Published in the Asbury Park Press
By JAMES QUIRK
STAFF WRITER
TOMS RIVER -- The Dover Township Committee, while acknowledging the chances of such a sale are virtually nil, wants to buy the former Ciba-Geigy site for $1.
"There's nothing wrong with saying (Ciba) hurt us in the middle of the last century and should sell the property to us at a bargain price," Committeeman J. Mark Mutter said last night.
Mutter was referring to a Superfund site on the Ciba property, and he said the Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corp. has a "corporate-social responsibility" to sell the property.
Committeeman John F. Russo Jr. admitted, however, that the Switzerland-based company most likely will not sell the property to Dover for a low price.
"But I don't want anyone to think we didn't try," he explained.
Mayor Ray Fox said the committee has no plans to purchase the property, and he will not be interested in doing so until a study is done to determine exactly how much of the site is contaminated.
"As far as I'm concerned, Ciba-Geigy owes that land up there to Dover Township," resident Mark Egan said.
Also last night, committee members agreed to approach Bridgewater-based JAMM Realty Inc. to see if they will consider selling their interest in a Hooper Avenue property to the township.
Last year, JAMM received approval from the Planning Board to build 320 apartment units on 65 acres of land at Hooper Avenue and College Drive. Hundreds of neighbors have protested the development, saying it will increase traffic and noise in their area and harm environmentally sensitive land.
Russo said the nonprofit Trust for Public Lands has agreed to re-enter negotiations on acquiring the property with land owner Joseph Citta should JAMM agree to step aside.
"We agreed to send a letter to the JAMM Realty people, asking, 'What is their price?' " Russo said after the committee meeting.
The Ciba site is under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency and was placed on the federal Superfund list in 1982.
Russo said during the meeting that although acquiring the Ciba property is a goal for the committee, it most likely will not happen until the federal Environmental Protection Agency has completed its cleanup -- a process that may take eight years.
Committeemen Russo and John M. Furey said that instead of making the Ciba site a primary focus, the committee should look at every piece of vacant property in the township to determine what can be done to curb overdevelopment.
Restricting proposals, such as that by JAMM Realty Inc., is a more effective way to preserve open space, Furey said.
Staff writer Jean Mikle contributed to this report.
Published on June 14, 2001
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