State gives town more time for soccer fields Replacement fields required as condition of school site approval BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer MONROE- The State House Commission granted a six-month extension to the township on Thursday for the completion of soccer fields required as a condition of the land diversion for the new high school site. The township failed to meet the original Jan. 5 deadline for fields to replace those in ThompsonPark thatwould be lost as a result of the new school's construction. It now has until July 5 to complete the project, according toAssistant TownshipAttorney Peg Schaffer. The State House Commission approved a land diversion in 2005 that involved the township trading 172 acres of land for 35 acres in Thompson Park, which was preserved with state Green Acres funding and is owned by Middlesex County. Due to differences in appraised values of the two parcels, the township was required to supplement the trade with $1.127 million as a condition of the approval. Of that amount, $500,000 was to be spent on the six replacement soccer fields, with the remainder going toward a county park improvement project. According to Schaffer, the township did notmeet the deadline because the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) did not release title to the land until last November, only leaving twomonths for completion of the fields. Approvals from the DEP took much longer than anticipated, partly because of later unsubstantiated claims that the slated school site was once a NativeAmerican settlement. Litigation from citizens' and environmental groups opposed to using park land for a high school also played a role in overall delays, but have thus far proved unsuccessful in thwarting the project. A lawsuit filed by a contractor provided an additional holdup of the soccer field project's progress, Schaffer said. South Riverbased Green Construction initiated litigation in lateDecember after the Board of Education awarded the contract for the field complex to Big Daddy Construction ofMonroe, the lowest bidder. A Feb. 19 court decision ruled in favor of Green Construction, due to BigDaddy's failure to list a subcontractor for electricalwork in paperwork submitted to the board, officials said. "It was a technicality, but legally it's deemed to be a material defect," Schaffer said. As a result of the ruling, the contract went to Green, the second lowest bidder. Although the township was only required to spend $500,000 on the replacement soccer fields, the total cost of the planned soccer complex will be $1.16 million. Schaffer said that although the township exceeded the deadline for construction, the required funding for the project was set aside well ahead of time. Township Engineer Ernie Feist said the groundbreaking on the soccer fields is imminent. The fields will be built on Perrineville Road, across from the Concordia Shopping Center. "I would anticipate, in another week or so, real construction will begin," Feist said. "Green has been out there doing some initial field work. Everything's set to go." While construction of the high school has yet to begin, plans for its September 2011 completion are still on course despite various delays, according to school officials. The new school will accommodate 1,800 to 2,000 students, andwill consist of 365,000 square feet of educational facilities. Program specific spaces for activities including woodshop, technology, graphic arts, photography and home economics will enhance students' learning experience, according to school board documents. In anticipation of further growth in the district, the high schoolwill be built tomake future expansion possible. When the newhigh school is complete, the current high school building, which is across the street, will become the township's new middle school.TheApplegarthMiddle School will be converted to an elementary school.