Council will vote on whether to pass a bond ordinance to preserve the 20-acre section at a meeting Monday
PRINCETON - Council members are considering whether to acquire a 20-acre section of land for preservation at an upcoming meeting and a local conservation group is calling on residents to help that decision go forward.
The Princeton logo designed by town resident Jeff Leonard. At a council meeting in January, members decided to delay action on a bond ordinance that would allow the town to purchase 20.4 acres of land on the Princeton Ridge for conservation.
The deal to purchase the land would cost about $4.4 million, which would come largely from county and state grants.
But, after Gov. Chris Christie's recent pocket veto on a bill to allocate funds to protect open space, some council members doubted whether they would get the all of the necessary funding from the state to see the Princeton Ridge purchase through.
Around $1.79 million is coming from the state's Green Acres program. However, around $400,000 of that funding, "may be delayed somewhat," Wendy Mager, president of the Friends of Princeton Open Space (FPOS) said at the meeting in January. She added that the money could be delayed while the governor and the legislator, "work out their issue."
"But it is not a question of the funds not being there," Mager said.
Despite Mager's statement, council members pushed back the decision until a meeting this Monday.
Now, with the meeting and decision just days away, Mager's group, FPOS, is rallying their supporters.
In a note posted on their website Thursday, FPOS called the section of land a, "critical area to protect," and argued that the state funding is only 9 percent of the overall cost.
"Princeton citizens voted for a dedicated open space tax that can be used for bond financing costs, and to cover the 9% if need be," they wrote on their website.
The group urged residents to reach out to council members to support the purchase.
"(The land) provides habitat for threatened and endangered species, and is part of the beautiful forest corridor by which one enters Princeton from Montgomery. It deserves protection," they wrote.
The next council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday and council members are expected to make a decision on the bond ordinance then.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.