Township wants out of Wallisch deal with school board

WEST MILFORD — The township council is no longer interested in acquiring the school board’s half of the Wallisch property. That’s the message they sent to the West Milford Board of Education Wednesday night with a resolution at the end of their meeting.

That wasn’t the only action regarding Hillcrest lately. According to school board President David Richards, the district had sent a letter to the township notifying them they are in default of the lease agreement.

The Hillcrest lease was listed on the council’s agenda as an executive session item. During his report, township attorney Fred Semrau added a resolution notifying the school board that the township is no longer interested in purchasing the board’s interest in the Wallisch property, which was part of the 25-year lease agreement between the township and the school district.

The lease agreement was signed and finalized in 2011 but the deal with the Wallisch property never closed. The township paid $500,000 to the board of education up front for their share of the nearly 100-acre property. The property had been left to both the township and the board of education by the Wallisch brothers. The money - $400,000 of which was to go for capital improvements to the Hillcrest building and the remaining $100,000 for future repairs - is still in escrow.

Richards said the school district officially notified the township earlier this week through its attorney that it is in default of the lease by not paying rent for all but one year of the lease so far.

“They owe us over $200,000,” Richards said Thursday morning.

Councilman Lou Signorino, who ran the council meeting Wednesday in Mayor Bettina Bieri's absence, confirmed the council received the letter from the school district’s attorney. He said he was “disappointed” with all that is going on because he “likes working with the board of education.”

There is a clause in the lease agreement giving either party 15 months to end it.

For many years, the township rented the Hillcrest Community Center, home of its Community Services and Recreation Department, for $1 a year. The latest agreement, signed in 2011 but retroactive to 2009, has the township paying $68,000 per year to lease the building. They paid the rent for the first year of the agreement but nothing since, said Richards. Rent for the building wasn’t in the township's 2013 budget.

It’s been a contentious matter from the start, taking years to come up with an agreement. Now, it appears the agreement may be dismantled.

Environmental issues
What’s held up the deal for Wallisch, according to Semrau, was an environmental issue on the property that needs remediation. With no plans to expand use of the property, which is in much disrepair, the council decided to back off their earlier decision to buy it.

Although the township has paid the money for the property, the school district can’t touch it because the two have not agreed on an escrow attorney.

“I just want them to honor the lease,” Richards said.

What do you think? Should the township honor the agreement and follow through with Wallisch?