Park land to be probed for historical value Some say land sought for high school was site of 1700s settlement BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer The Monroe Township Board of Education last week agreed to hold off on coming up with an alternate plan for the new high school until word is received from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The state agency is asking for further investigation into the history of the proposed site of the school, which is part of Thompson Park. "As far as I know right now, the only thing that needs to be done from the state's perspective is the archeological survey," Assistant Township Attorney Peg Schaffer said yesterday. There have been questions as to whether the proposed site is located where the Leni Lenape Bethel Mission Settlement once stood. The settlement, which dates back to 1746, was listed on Preservation New Jersey's "10 Most Endangered Sites" list for 2006. The survey, which should take four to five weeks according to Schaffer, will determine whether there are any artifacts or human remains at the proposed site. Monroe Township Historian John Katerba made the determination that the settlement was not located on the site, but members of the citizens' group Park Savers say their research indicates otherwise, Schaffer noted. "You can have a designated site being historic, but that doesn't mean that anything of value for the future of the community is there," Monroe Township Council Vice President Henry Miller said. Archaeologist Richard Grubb, of Cranbury-based Grubb & Associates, will essentially do something similar to an "X-ray" of the 35-acre site. Schaffer said it would then be up to the township's historical commission as to what will be done if anything is found there. If arrowheads were found, for example, she said it is likely that the commission would only require that they be excavated. But if there were a burial ground there, more extensive work would be involved. "It doesn't stop the project, that would be very unusual," Schaffer said. Controversy has for years shrouded the plans for the new high school, with Park Savers and other environmental groups opposing, and taking legal action regarding the township's slated use of county land in Thompson Park for the project. The plan involves the township trading 172 acres of property for 35 acres of park land at the corner of Perrineville and School House roads. At the Board of Education's Jan. 10 meeting, board member Carol Haring made a motion that passed 5-4 for an alternative plan to be investigated and discussed by the time of the board's Feb. 21 meeting. Board President Kathy Kolupanowich voted against the idea because she said it was only right to follow through on what residents of the community had asked for. She also said there was not enough time to come up with a whole new plan for the high school. Regardless, the movement for an alternate plan was quashed during the next board meeting, on Jan. 24, when the majority of members voted to overturn the previous resolution. While the archeological survey is being conducted, the county will be doing a phase one environmental investigation at the site, Schaffer said. Surveys associated with the land swap have been submitted after further revisions, and the title work and environmental impact statement have also been taken care of, Schaffer said. These, she noted, are the last two pieces of the puzzle to be set in place before the project can move forward. At Monday's Township Council meeting, resident Andrea Ryan asked council members how the currently frozen ground might affect the archeological survey. Township Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton responded that there are other aspects of the investigation that can be performed while waiting for the ground to thaw, if need be. Some of the geophysical survey can be started, as well as the required interview process that must include three different historians, Hamilton said.