Questions raised about open space purchase

Suburban Trends- RINGWOOD
(by Teresa Edmond - Staff Writer - December 10, 2008)

RINGWOOD - The borough was turned down for an open space grant would have gone toward the acquisition and preservation of a 36-acre property on Skyline Drive.

But a resident slammed the council for submitting an application “filled with lies” that she said include the land’s description and appraisal value, hence the reason for the application’s denial.

At the council’s Dec. 4 work session, resident Grace Hazeldine accused the council of claiming the 36-acre tract is valued at about $1 million, when it’s really worth $30,000 in her opinion.

The municipality sent in its open space acquisition application last June, asking for $775,000 out of $1,025,000. According to the document, $25,000 of $1,025,000 comes from “soft costs” like surveys and appraisals. The borough would match the rest of the cost with a $200,000 state Green Acres Grant/Loan and $50,000 from the Municipal Open Space Trust Fund.

Borough officials attended a hearing with the Passaic County Open Space Committee this past September, and learned of the application’s status this past October.

Hazeldine repeated statements she made at a June council meeting about what she feels is the borough’s reason for purchasing the 36-acre Wallace property. That reason, according to Hazeldine, is the Republican-dominated council is giving money to the GOP-affiliated Wallace family even though developer Patrick Wallace bonded for $500,000 in capital road improvements and didn’t pay it back. Instead, Wallace declared bankruptcy and left the municipality in a financial quandary, she added.

The council previously said that the borough is negotiating with the Wallace family to recoup the improvement costs, and doubts that the cost is $500,000.

Hazeldine said she’s also “anxious” about what the property’s actual value is during the borough’s revaluation period, and that Mayor Walter Davison Jr. and Acting Borough Manager/Clerk Kelley Rohde would be accountable if the revaluation cost isn’t $1 million.

“You testified that this land is $1 million, which the town is missing out on because of friendship,” Hazeldine said.

Davison said that the Open Space Committee “unanimously supported” the municipality’s application. Rohde said that the committee “encouraged” the borough to reapply for the Wallace property next year.

If the 36-acre property were purchased as open space, the habitat of many endangered and threatened species, like the wood turtle and timber rattlesnake, would be spared. High Mountain Brook, a trout production stream and category-one waterway, would be protected as well.

Megan Haidet, land conservation specialist from the Morris Land Conservancy, applied for the open space grant on the borough’s behalf. Haidet previously said that the property has been on the borough and the Morris Land Conservancy’s targeted list of open space for years.

The Morris Land Conservancy protects lands and water resources important to the quality of life in northern New Jersey.

According to Councilman John Speer, the pre-Highlands Act appraisal value is around $958,000. The post-Highlands Act is around $250,000. Speer said property appraisal isn’t the council’s job, but that of the “independent body” the Passaic County Tax Board. The Highlands Act, which preserves open space in northern New Jersey, could lower a property’s real estate value because development is limited or restricted.

“We can’t do anything about the ratables,” Speer said of the amount of tax-producing property in the borough. “You’re being silly to hold the mayor for the revaluation.”

Speer also said that municipal taxpayers would be able to better recoup their tax dollars from the Passaic County Open Space Fund because taxpayers pay 2.5 times more to the Passaic County Open Space Fund than the borough’s open space fund.

Larry Buisa, an open space committee member, spoke on municipal officials’ behalf, saying that he doesn’t believe Hazeldine because the council applied honestly.

“They (the committee) are looking at it for the next time,” he said.

©2008 North Jersey Media Group