt to wrap up the first phase of negotiations.
Both councilmen said they understood it as the borough’s “final offer” to Nassau HKT.
But Mr. Martindell said developer attorney Gary L. Green sent a letter Sept. 14 with what he called a “request for further concessions.”
Since then, a 90-minute closed session on NHKT was scheduled to take place just prior to the council’s meeting Tuesday.
But Mr. Koontz said the session would allow “enough time for further evolution of our position.
”I don’t support that,” he added.
Instead, he said he will vote against entering into the closed session and to ask his colleagues to consider making the most recent proposal public.
Mr. Martindell said he was motivated to do the same after receiving the letter sent by Nassau HKT, which he said gives “point-by-point response” to the borough’s offer.
While some of the borough’s positions are accepted by the developer, many are rejected, he said.
Although he declined to reveal the positions attached to each, Mr. Martindell said the disputed items in the letter include the rent commencement date, legal fees requested by the borough, “conditions under which the borough might accept a personal guarantee from the developer’s principals and a variety of technical items that would resolve outstanding matters in connection with Phase 1.”
However, Mr. Martindell said the letter also “seems to include a certain amount of posturing designed to enhance their image in case of any future litigation.
”In other words, it doesn’t seem to be strictly a negotiating tool,” he said. “There’s some of us who are questioning if the developer really wants to do the job.”
And while previous proposed avenues — seeking input from experts and other developers — have not been pursued, making the negotiations public could reveal the developer’s intentions, Mr. Martindell said.
Debating the issue in public could be used to “see if we can break the impasse,” he added.
Currently, the borough considers negotiating points to be confidential.
That confidentiality was evidenced in the copy of the July 10 closed session negotiation minutes acquired by The Packet on Monday in which all but one line was blacked out by Borough Clerk Lea Quinty, who consulted with borough attorneys before providing the document.
”Content redacted was relevant to current negotiations,” she said in a note attached to the document.
But Mr. Martindell said he supports publicizing the borough’s current proposal and Nassau HKT’s response.
”We should reach beyond the standard rules and find something creative to resolve the matter so we’re not negotiating for another two years,” he said.
He said continuing to do so is “a slippery slope.”
”Each (offer) becomes sweeter to Nassau HKT and more detrimental to the borough,” he said. “It’s that dynamic that we want to break.”
Mr. Koontz agreed, noting that while more complicated portions of the redevelopment have been finished, the remaining projects are very similar to “those structures built all the time without frequent consultation and negotiation with Borough Council.”
”At a certain point, I think the negotiations have to run their course, and some decisions have to be made,” he said.
However, Mr. Koontz did note that “there’s a distinction between” his view and that of Mr. Martindell.
Mr. Koontz said he has been “a big supporter of this project” and would “like to see it moving forward.”
But Mr. Martindell originally voted against the downtown redevelopment project, and said Monday that an indefinite delay in the completion of the first phase is “not the end of the world” for the borough.
”We can find another developer. And we should discuss that possibility,” he said.
Still, while he said he couldn’t speak for his fellow council members, Mr. Martindell said he believes “that the level of frustration is now high enough that there is few alternatives left unless they’re just going to give Nassau HKT everything they want.”
But, “before we do anything, I think that council would need to decide it,” Mr. Koontz said.
Mr. Martindell said he is unaware of whether Nassau HKT representatives will attend the closed session.
Mr. Green was not available for comment.