Council goes against school sale proposal
Residents: McGinnis School property needed for overflow parking
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

The financial gain of selling the former McGinnis School does not outweigh the worsened traffic conditions and dangers to drivers and schoolchildren.

That was the argument presented by East Brunswick Township Council members who voted against a resolution that would have declared the township-owned school property as surplus, the first step in selling it. Township Council members Nancy Pinkin, Donald Klemp, David Stahl and Catherine Diem all voted against the administration's proposal during Monday night's council meeting.

Klemp and Pinkin first tried to table the measure, but were outvoted 3-2, and when the resolution went up for a vote, the two joined Stahl and Diem in voting it down. Councilman Edward Luster cast the sole vote in favor of the measure.

Mayor William Neary, who proposed the sale, was not present at the meeting. Neary has touted the sale as a way to

dispose of a liability, bring in some revenue and have a private owner improve the property and the building. The township would have required that any buyer restore the building and maintain its use as an educational facility of some sort. The minimum the township would accept for the property if it went out to bid was $260,000.

The former school, located at the corner of Dunhams Corner Road and Hardenburg Lane, was last used as a school in the 1970s and has been vacant since being used for school offices in the 1980s. The building is believed to date to the 1920s.

Those opposed to the sale have said that allowing a commercial or even a quasi-commercial use such as a private educational facility would worsen traffic conditions and create a hazard in the area. About a dozen residents took the opportunity Monday to address the issue, and all were opposed to the sale.

Some residents noted that the property is used as overflow parking by parents picking up or dropping off students at the adjacent Warnsdorfer Elementary School. The area could not stand to lose that additional parking, they said.

Linda Tanaka, one of the residents, said she agreed with township Finance Director L. Mason Neely that the township had no use for the building. She elaborated, however, by saying that the lack of use is because the township has let the building fall apart.

Neely, who gave a presentation at the meeting, said it was estimated that bringing the building up to a "usable state" would cost nearly $500,000. The facility needs a new roof, as well as asbestos work and a new boiler, and it does not meet plumbing, electric or building codes.

"If we put half a million into it, then have no use, some people may think that's a waste," Neely said.

Tanaka said that even though the building may be of no value to the township, the land is valuable largely because it serves as an extra parking lot for Warnsdorfer. She said any money the township received from the sale would be needed to address the new parking problems.

The township would also be adding to the dangerous traffic conditions in the area, she said.

"You're creating a hazardous situation," Tanaka said.

She suggested that officials resurvey the various township departments to see if they have any use for the building.

Another resident, Jackie Perone, said the township should consider bringing the building up to a usable state, then leasing it out.

Neely said the town's options were to sell the land, fix the building up or demolish it, which some residents said may be the best solution.

Neely said that even if the land is sold, the owner would be restricted in terms of what he or she could use it for. He said it would be up to the township Planning Board to address the traffic issues.

Before selling the land, the township would grant an easement to the Board of Education to be sure that the new owner did not develop what is currently a "green area" near Warnsdorfer.