Holmdel BOE, Township Settle on Remaining Payment for Roggy Field

A tentative agreement has been reached between the school district and the township on what the Board of Education's final payment will be for the installation of the $1.4 million artificial turf Holmdel High School's Roggy Field.

The settlement calls for the BOE to pay the township $289,000 plus different interest charges over the next 12 months. The first check of $165,000 is due now, and a second one for $165,000 will be due July 2013. The payments must be approved by a vote of the Board of Education on August 29.

Mayor Patrick Impreveduto announced the settlement at Thursday's Holmdel Township Committee meeting. "They confirmed they are in agreement with the numbers we provided them," he said. 

The figures were negotiated between representatives of the two independent public bodies in recent months, after an accounting analysis during budget time earlier this year revealed that the township had never officially billed the school board nearly $400,000.

The realization of the missing funds was big news at the township Community Center, where Impreveduto was facing an unhappy crowd of about 200 residents who wanted to speak out against selling treasured public land to close a budget gap. 

 "This afternoon we found a rock," he said, dramatically. "The rock was we are owed almost $400,000 from the Board of Education. The township floated a bond back in 2005... and apparently the Board of Education never paid the town the full amount." 

On Monday Board of Education President Barbara Garrity characterized the pact as a "compromise agreement. " 

"Basically we've worked out a compromise. We're paying them $330,000 in two installments," Garrity said. "We're giving up our right to make the payments over time. The township will get their money over the course of less than 12 months, and it will allow us to pay it in two fiscal years."

She added, "We will also save a chunk of money in interest payments over the life of the bond. Otherwise, we'd be making debt service payments over the next 16 years." 

In the original agreement, the costs were divided between the township, the school district, and a private group of citizens. When it became clear in 2009 that private fundraising would not meet its goal, and when the final tally showed the project came in under budget, the private fundraising group's share had to be absorbed and financed by the public entities. 

According to Township CFO Jeanette Larrison, the township had temporarily funded the project through bond anticipation notes from the years 2005 through 2008. 

"Subsequently, the BOE’s share of principal accrued a total of $41,000 in interest which the Township paid. Therefore, the additional monies collected above the $289,000 represents the BOE’s share of interest (debt service) paid by the Township." she explained in an email.

In anticipation of learning what their final payment would be, the board of education had already set aside a total of $120,000 over time, said Garrity. 

The additional $45,000 that will be needed for the first payment will come from money left over at the end of the year which is typically rolled over into routine maintenance projects, such as small repaving projects or replacement of things like older doors or locks. "The kind of things we do every year," Garrity said.

Next year's $165,000 payment will be considered during the upcoming budget process. "It’s too soon to say with certainty what trade-offs may be needed.  We’ll figure that out as we go through the budget process this winter," said Garrity.