State delivers half a promise

VERNON-When township officials were negotiating with the state the sale of the historic portion of Maple Grange Park to the state, part of the deal was a $500,000 low-interest loan to renovate Veterans Park on Vernon Crossing Road. Or so they thought. But when it came time for the state to deliver the money, the grant had shrunk by half, leaving officials looking for ways to improve the park without the money to pay for it. The park has serious drainage problems that leave it soggy after good rains and flooded after downpours. Vernon Township Manager Don Teolis discovered the difference between what officials said they were promised and what they actually got when the state adopted its new budget and notified towns of the amount of aid and grants they would get in the coming fiscal year. Vernon's allotment includes $575,000 in matching-funds money from Green Acres for open-space preservation. For every dollar the township spends on buying open space, the grant money matches a dollar. "This matching grant includes an additional $175,000 above our standard municipal award to assist your efforts to preserve lands that protect New Jersey's vital water resources," wrote Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell in letter to Mayor Ira Weiner in late June. The increase in open-space money was more than offset by the reduction in the loan for Veterans Park. At the time of the sale of the historic portion of Maple Grange to the state, officials made verbal promises to include the loan as part of the deal. "The $500,000 loan to renovate Veterans Park was part of the Maple Grange sale negotiations, but it wasn't in the contract," said Councilman Neil Desmond, who participated in the negotiations. "Evidently, the people with whom we spoke are no longer in Trenton. How should we go about getting the balance of the money we need to improve the park?" In addition to correcting the drainage problems in the park, officials want to improve existing ball fields in the park. Teolis explained that the loan application had required a justification for every expense listed. "We did a very good job justifying why we were asking for 500,000, and we are disappointed, but not surprised," Teolis remarked. Mayor Ira Weiner suggested calling the DEP and asking officials there to go over the list of desired improvements for the park. "We can ask what expenses they thought weren't justified, and see if they will tell us. Maybe they will give us the balance of the loan next year or the year after, and we can do these repairs in pieces and come up with same result," he said. Councilman Phil Weiler worried that with only half the expected money to work with, the resulting renovations would be substandard.