Wondering about the purpose of East Brunswick buying Heavenly Farms

After watching the Nov. 20 East Brunswick Township Council meeting on television, and hearing the discussion about the proposed septic system for the property formerly known as Heavenly Farms, I had to wonder.

Obviously, the council had no idea specifically what was to be erected on the property. I remember clearly that the mayor suggested the township purchase the property for two specific reasons: to prevent a developer from building homes that would eventually contain children and would put a strain on our school system, and to prevent congestion that the homes would bring to that section of Cranbury Road.

I further wondered if the township hadn't purchased the property, would the taxpayers have had to pay the cost of $12 million? The developer would have applied the 3 12-acre cluster-zoning provision and would have built 42 homes, each worth $1 million, on 39 acres, and given 111 acres to East Brunswick as open space, free of charge.

The administration stated that the proposed homes that would have been built on the property would average 1 1/2 children per home. That would total 63 children who would be attending school at an average cost of $11,000 per child. This would total $693,000 a year to send these children to school. At the same time, each home would be paying approximately $20,000 a year in property taxes, totaling $840,000 for all the homes. Of that amount, $504,000 would go to school funding, resulting in a loss to the township of $189,000 per year. At the end of 13 years, which would be the maximum time a child would spend in the school system, the township would lose $2.5 million.

What do you think? Is it wise to spend $12 million in order to save only $2.5 million over a 13-year period? Consider further that after the children are out of school, the taxes being paid by these same homes would pay back the lost money in only five years. I wonder about the benefits that 42 families who can afford $1 million homes would bring to the township in community services.

I wonder about the traffic congestion that would have been created by the 42 homes, compared to what is planned for the Heavenly Farms property. The administration talks about a proposed community center with meeting rooms, recreation areas, soccer fields with lights for night activities, a dog park and perhaps tennis and basketball courts. If these facilities are utilized moderately, what will be the traffic buildup on Cranbury Road? I'm convinced that it will be more than anticipated by the 42 homes.

So you can see why I wonder (and perhaps you do, also) about what the purpose was to buy Heavenly Farms. Certainly, it wasn't for financial economy for the township nor was it to reduce traffic congestion on Cranbury Road.

Frank J. Coury

East Brunswick