Council divided on sale of old McGinnis School BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer EAST BRUNSWICK - Despite the objections of two Township Council members, the former McGinnis School could soon go up for sale. The council voted 3-2 Monday to introduce an ordinance that would declare the school property surplus. If adopted, the measure will allow the town to solicit bids and sell the land, located at the corner of Dunhams Corner Road and Hardenburg Lane. Mayor William Neary has said that by selling the land and former school building, the township can bring in revenue to provide tax relief, and leave the necessary building repairs up to the buyer. The building was last used as a school in 1977-78, and was then used for school offices until the late 1980s. The building has been vacant since that time. The lowest bid the township would accept for the site is $260,000, which amounts to more than 1 cent on the tax rate. The council is currently looking at ways to reduce a possible municipal tax hike of 16 cents per $100 of assessed valuation for fiscal year 2007. Township officials have said it would cost about $700,000 to $800,000 to renovate the building. "It needs a major investment to make it usable," Neary said. A buyer would not only have to fix up the building, but would also be required to maintain its use as an educational facility. Neary said other reasons for selling the land are to make sure the historic school building, which dates to the 1920s, is preserved and to improve safety on the site. Also, whoever purchases the property will need to identify a definite egress and ingress "rather than using the chaos we have now" at that intersection, Neary said. The council still has to adopt the ordinance, and at a later time would have to vote to accept a bid for the purchase. Council members David Stahl and Catherine Diem voted against the ordinance introduction Monday night. Stahl has been particularly vocal in his opposition to the idea. He said his biggest concern is how the property's use would affect traffic and safety in the area of that intersection. Turning the building back into a functioning school, even one that is privately owned, would increase traffic. Stahl said whoever buys the school would not only have to pay the purchase price but also the entire cost of fixing the building up. The buyer also would need to pay for employees, health insurance, overhead costs, and bring in a rate of return. "Even a nonprofit must still stay liquid," he said. Because of that investment, a building owner will need to see that the school receives a great deal of use, thus adding to traffic, he said. The proximity to Warnsdorfer School does not help matters, he said, as the additional cars would be a safety issue for school traffic. He added that he does not want strangers so close to the children at Warnsdorfer. Stahl also noted that if a nonprofit entity winds up running the school, the township would not gain any tax revenue.