July 17, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Franklin Lakes Borough council to close on temple property by Frank J. McMahon The Franklin Lakes Council has decided to proceed with the closing on the purchase of the 14.4-acre property currently owned by Temple Emanuel of North Jersey. The land is located at the corner of Colonial and McCoy roads. In July 2012, the borough signed a $2,000,000 contract with the temple to purchase the property, minus about 49,000 square feet which the temple has subdivided and will retain as a single family residential lot. The borough plans to use the site as housing for people with special needs which will help to satisfy part of the town’s affordable housing obligation. According to Borough Administrator Gregory Hart, that contract is conditioned on the state’s approval of the borough’s affordable housing spending plan and the borough has been waiting for that approval before proceeding to close on the purchase of the property. The temple notified the borough, however, that the closing must take place within 30 days from July 9. At the end of its July 2 public meeting, the council decided to proceed with the closing even if they had not yet received that spending plan approval. Mayor Frank Bivona explained that the council discussed all the ramifications of closing before receiving the spending plan approval at a closed session. Afterward, the council voted 4-1 with Councilwoman Nathalie Lota absent and Councilman Frank Pedone voting in the negative, to proceed with the closing. The state had twice notified the borough that it must return any money in its Affordable Housing Trust Fund that had been collected more than four years before. Bivona said the council majority felt the borough had met all the requirements of the definition set by the state to have “expended or committed” the $1,678,676 balance that had been in the trust fund for the previous four years by the state’s July 17, 2012 deadline. On July 3, the borough received a letter from Sean Thompson, acting executive director of the state’s Council on Affordable Housing, dated that day, which indicated that COAH had passed a resolution approving the borough’s amended spending plan. However, while that letter indicates that the approval of the borough’s spending plan will enable the borough to expend trust funds for several reasons, one of which is to purchase the temple property, it does not authorize the expenditure of trust fund money that was not committed within four years of the collection of those funds. Borough Attorney William Smith advised that the borough council believes the funds to purchase the temple property were, in fact, committed by virtue of the contract that was signed with the temple prior to July 17, 2012 and the council will be moving forward to close on the purchase of the temple property. “We’re excited about this,” Bivona said, referring to the special needs housing plan. “It’s going to be a wonderful facility and really meet the needs of those who will live there. It will be on 14 acres in a nice setting and it’s going to look great.” The borough has received two bids from developers interested in constructing the special needs housing. One plan would use This month, the Franklin Lakes Public Library is exhibiting the oil paintings of artist Joseph B. Porus, and Revolutionary War artifacts provided by historian Jim Culmone. Porus’ subjects include seascapes and portraits. To view his work online, visit: Art, artifacts on exhibit the contours of the land to create a distributed network of nine structures that represent a single-family home development in a semi-rural setting while maintaining the character of the neighborhood. The other plan would creates 40 units of affordable, permanent, and supportive rental housing for low-income persons with disabilities that would be designed and operated as permanent, supportive housing for independent living with every apartment a private unit with one bedroom and a complete kitchen and bath. The temple congregation purchased the property about 15 years ago and planned to build a temple there. The zoning board of adjustment denied that plan after a public hearing that lasted for 31 meetings, although the board’s denial was reversed in Superior Court and a revised plan was ultimately approved by the zoning board. The temple was never built. In June 2008, the temple congregation bought the Union Reformed Church property on High Mountain Road after that church merged with a Wyckoff Christian congregation. The temple is now located at the High Mountain Road site. http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/i/ porus. Culmone’s collection includes stamps, china, and figurines. The library is located at 470 DeKorte Drive. For more information, call (201) 891-2224.