Though questions loom about the title for land where a new high school will be built, the Monroe Township Board of Education voted last week to hold a Dec. 11 referendum seeking an additional $41.9 million for the project.
Board member Rita Ostrager was the only one to vote against the referendum.
“I, for one, am not comfortable going forward with a referendum without land,” Ostrager said during the Sept. 26 meeting.
She also voted no on the adoption of an interlocal agreement between the township and the board to allow for the park site to be transferred. Marvin Braverman also voted against that resolution, which was approved by the majority.
The Township Council approved the interlocal agreement at its Sept. 24 meeting. With the agreement, costs and responsibilities involved with obtaining the site will fall upon the Board of Education, not the township, which has paid for past archaeological studies there.
Throughout the Sept. 26 board meeting, Ostrager voiced concerns about when they would receive title on the school site, and if a required archaeological investigation on a portion of the site would be completed by the time of construction.
The 35-acre site in the county-owned Thompson Park is to be swapped for 172 acres owned by the township. Delayed approvals, as well as recently cleared litigation, have held up the land diversion, as well as questions regarding the possible one-time existence of the Leni Lenape Bethel Mission Settlement, which dates back to 1746, at the site.
Due to the site’s possible historic status, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) required the township to have archaeological work done there. Phase-one and phase-two investigations were conducted on the 35-acre parcel, with the second investigation yielding artifacts, mostly of Euro-American origin, dating back to the 18th century.
Though Richard Grubb, of Cranburybased Richard Grubb & Associates, the cultural resource management firm that conducted the investigations, said there is no evidence that Bethel was on the site, state and county officials wanted to be certain. Acting on the recommendation of the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the DEP stated it will not release Green Acres restrictions on 3.6 acres at the eastern part of the 35-acre park site. Before deciding whether to release that parcel, the DEP is requiring a phase-three archaeological survey to determine whether additional historical artifacts exist there. A ground survey of the site is required in order to delineate the 3.6 acres, but it has not yet been conducted. Board attorney Bertram Busch said he did not have a time frame for its completion.
The archaeological work associated with the DEP’s conditions is projected to cost $825,000, according to Joel Lezotte of Piscataway based Epic Management. The costs will be incorporated into the bond referendum.
At the board’s Sept. 10 meeting, it received word from Assistant Township Attorney Peg Schaffer that receipt of title on the 31.4-acre portion of the site was imminent, but the deed has yet to be released by the DEP.
“They’re still just chasing their tails,” Braverman said of fellow board members.
Braverman said his vote for holding the referendum was a mistake, because he thought he was voting only for the referendum, not for sticking with the plan to build the high school in the park.
Township officials said conditions set previously by the state and county for release of the land have been met, including a $1.127 million supplement from the township to make up for the higher value assessed on the park land, and other parameters set by the State House Commission.
Other conditions involved with the release of the 31.4 acres require the township to have archaeological monitors on-site during construction, in case any additional artifacts are found. If artifacts are uncovered, construction must be halted until appropriate parties handle the items. This has been another source of concern for those expressing doubt about the feasibility of the site.
Representatives of the DEP stated in a Sept. 10 letter that they would go forth with the partial transfer of the site once the conditions were met.
Although Ostrager expressed doubt over whether the 3.6 acres would be released at all, other board members seemed confident that the portion of the site, deemed the Thompson Park Historic Site by the SHPO, would be transferred to the town after the phase-three investigation.
“I didn’t feel in any way the DEP was not going to release the land,” board member Amy Antelis said.
The DEP pointed out in its letter that it should not be assumed that the 3.6 acres would be released because of the release of restrictions on the remainder of the parcel.
“As far as I’m concerned, this project cannot be held up for anything,” board member Lew Kaufman said. “We can’t sit here and speculate on something that could potentially happen.”
Ostrager asked Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie if the site design would have to be changed if the 3.6 acres were not released. According to Ferrie, the footprint of the building would have to be moved, and alternate plans would have to be made for a detention basin slated for that portion of the site.
“That would require an engineering study to determine how stormwater would be managed,” Ferrie said.
Pressing for further details, Ostrager questioned whether the referendum could still be held if the design was changed.
“You’re asking me like I’m the Wizard of Oz,” Ferrie said. “I don’t know. I’m a superintendent of schools, not an engineer. What it would do to the project, I don’t know. It could delay it.”
According to Schaffer, the board would need a new approval from the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) if changes are made to the plans.
“That’s not a big deal,” Schaffer said. “That’s really just a design thing.”
Ferrie said he is hoping that the phasethree work will be completed by the time the construction of the school commences. According to Schaffer, groundbreaking will probably take place in about a year and a half.
Board member John Leary pointed out that every month of delay is costing about $1 million.
“If we go ahead and keep saying ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda,’ we’re going to keep putting the burden on the taxpayers of the township,” Leary said.
According to Ostrager, that is what the board is doing through its current actions. While pointing out that she wants a school built as soon as possible, she said either way things unfold regarding the land, more money will be required.
If the DEP eventually releases the 3.6 acres, she said, the delay would cost an additional $6 to 8 million, going by figures from Piscataway-based EPIC Management. If the land is not released, the redesign of the project will require further funding as well, she said.
“I certainly don’t want to be in a position to have to do a third bond referendum for this project,” Ostrager said.