Auction A Main Topic of Discussion at Committee Meeting

A 110-acre development parcel that will be auctioned next week was on the minds of the Township Committee and residents in attendance at the regular meeting last night.

The parcel of land - at 1111 West Bay Avenue - was most recently owned by the now-bankrupt Shoreline Sand and Gravel and will be auctioned off by Sheldon Good and Company through a court sale. 

Attorney for Shoreline Sand and Gravel, Shoshana Schiff, of the law firm of Trenk, DiPasquale, Della Ferra, & Sodono, said in a press release about the auction:  “The auction sale of this property is the most efficient and cost-effective method of liquidating the asset. It offers tremendous value to the buyers, and ultimately benefits all involved in the process.”  

Some residents in attendance called on committee members to work with the Township Planning and Zoning boards to rezone the area  as completely light commercial, but the property, as it stands now, is partially residential, including senior and nonsenior housing. The property was designated as an area in need of redevelopment last spring, which, will give the township a "substantial" amount of input once a bidder is named, according to Township Administrator David Breeden.

The site had been used by Shoreline for extracting and distributing construction materials. Breeden said that there are outstanding violations from the state Department of Environmental Protection and Pinelands Commission on the site,  so cleanup will be needed once a bidder is found. 

Barnegat resident Jake Taylor raised the issue of whether funds could be used for open space, but Mayor Al Cirulli countered that the funds that were remaining in the open space fund - $300,000 - would not scratch the surface of funds needed to obtain the parcel. Bidding is expected to start at $600,000.

Committee members also took the opportunity to address some in town who raised the issue that open space funds had not gone to the very purpose that they are named for - preserving open space - going first to recreation instead of preserving open space.

Both Cirulli and Breeden noted that the voter-approved 2001 referendum on open space had several aspects, including recreation, historical preservation and farmland. 

"The township has been using those moneys in accordance with that referendum," Breeden said. 

The auction of the parcel will take place on Monday, Sept. 24, at the Trenton United States Courthouse located at 402 E. State Street. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the auction will start at 10 a.m. For information about the auction, please call 800-532-7120 or visit www.AuctionBarnegatNJ.com.