While a number of residents were supportive of the $22 million bond authorized by the Readington Township Committee this week, others opposed to it have launched a petition to bring the issue to referendum.

The committee unanimously adopted on Tuesday an ordinance authorizing a bond of up to $22 million for acquisition of the 76-acre airport and the surrounding 650 acres or an interest in the land for preservation.

Committeeman Frank Gatti said he’s willing to start negotiating again with Thor Solberg and his sisters, airport co-owners Lorraine Solberg and Suzanne Solberg Nagle. "This is the next step in more formalized negotiations," Gatti said of the bond.

Thor and Lorraine Solberg handed out fliers at the beginning of the meeting titled "The Facts About Solberg Airport." The fliers urged residents to petition for an election so a decision was not made for them. They also stated "Solberg is not planning any changes" -- a statement that was challenged by Mayor Gerard Shamey during the meeting.

Shamey accused Thor Solberg of saying different things to township officials, to the news media and to the public. When he pressed Solberg on his plans for change at the airport, including expansion of the main runway, Solberg said, "We don’t want to do it today."

"I think that’s up for future generations to decide," Solberg continued. "How can you say what you’re going to do 30 years from now?"

Resident Dan Stofman, who stood with a clipboard after the committee’s "yes" vote collecting signatures for a petition, said he worried the airport could become a "huge expense" for the township.

"We’d rather have a referendum, rather than having the committee vote," Stofman said. "They’ve been very vague about what they’re going to do with this property."

Ingelore Krug said she was concerned Readington’s high taxes, which her son could not afford, would grow higher still if the township purchased the property. Krug said her son is a pilot who learned to fly at Solberg Airport but was eventually priced out of Readington.

"I don’t like the idea that people can step in and take over what you own," Krug said. "I don’t like the fact that five people can decide what happens in the township."

Under a state statute, an ordinance that authorizes the incurring of debt may be challenged by a protest petition. The petition must be signed by registered voters equal in number to at least 15 percent of the number of votes cast in the last general election and must be filed with the municipal clerk within 20 days after the ordinance is approved.

Committeewoman Julia Allen said the committee voted on the bond ordinance without putting the question to voters "because there’s a procedure here."

"Before you put a question to the voters, you want to know exactly what the question is," Allen said. "We need to know what we’re buying for how much. We’re really still concentrating on negotiations but with some of the other pieces in place, the negotiations, we think, will be much more productive."

To determine the property’s value, the committee earlier this month authorized the law firm Connell Foley to obtain two appraisals.

The $22 million bond approved Tuesday increased Readington’s debt from about $47.4 million to about $69.1 million, according to Township Clerk Vita Mekovetz.

The township’s debt limit is about $102 million, a number which is 3.5 percent of the average of the past three years of all properties’ assessed valuations, Mekovetz said.

Township officials said they would hope to get reimbursement from state and county agencies for part of the $22 million bond.

When asked to break down possible funding sources yesterday, Allen said the committee could hope to get $1 million from the county’s Open Space Trust Fund and $10 million from the state’s Green Acres Program, as well as a $7 million low-interest loan from the state Environmental Infrastructure Trust Fund.

"It’s still a work in progress," Allen said. "We wouldn’t apply for these until we actually had a proposal in front of us."

John Flynn, director of the Green Acres Program, said in a recent interview Readington had contacted his agency about Solberg Airport in the past, and it had been about a year since any discussions on the matter took place.

"Seven hundred twenty-six acres is a relatively large tract owned by a single owner, so naturally the state would have an interest in what happens to that property from a preservation perspective," Flynn said, noting the property’s proximity to Round Valley Reservoir.

When asked whether the agency would fund lands acquired through condemnation, Flynn said funds from the Garden State Preservation Trust may not be used for lands acquired through eminent domain "and we have never sought that in the history of the trust."

Flynn said Readington has a $760,000 grant remaining with the Green Acres Program after obtaining about $7.85 million in funds from the program over the past decade. Allen said Readington could apply for funds through the program in addition to the $760,000.

Flynn could not be reached to comment yesterday on the $10 million figure Allen proposed, but Karen Hershey, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection, said, "We will accommodate them (Readington) the best we can."

Jennifer Weiss works in the Hunterdon County bureau. She may be reached at jweiss@starledger.com or (908) 782-8326.

Copyright © 2006 NJ.com

Date: February 23, 2006 Source: NJ.com
URL: http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1140680409187960.xml?starledger?nso&coll=1