Vernon stops Camp Sussex negotiations

VERNON — The highly contested plan for Vernon Township to purchase Camp Sussex stalled on Monday, April 13, after the township council instructed Mayor Victor Marotta to cease negotiations.

The council unanimously voted to end negotiations after receiving appraisal reports for the property at an executive session at the beginning of Monday's meeting. The appraisal reports were not made available by press time.

Councilman Brian Lynch initiated vote to cease the negotiations.

While the negotiations have been ceased and no further action will be taken, the council has the right to revisit the issue and potentially pursue the purchase at a later date.

The purchase of the property has been hotly debated amongst members of the council and members of the public, most specifically, the Vernon Taxpayer’s Association.

The Association filed a petition to stop the purchase, which resulted in litigation that ultimately found the petition too broad to enforce.

“Right now we are too far apart.” said Council Member Dick Wetzel.

The appraisal figures were not released at the meeting but is apparently far off from what the property's current owners, Empire Tax Funds, have asked for.

Vernon Mayor Victor Marotta couldn't be reached for comment as of press time.

Former Vernon Mayor Sally Rinker, who fought the proposed purchased and took the town to court over its actions, said she was sorry the decision was "$8,900 too late."

According to town records, Vernon paid the appraisal firm of Holzhauer and Holenstein $5,400 and Joshua Mackoff $3,500 for the appraisals.

Councilman Dan Kadish, who also has opposed the purchase and voted against the appraisals, said he doesn't think this is the end of the town's bid to purchase the property.

Kadish believes the decision to suspend negotiations is a tactic to pressure the owner into dropping the asking price.

"I'm against acquiring property that I feel should be a tax revenue," Kadish said.

He said the town should have supported efforts to turn the property into a baseball camp when Derek Jeter's Turn Two Foundation was interested in the site.

The organization used to hold a baseball camp there.

He saud he opposes the current plan to demolish the camp which could cost as much as half a million dollars.

"It's not something the town should be involved in," Kadish said.

Last year, Marotta wrote a letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that he had negotiated to purchase the property for $510,000 but needed funds from a state grant. The grant funds are no longer available and there were questions whether Marotta had authority to negotiate the purchase at the time.

Rinker has argued that the cost of the purchase, combined with the cost of the demolition, would deplete the town's Open Space Fund.

Camp Sussex, she said "is not open space."

— Reporter Nathan Mayberg contributed to this report