It was a poorly attended meeting and I certainly missed the vibrant participation of concerned citizenry so present in the recent past. A sense of fait accompli pervaded the room, the outcome was inevitable.
What did the redeveloper get? By the redeveloper’s own best estimate a gift of $30million, with the town bearing downside risk resulting from possible higher future inflation. The town also bears the risk of lower cash receipts if project rental revenues were to decline. Nice! if you are the redeveloper.
Paraphrased exchange from the meeting:
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Citizen: Why the $30million gift? Committee: Redeveloper will bring jobs and revenue. Citizen: Well the redeveloper would bring jobs and revenue without the $30million gift no? Committee: No because no developer would come without the $30million gift. Citizen: Are you telling me that the success of a project of this size crucially depends upon a $1million per year gift from the township? Would not that put some doubt into the feasibility of the whole endeavor? Committee: You do not seem to understand, the redeveloper will bring jobs and revenue. (Citizen thinks: Yes I understand, the committee will acquiesce to whatever the developer wants.)
Citizen: Ok let’s say we decide to gift the $30million what do we get besides the redevelopment revenue? Jobs, ok are there any targeted expectations regarding higher paying jobs. Committee: The future is unknowable. Citizen: Business is all about dealing with the unknown so that outcomes within bounds can be planned for. Committee: The future is unknowable, the project will bring jobs and revenue and property values will benefit. (Citizen thinks: hotel, retail, online school, fitness, personal service, assisted living do not spell high paying jobs….medical perhaps….net, net do not expect significant high paying employment from this redevelopment. Granting a $30million gift for a redevelopment that will change the very heart of the town is adding insult to injury).
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How the PILOT money will be allocated within the town is also very telling. The vast bulk of the PILOT money will flow directly to the township and not to the schools. Whilst at first blush this may seem very appealing to many, it needs deeper reflection. So we are going to subsidize the redeveloper and we are going to shortchange the schools. Schooling is expensive and will remain so. Shutting available monies away from schools will not lessen the need for a growth in needed funds from inflation alone. The power shifts to the Township and the danger of wasted excess funds at the township level will naturally be very high whilst the schools will need to come asking. Organizational design 101 informs one that this will not have a good ending for the citizens of the township and sets an awful adversarial precedence. I highly suggest that historical percentage allocations apply to PILOT revenues.
Its not the people on the committee but their vision for Holmdel that is of concern.
The leadership baton is on the verge of being totally lost to a vision of Holmdel very different from the one that drew me to the town. Open space and excellent schools were the draw for my wife and myself. The happenings at Lucent, the oxymoronic term “land bank”, “berms everywhere” a true lipstick on the pig, the threat of selling Longstreet Farm land, the possible parceling of F&F, the regret that open space funding hinders development and on and on and finally PILOT ! PILOT truly is the most telling of the new vision.
If you too have that squeamish feeling that things are not going in the right direction, stop the damage by making your vote count the next go around.
Sincerely,
Pradeep Jhanjee
