Morris County Open Space &
Farmland Preservation Trust Fund Committee
1999
1999
Frank J. Druetzler, Director
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John Eckert Cecilia G. Laureys |
Joe Pennacchio Jack J. Schrier |
Walter P. Krich, Jr., Director
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Morris County Open Space &
Farmland Preservation Trust Fund Committee
1999
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Julie C. Baron Robert Birmingham John P. Conway Ann L. Dixon Ralph Engelsman John Hayden Saverio C. Iannaccone |
Geoffrey Knapp Joseph L. Lebar William Roehrich Kenneth Short Benjamin Spinelli Matthew Sprung |
Morris County Open Space & Farmland Preservation Trust Fund
Status Report
Introduction
On December 22, 1992, the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders established, by resolution, the Morris County Open Space & Farmland Preservation Trust Fund.
Collection of funds for the Trust Fund commenced on July 1, 1993 with a tax equal to one-half cent per $100 of total county equalized real property valuation. Since that time, the dedicated tax has been increased to three cents. The County Freeholders review the tax rate annually and may set the tax anywhere from $0.00 to $0.03. In 1999, the County Freeholders set the rate at two and one-half cents.
The Fund is divided into the five areas as follows:
·25% to the Morris County Park Commission/Morris County M.U.A.
· 25% to the Morris County Agriculture Development Board for farmland preservation projects.
· 25% to municipal and/or qualified charitable conservancy projects.
·20% to discretionary projects within any of the above categories.
· 5% to ancillary county costs associated
with the acquisition of open space and farmland and to purchase lands for
wetland creation, restoration, or enhancement.
Municipal/Qualified Charitable Conservancy Projects
The Open Space Trust Fund Committee will review, prioritize and recommend
projects for funding which are submitted by municipalities and/or qualified
charitable conservancies. The funds from any unsuccessful grant award or
any unexpended funds will he added to the current year’s allocation in
this category.
Morris County Park Commission/Morris County M.U.A. Projects
The determination as to which properties are to be acquired will be the responsibility of the Morris County Park Commission and the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority (M.U.A.), subject to the final approval of the Board of Chosen Freeholders. The Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund Committee shall he notified of the following:
b. Whether the entities intend to use their entire allocation or only a portion thereof.
The determination as to which properties are to be acquired will be the responsibility of the Morris County Agriculture Development Board (CADB), subject to the final approval of the Board of Chosen Freeholders. The CADB must notify the Open Space Trust Fund Committee of the following:
The specified annual percentage of funds shall be considered discretionary. These funds may be used to supplement funding for a project(s) in any of the categories. Discretionary funds will be allocated on a competitive basis as recommended by the Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund Committee to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Who’s Eligible?
Any of Morris County’s thirty-nine municipalities or any qualified charitable conservancy is eligible to submit applications to the Open Space & Farmland Preservation Trust Fund Committee.
Qualified charitable conservancies defined as a "corporation or trust whose purposes include the acquisition and preservation of land or water areas or of a particular land or water area, or either thereof, in a natural, scenic or open condition, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and which has received tax exemption under section 501(c) of the 1954 Internal Revenue Code." (N.A.S.A. 13:8B-2)
What Projects Are Eligible For Funding?
Projects eligible for consideration for funding from the Morris County Open Space & Farmland Preservation Trust Fund include the following:
· Land or water areas in a largely natural or undeveloped state to provide:
> the protection of ecologically sensitive areas including freshwater wetlands, steep slopes, and stream corridors;
> the preservation of lands containing exceptional flora or fauna;
> the preservation of areas of scenic, historic and cultural value;
· The payment of debt service for new projects under consideration. The program may assume all or part of the debt service. Refinancing of an existing project is not eligible.
· Former landfill sites.
· Sites which at the time of application are municipally designated for compliance with Mt. Laurel court settlements or Council on Affordable Housing substantive certification.
· Development costs such as construction of ballfields, tennis courts, roads, etc.
· Any maintenance, care, custodial or policing expenditures associated with the acquisition of open space.
The Open Space & Farmland Preservation Trust Fund Committee reviews and evaluates the applications and recommends projects for funding to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders. This 15 member committee consists of one representative from each of the eight municipal regions in the county, representatives from the County Planning Board, the County Agriculture Development Board, the County Park Commission, the County Municipal Utilities Authority, Morris 2000, and two members appointed at-large.
When reviewing applications, the committee takes into consideration, among other things: the development pressure confronting the site; the natural resource protection qualities of the site; the extent to which the project meets a municipality’s open space needs; and other sources of funding available to the applicant.
After reviewing the applications, the Committee conducts extensive site visits to properly evaluate the properties and finally, applicants are invited to make a short presentation to the committee to resolve any concerns or questions.
Committee recommendations are submitted to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders by late Fall each year.
How the Grant is Administered
Upon award of a grant to an approved project, the municipality or charitable conservancy will be recquired to execute an agreement with the county which will outline the terms and conditions of the grant. In general, the grant agreement specifies that acquisition of the property must take place within fourteen months of the signing of the agreement, and that the grant will he disbursed as a lump sum at the time of closing. In addition, the county will conduct a Phase I environmental audit of the property prior to closing. Other conditions of the grant agreement involve project administration, project cost documentation, financial management, auditing requirements and land-use restrictions.
Summary of Funded Projects for 1994
Summary of Funded Projects for 1995
> $462,000 for the purchase of the Emmerich property in Randolph
Township and $362,000 for the acquisition of the Stull Closure
Technologies property also in Randolph Township by the Morris
County Municipal Utilities Authority.
> $97,000 for the Dezso Street site in the Borough of Wharton
>- $230,000 to the Park Commission for the Duryea property near Cooper Mill in Chester Township.
>- $542,340 to the Morris County M.U.A. for the purchase of the Bojczuk property in Morris and Mendham Townships.
>- $150,000 for the Grove Street Park Extension site in the Borough of Chester (grant has since been withdrawn at request of town)
>- $500,000 for the Beaver Brook Acquisition in the Township of Denville to Protect Our Wetlands, Water, & Woods
>- $355,000 for the acquisition of the Mountain Park site in the Town of Dover
>- $160,000 for the Herms Property in the Township of Hanover
>- $200,000 for the Buttermilk Falls Natural Area in the Township of Mendham
> $475,000 for the Combs Hollow site in the Township of Randolph
>- $250,000 for the acquisition of the Kapusta Tract in the Township of Rockaway
>- $175,000 for the Orben Drive project in the Township of Roxbury
> $45,000 for the purchase of the Clarence Street tract in the Borough of Wharton
> $400,000 for the Frelinghuysen Fields project in the Township of Harding to the Harding Land Trust
> $500,000 for the acquisition of the Camp Clifton property in the Township of Jefferson
>- $142,500 for the Farny Highlands Trail Link in the Borough of Kinnelon to the Morris Land Conservancy
> $100,000 for the Gibbons Place site in the Borough of Madison
> $300,000 for the Cold Hill Preserve site in the Township of Mendham
>- $500,000 for the Bonneview project in the Township of Montville
> $200,000 for the acquisition of the West Hanover Avenue Tracts in the Township of Morris
> $500,000 for the Turkey Brook Park Extension in the Township of Mount Olive (grant has since been withdrawn at request of town and funds applied to 1998 project entitled Turkey Brook Greenway)
> $500,000 for the purchase of the Ella Kozemchak property in the Township of Randolph
> $500,000 for the purchase of the Irondale Mountain property in the Borough of Wharton
> $1,465,100.22 to the Park Commission for the purchase of the Mandelbaum property in Montville Township
>- $100,000 for the purchase of the Hickory Tree Greenbelt in the Township of Chatham
$200,000 for the purchase of the Grove Street Park Extension in the Borough of Chester
>- $100,000 for the acquisition of the Timberland project in the Township of Jefferson to the Passaic River Coalition
>- $150,000 for the purchase of Berkshire Valley Park in the Township of Jefferson
>- $500,000 for the acquisition of the Seeing Eye Tract in the Township of Mendham
>- $350,000 for the purchase of the Park Avenue Tract in the Township of Morris
> $150,000 the purchase of Court Road Park in the Borough of Morris Plains
>- $250,000 for the acquisition of the Cory Road/Historic Speedwell site in the Town of Morristown
$750,000 for the purchase of Turkey Brook Greenway in the Township of Mount
Olive (1997 funds applied to this project bringing total grant award to
$1,250,000)
>- $500,000 for the purchase of the Route 80 Vista in the Borough of Netcong
$200,000 for the acquisition of the Lower Rockaway River Greenway in the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills
> $500,000 for the purchase of the Brundage-CCM Connection in the Township of Randolph
> $250,000 in additional funding for the purchase of Irondale Mountain in the Borough of Wharton (including 1997 grant award, total county funding for this project is $750,000)
