Nearly two months into the investigation surrounding the missing items from the township-owned Grover Homestead (above), West Windsor police have traced most of it back to an antiques dealer in Warren County.
Township Attorney Michael Herbert said those items would stay put until the investigation, led by Detective Mark Lee, came to a close. Unable to give details due to its ongoing nature, Herbert said police are now on the hunt for the remaining pieces.
The police search, which began late September, has dragged on due to “new developments that keep cropping up,” said Herbert. Police Chief Joseph Pica described the job as a “fact finding mission,” adding it has taken longer than he expected.
“There are more people to talk to than I imagined in the beginning, but we’re doing a pretty good job,” the chief said. “Dozens and dozens of people have been interviewed — anyone who has had anything to do with the farmstead.”
Pica said once all the interviews are conducted, Lee would present a thorough report to Herbert and the council.
The township bought the 88-acre property in 1994 for $3.7 million using money from the state Green Acres program. When the last of the Grover family moved out in 2010 the council approved the demolition of the structures, but when the $60,000 job appeared on a May, 2012, agenda it spurred a movement to save and restore the home.
Thus the Grover Restoration Homestead Committee, made up of about 13 volunteers, was born in June to craft a restoration and identify possible sources of funding.
The investigation sparked when the Grover Homestead Committee questioned the whereabouts of several items in the home that went missing after the council initially approved its demolition in 2010.
Although hoping to wait for the final police report, the committee has decided to move forward in its mission.
Rocky Procaccini, the committee chair, said he wanted to include the complete list of recovered items into their cost estimations, but would instead continue with the “worst case scenario mindset,” which would mean buying all new replacements. Once the police report is in, they will deduct those recovered items from their estimate total.
He said several items of value were taken that would have to be replaced such as windows, a new stairwell, the entire heating and plumbing systems, and all the copper wiring in the electrical system.
Brand new replacements would not bring the home to its original period, but would make it functional. Procaccini said this could take additional time because the replacements would have to be up to the current code.
Procaccini said the committee has already begun gathering initial estimates. It also plans on recommending the house be rented by a caretaker or farmer, which is allowed by the Department of Environmental Protection and does not require additional changes to the property. Other options were turning the home into a type of cultural museum or recreational center, but Procaccini said the committee favored renting to generate revenue for the town.
Councilwoman Linda Geevers, also a Grover Home Committee liaison, said she expected the group to come to the Monday, November 26, meeting with their recommendations. She said they were eager to see the plan, especially as the council approaches budget season and might need to plan accordingly.
However, Procaccini said the group was unable to meet recently due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy and might need a few more weeks to have a thorough total renovation estimate. This would be the third projected deadline the committee has missed — a delay Procaccini attributed to lack of information and answers needed to move forward while in the first stages of the committee.
While some members have pushed to meet prior deadlines, Procaccini does not see the need to rush.
“I want our report to be as accurate as possible going in and I don’t want to leave anything up for guess,” he said. “I am trying to show the taxpayers that the committee is doing the right job and that it won’t leave them with an open pit that would consume their money for years.”
Procaccini dispelled rumors the committee possessed a 50-page report ready for the council, citing the thing they drafted was a general report on the farm’s history. He estimated they might have a detailed business plan ready for council by sometime in December or possibly January. The group plans to meet again on Thursday, November 29.
