Land Sale Legislation Draws Large Crowd, Armed with Alternative Ideas

More than 120 residents turned out to a marathon public meeting Thursday where two pieces of local legislation were introduced paving the way for a potential sale of four acres of land on Plum Lane, and another authorizing the sale of up to 12 acres at Cross Farm.

The land sales -- and/or a tax hike on residents -- are being considered by the township's government in order to plug a $2.6 million budget gap in the $20 milion 2012 municipal budget. If a planned April 12 referendum to raise property taxes fails, the township's elected officials say they will be forced to sell land. An ordinance which included both parcels together was shelved by the Committee Thursday, in favor of the flexibility of two separate ones.

One after another, residents holding documents filed up the center aisle to express their deep worry, dismay, anger or alternate solutions to the five Township Committee members. The meeting was so crowded that some who didn't have seats stood for two to three hours to participate.

Tony Orsini spoke of the petitions he circulated among residents opposed to the sale of three lots on Plum Lane, some of it wetlands. Rebecca Pruitt brought a map showing the unseen streams beneath Cross Farm that could be disrupted by topsoil removal, causing damage to the reservoir and flooding nearby homes. Sam Shramko distributed photographs of the bronze plaque, set in stone in 1979, declaring Cross Farm preserved farmland and questioned the legality of selling the parcel.

The public session took on a collaborative tone, as residents conversed with their representatives at the microphone without time limit. Township Committeeman Eric Hinds, who was sworn in as deputy mayor Thursday, empathized with the frustration some speakers expressed about municipal expenses, and shared his anecdotes about the rigidity of civil service union rules and pension system. The public applauded several speakers for their opinions, but in one awkward moment the mayor, revealing his past as a stern high school principal, put the kabosh on what he perceived as one resident's grandstanding at his expense. "Grant me the respect I'm granting you," he said, glaring, and the room fell quiet.

There were audible gasps, too, when in a response to a question by Tom Wood about how one-time land sales would solve a festering budget wound in 2013 and 2014, Mayor Impreveduto uttered the words "Bayonet Farm." 

The picture-perfect farm is located off Middletown Road was gifted to the township by Laura Harding and is the site of art festivals and Earth Day. "There are significant lands we own," the mayor said.  "I live right near Bayonet Farm and that's the last thing I want to sell," he added. Also in the cross hairs might be an agricultural parcel off Route 35 North, he said.

There was a big laugh from all when Mark Levinson suggested Cross Farm be turned into a marijuana farm.

Land sales are only being considered because township officials say they have already slashed the township operating budget and chased down dead ends to raise revenue by leasing out the tennis club or unloading its liquor licenses. The township has heard from "several" soccer training facilities interested in the Cross Farm parcel, said Township Committeeman Eric Hinds, which they think can bring $1.3 million in a cash sale.

Although a sale of the swim club is on the table, Township Administrator Andy Katz said the township is already getting inquiries from Middletown residents whose own club is in jeopardy of closing and it might be more valuable to keep.

One member of the 5-member Committee, Larry Fink, voted against legislation to authorize land sales at the Feb. 2 meeting. He read out a list of alterative ideas, some of which have already been implemented or considered by the governing body. The list included leasing -- not selling -- certain township land to organic farming operations, increasing user fees for sports fields, rezoning property on Route 34 for commercial development, expanding recreation programs to increase fees, looking into solar farms, collecting user fees for large item drop-off, increasing fees charged to PNC Bank Arts Center activities, and a hotel tax on Route 35.

On the expense side, Fink advocated cutting back on some services, investigating alternative energy suppliers, outsourcing township financial services like healthcare, insurance and pension, cost-sharing with neighboring towns, revisiting township contracts with its vendors, reducing staff, reducing the work week, eliminating overtime, charging for large item drop-off and leveraging the student volunteer workforce.

"Holmdel is not for sale," he said, to long applause.

The mayor, who criticized Fink and Hinds, members of the Finance sub-Committee, for not coming forward sooner with alternative ideas, said he was in agreement of increasing user fees for sports groups, encouraging organic farming and being more business-friendly to attract a buyer for the liquor licenses. He said he has reached out to the county to invite the 911 dispatch operation to look at rental space vacated by the Board of Education, upstairs at Town Hall.

Several residents used their personal expertise to figure out a way to avoid land sales. Kim Weigand Casola, who owns preserved farmland in the township, got on the phone with state Dept. of Environment Protection officials to learn about how Cross Farm might be folded into a non-profit program, and offered her research to the Committee. Mark Levinson, who has a career of experience negotiating high-level deals for a housing developer, said he'd attended a county meeting related to farmland preservation and volunteered to interface with state officials on Holmdel's position. Patricia Mathis suggested a special assessment tax of $300, incorporated with a budget cut, to avoid the capriciousness of a public vote to raise taxes which some doubt will pass.

Township Administrator Katz called Mathis' suggestion "a sound idea."

The Holmdel Township Committee will hold a Budget Workshop meeting for its preliminary budget of 2012. The public is invited to observe. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Town Hall meeting room.