Several alleged “stewardship issues” at two properties in Jackson are keeping almost $500,000 in funding from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) away from township coffers.
While a DEP official had a lot to say in a lengthy and pointed letter to municipal officials, neither Mayor Michael Reina nor Township Attorney Jean Cipriani could be reached for comment.
Jackson Business Administrator Helene Schlegel said only that officials plan to meet with DEP representatives to “review their concerns” and added that the administration is “confident the matter will be resolved.”
Issues at the Vista Center property on Jackson Mills Road and the Camp Joy property on New Prospect Road dating back to 2001 were listed in a seven-page letter from Green Acres Program Acting Administrator Martha Sapp to Jackson officials. Sapp wrote that the municipal officials requested a reimbursement of $487,500 in April for the township’s acquisition of the Sambol Vista Center property.
“The Green Acres program has been more than patient with the township,” Sapp wrote. “Until we see substantial progress … we will not be able to advance any funds.”
Since November 2009, the Vista Center has been Jackson’s site for its composting and recycling efforts. Although the portion of the property that is used for recycling and composting is considered Green Acres encumbered parkland, the DEP granted its temporary usage for two years while Jackson officials sought other locations for the composting site.
State law allows municipalities to use designated parkland for up to two years for uses other than recreation if used to benefit the public. In October 2010, the township administration proposed moving the compost facility to the Legler section of Jackson, but was rebuked by the Township Council after residents said that location would be too close to their homes.
Sapp wrote that by June 2011, DEP officials received a letter from township representatives describing the difficulty in finding a permanent location for the composting facility.
At the time, Jackson’s representatives said four locations were considered as possible sites for a compost facility, but public outcry stymied their attempts.
The June 2011 letter also included a request to extend the two-year grace period an additional six months. That request was granted by the DEP in October 2011.
By January 2012, Sapp wrote, Jackson officials filed a diversion pre-application that listed the amount of land to be diverted for use as a composting and recycling site as about 2 acres.
That proved to be inaccurate, Sapp wrote, as a more accurate measurement of the facility’s actual area, including its access road, covered nearly 8.4 acres.
In addition, offers by the township to replace the needed property with 40 acres were rejected by the DEP because the value of that property, $140,000, did not meet the value of the composting site at the Vista Center, which was $365,000.
With no agreement in place, Sapp wrote, Green Acres administrators have been patient for the last three years, since Jackson “has still not identified suitable replacement land for the proposed diversion.”
“Out of a good faith belief that Jackson would follow through on its commitment to seek final approval of its diversion application in a timely fashion, we did not require the township to cease the composting and recycling operation,” Sapp wrote.
In addition to Jackson’s use of the Vista Center for composting and recycling, Sapp wrote that a 2005 lease agreement between the township and the Jackson Soccer Club violates Green Acres regulations.
Sapp wrote that municipal officials received a notice from David Smith, of the Green Acres program, stating that the lease agreement was on a portion of property funded by Green Acres.
According to state law, the initial term for any leases of funded parkland “shall be no longer than five years.” Only leases for “good cause shown,” such as substantial capital improvements, can provide for a longer term of up to 25 years.
However, the current lease has a 50-year term with no plan to “involve any substantial capital investment” by the Jackson Soccer Club, Sapp wrote.
Sapp said the DEP did not receive notice or a copy of the lease until 2014. Since the agreement was completed without notice to the DEP, she contended that the agreement was void and held no legal ground.
In addition to the charge of an improper lease agreement at the site, Sapp wrote that the Jackson Soccer Club and the township have been improperly restricting use of the Green Acres parkland.
Sapp said the DEP received complaints from a local soccer group that the fields, which are scheduled and managed by the Jackson Soccer Club, had a restrictive operating schedule.
A sign posted at the entrance on Jackson Mills Road restricts use of the soccer complex from 4 p.m. to dusk on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to dusk on weekends.
If those hours are found to be excessively restrictive, Sapp said, the township would be in violation of Green Acres regulations because any funded parkland needs to be offered with “reasonable public access.”
As for the issues at Camp Joy, Sapp wrote that the construction of the Crawford- Rodriguez Elementary School on Larsen Road and the widening of New Prospect Road resulted in the encroachment of 0.5 acres of Green Acres funded land.
In response to the DEP’s concerns, the township has offered a portion of the Camp Joy property that currently has a vacant first aid squad building on it.
Although Sapp said the DEP is not considering that property as a part of the diversion area, she wrote that interest from the Jackson Pathfinders would require permission from the township to grant that recreation and conservation use.
Sapp said the DEP is willing to work with Jackson officials to resolve the issue. She said efforts to address the problem date back to 2008 and are affecting lands valued at $15,000.
Over the last few months, Jackson representatives have offered three municipally owned properties currently used for recreation and conservation purposes as replacement land for the Camp Joy and Vista Center diversions, she wrote.
Those offers, Sapp wrote, were not valid because “existing parkland and open space … is not eligible.”
Additionally, none of the three properties are listed in Jackson’s latest Recreation and Open Space Inventory, despite their designations as parks or recreation areas.
“Obviously, we must question the accuracy of this document,” Sapp wrote.
Sapp said Jackson has until Jan. 15, 2016 to complete a major diversion of parkland application, otherwise Green Acres administrators “will have no choice but to classify the operation of the composting facility as legalizing a past diversion.”
“Enough time has elapsed that a complete application for these diversions could have been submitted if Jackson seriously wanted to prioritize this matter,” Sapp wrote.