Snuff mill announcement came as disappointment

Last week’s decision by the Helmetta Borough Council to terminate the chosen redeveloper of the snuff mill was as surprising as it was disappointing.

The council voted 6-0 on Sept. 8 to end negotiations with Helmetta Lenape and will now go back to the drawing board to start a new redevelopment process. Though the council voted unanimously, not all members are on the same page — at least one was against the Helmetta Lenape plan from the beginning.

From our standpoint, it had appeared until last week that borough officials were making great strides in paving the way for a redevelopment project that would breathe new life into the snuff mill property and help to ease residents’ property taxes. We had been very pleased to report on the progress that had been made since Mayor Nancy Martin took office in January.

Martin, along with councilmen Tom Reid and Vincent Asciolla, had been elected after running on a platform to ensure that no housing other than age-restricted would be permitted on the snuff mill site. Once in office, they were successful in getting all three prospective developers to change their proposals by eliminating all non age-restricted housing. Those developers had also heeded the town’s call to reduce the densities of their respective projects.

In June, the Borough Council selected Helmetta Lenape as the redeveloper. Officials said this firm was responsive and showed they wanted to work with the borough. It didn’t hurt that the firm was part of Bridgewater-based Pizzo and Pizzo Builders and Developers, which owns the snuff mill. Granted, there were issues to be ironed out — density, rental or for-sale units, layout, open space, the potential restoration of the mill buildings — but a redeveloper was on board with a plan that seemed to be in line with the general wishes of the community.

With last week’s decision, regardless of what went on in more recent negotiations, it appears that much of the progress in this matter has been lost. It seems to us that it was a bit rash to suddenly throw it all out and start the process anew, especially after a major development firm has invested a good deal of money and resources into a property and an endeavor.

We’re not prepared to say that the borough has left itself open to costly litigation, but it seems to us the town was better off when the property owner was working hand in hand with the borough toward a mutual goal. At the very least, this meant the redevelopment would not involve the need for the purchase of the snuff mill property, possibly through condemnation with the price to be determined in court.

Concessions must be made by both sides at the negotiations table. Right now, the borough and the scrapped redeveloper would both have you believe the other party is responsible for the failed negotiations. The borough says the redeveloper would not meet its demands; the redeveloper says the borough changed its tune and strayed from its own redevelopment plan. One has to wonder whether there wasn’t room for mediation or further concessions that would not jeopardize either side’s goals.

Despite our questions about the recent decision, it is our sincere hope that the borough has a clear idea of what it’s doing and how the next proposal process will play out. Nancy Martin has done a very respectable job on a wide range of issues since taking over as mayor. Let’s hope she’s on the right course with this one.