Controversial Boat Works Purchase Begins In Toms River

TOMS RIVER – The Township Council voted to acquire a run down boat works property with the goal of having it be open land for the public to use, but the vote came with a lot of arguments.

The property is located at 1 Robbins Parkway overlooking the Toms River. It’s been an eyesore for many years.

During a recent Township Council meeting, they voted to buy the land and borrow $1,904,761 for the purchase. The purchase price is expected to be about $1,850,000.

This was the latest in struggles in which Mayor Daniel Rodrick and his majority on the council was in opposition to a few other council members and some residents who frequently attend meetings.

At times during the meeting, voices were raised and insults were made. However, no one got kicked out like in previous meetings.

Rodrick said the purchase is contingent on the site getting a clean environmental study. It already had one that came back clean.

Councilman James Quinlisk, a frequent detractor of the mayor, added that the report Rodrick referred to was done 20 years ago, and only tested groundwater.

Rodrick said that a new environmental study would need to be done by the owner, and the buildings would have to be demolished by the owner before the town takes possession of it. However, the town has to start the purchase process to get the ball rolling on all the other steps.

“We’re preventing overdevelopment and we’re protecting from future development. There will be a park in that place and that park will be there in perpetuity,” he said.

Township assistant attorney Gregory McGuckin confirmed that the town can pull out of the sale – and the bond – if there are too many environmental issues.

Councilman Thomas Nivison asked why didn’t the town apply for open space funding. He was Rodrick’s running mate but has recently argued with him at meetings.

By way of background, there are a few options for land to be preserved. Many towns in Ocean County partner with the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund. This is fueled by a tax on every property in the county and it’s used to buy property for open space. Blue Acres funding is used to buy property at risk of flooding. Green Acres funding is used to purchase land for parks. However, both Blue Acres and Green Acres comes from the state and has more regulations over what a town can do with the property.

Rodrick said the land had been under contract by a developer, Capodagli Property Company, who was interested in making a banquet hall there. A plan was never submitted and the developer is no longer interested.

Rodrick suspected that if the developer was going to put that much money into that property, they’d build more than just a banquet hall. He wants the buildings bulldozed as soon as possible so that residents can have use of it before summer is over. One of the possible uses would be a spray park.

He also said he wanted to move on it quickly before another developer jumped on it.

Councilman George Lobman, an ally of Rodrick, said that he wants Toms River to be more of a seaport community. There’s no sense in having a highrise there so that no one can see the water. Councilwoman Lynn O’Toole, another ally, echoed this statement.

Quinlisk ultimately said that he’s in favor of the town possibly buying it but cautioned that it will cost a lot more, noting such things as bulkheading that needs to be done. The town would also have to go through the process of dealing with the State Department of Environmental Protection because the land is right on the water.

The town no longer has a township engineer to tell them what something like this would cost, Quinlisk said. The former engineer quit, as did a number of other professionals. The most recent one to leave is Township Clerk Mike Cruoglio, which is why Township Attorney Peter Pascarella performed the clerk and legal duties during the meeting.

“It’s a nice idea, Dan, I’ll give you that,” Quinlisk said to Rodrick, “but there’s a lot more to it than the $2 million we’re doing today.”

Councilman Justin Lamb, who was not in attendance but called in to the meeting, voted for it because it’s a seaport area and “the residents want it back.”

Councilman David Ciccozzi said that this land falls within his ward and he wasn’t even asked for any say in the matter. He voted no because it’s not the right time. “I’m for it. We would love to buy this property under the right circumstances.”

Quinlisk said the property sat unused for about 20 years, so he didn’t expect another developer to come in. Building restrictions on the water have become a lot more stringent since Superstorm Sandy, so it isn’t as likely to attract a big developer.

Council President Craig Coleman said “I don’t want anyone else to have the opportunity to buy that property,” he said. “I would hate to lose this opportunity. There’s not a lot of waterfront property for sale.”

Rodrick said that while the town has an open space tax, all of the money is dedicated to paying off previous purchases. This is coming out of the capitol budget. This purchase was part of the budget he put together that had no tax increase.

The land will kept as natural as it can be, he said. There might be a temporary structure in the summer for a food vendor.

There was a debate about whether the purchase was being done too quickly. Critics said that the town should research the property and make a plan for what they want before buying it. Proponents of the purchase said that the town had to start the buying process in order to start researching the property and making a plan.

Councilman Nivison had tried to table the purchase – which means hold it off for later – but he didn’t have support from the majority of the council. He ultimately voted for the purchase.

Quinlisk and Ciccozzi voted no but the rest of the council voted yes.

Residents Sound Off

There were a few times that residents could express their opinion during the meeting.

The first commenter said “You spend money when you have money. When you don’t have money, you don’t borrow and then leave us the debt,” he said.

Another member, Irene Watson, said that the boat works was already under the eyes of a developer and the council should act on it. “Developers have no interest in natural resources,” she said.

Another resident said that while he would rather the town buy it than a developer, he thought that $2 million won’t be enough. After environmental issues, it could cost the town a lot more.

Resident Paul Stenzel said that nature might reclaim that land. The town should let it go back to the way it was, undeveloped land.

Resident Phil Brilliant said that demolition during the summer would be a bad idea, because of the dust, construction and trucks that would interfere with the downtown events.

Meeting Change

A public hearing for the purchase of the boat works was originally set for 7 p.m. on July 24. This is the fourth Wednesday of every month. It was instead moved to 3 p.m. on a Monday

Councilman Ciccozzi questioned if the meeting was even legal.

Councilman Quinlisk said he was never invited to the meeting. “If I didn’t have someone from the public let me know (about it), I wouldn’t be here.”

Quinlisk floated a theory that perhaps there wouldn’t be enough votes at the last meeting of the year in order to get it to pass, and that’s why the meeting was held on a Monday.