The Grover Farm Restoration Committee will hold its next meeting on Thursday, September 6, at 7 p.m. in room D of the West Windsor Municipal Building (downstairs).
Pete Weale of Fisher Place, vice chairman of the committee, wrote in a mass E-mail on Wednesday, August 29, that he and committee chair Rocky Procaccini are obtaining pricing for the commercial window replacements. The pair also plans a discussion with the demolition contractor who removed artifacts from the Grover House.
Weale says the committee will soon generate a report of its findings, and in addition Mayor Hsueh will publish the results of multiple independent investigations and a full timeline of the proceedings.
Weale expects information from Township Attorney Michael W. Herbert, the West Windsor Police Department from its investigation, and “other internal documentation authorizing the West Windsor Historical Society to help itself to public property,” he writes.
Others involved want to tell residents that recent comments at Council meetings criticizing the committee’s efforts are inaccurate and have no bearing on what will ultimately happen to the property.
Debbie Hepler of 10 Dean Court, the recording secretary for the committee, was disturbed to see and hear the positions taken by Louise Campi Carroll, Paul Eland, and the supporters of a petition circulating in West Windsor (WW-P News, August 24).
“If [Louise Carroll] had taken the time to visit our website, she would have known that there are currently no plans to build a parking lot or spend tax dollars renovating the buildings on the farm site,” Hepler wrote in an E-mail to the News.
Hepler says Eland also has misplaced concerns about the West Windsor Community Gardens being relocated from its current spot at the Censoni tract, across from the municipal complex. She says the idea for a community garden on the Grover property has only stood as one thought mentioned during a group brainstorming session.
“As is the case with Mrs. Carroll, Mr. Eland has never attended a single Grover Farmstead Committee meeting, nor has he, to my knowledge, reached out to any member of the committee to get the facts before making public statements at the Council meeting [August 20] and in the newspaper,” Hepler writes.
The day after Eland and Carroll came before Council to speak about the Grover house’s intended use, Councilwoman Kristina Samonte called Carroll to explain her position and ask for input from those who signed the petition.
Also contrary to concerns that have been raised, Weale says to the best of his knowledge no member of the committee has articulated an agenda for either soccer fields or parking lots. “These statements can be traced to the administration. In the absence of information from the administration and/or Council, misinformation runs rampant. This is why members of the public are legitimately airing their concerns. But the Restoration Committee has no agenda beyond getting the structure weather-tight with windows and roof repair,” he writes.
Weale maintains that the Grover committee is focused on preserving the exterior house shell because it is both doable and cost-effective. Weale says they will continue to explore prospective uses, although the property is constrained by the state’s Green Acres rules.
Hepler says that up until the issue came before Council this spring, the only plan that was ever in place for the Grover property was rendered by Mayor Hsueh.
“And that plan was for its complete destruction. This explains the reason that many concerned residents came together to form the committee for the restoration of the farm,” she said.
Hepler notes that the Grover Farmstead Restoration Committee meetings are open to all interested residents. For information on meeting times and progress, visit https://groverfarmrestoration.webs.com/.
