The Friends of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS) has elected Helen Rancan as the non-profit group’s new president. Rancan replaces long-time president, Michael Schuit, who recently stepped down due to increased family and job commitments.
FOWWOS, formed in 1995 by the group’s first president, Bernt Midland, is dedicated to the preservation of open space in the township. The group also acts as a watchdog to ensure that the monies collected as a result of the township’s dedicated open space tax are properly utilized.
Rancan, a resident of West Windsor since 1995, has been a member of FOWWOS since 1996, and previously lived in Plainsboro. She lives in the Jefferson Park development with her husband and two young children.
Born in Pompton Plains, Rancan holds a degree from Rutgers School of Engineering in chemical engineering, and a masters in environmental engineering from Stevens Institute. After school she went to work for the state Department of Environmental Protection, where she has been employed for 18 years. Her specialty is water-related issues.
Rancan’s father was a personnel director in New York City, but it was his civic involvement that left a big impression on his daughter. “He was very involved through his entire adult life with various organizations, such as the board of education. He was also a trustee in a local guidance center.”
“Having been brought up that an atmosphere, I had to be involved wherever I was living,” says Rancan. “When we came to West Windsor, I saw a newspaper article about FOWWOS and it was a perfect match with me.”
One of her first activities with FOWWOS was working as “one of many authors” who drafted the language for the 1998 referendum that established a dedicated 7-cent tax for the purchase of undeveloped land in the township.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, FOWWOS worked with the township, and landowners to help add to West Windsor’s open space inventory. In total, FOWWOS has secured more than $1 million in funds toward the purchase of 1,”400 acres.
“FOWWOS has had a tremendous run thus far, but we are going to need to evolve,” says Rancan. “For example, we must insure that the township’s open space is properly maintained for its designated use.”
“In the long-term, there may be increasing pressure to develop in the township,” Rancan adds. “More safety valves may need to be put into place so that 50 years from now, parcels we believed would be preserved, remained preserved.”
Another FOWWOS task will be to make sure that the money collected from the township’s open space tax are properly spent. One condition of the 1998 referendum was that only 10 percent of the funds collected could be used for open space maintenance. FOWWOS will continue to review township spending to make sure the township doesn’t go over the cap.
Rancan says FOWWOS will also work with the township to set a new number for the open space tax. Township and FOWWOS officials realized last year that the tax rate would be going down this year as a result of a property revaluation, but the open space tax would remain at 7 cents. The result would be that the township would be collecting far more from open space funding than anticipated.
The short term solution was a referendum in which voters approved a decrease in the amount of the open space tax to 5 cents per through 2006, but revert to 7 cents in 2007.
Now that the revaluation is complete and a new tax rate is established, FOWWOS must work with township officials on a new referendum, Rancan says. “We will have to do a full analysis and make sure that the new open space levy is appropriate and meets the deadline for a referendum in November.”
Rancan says that people should not expect to see a change in FOWWOS’ philosophy with the departure of Schuit, who is still a member of the organization. “Mike and I agreed on most issues. We are looking to governing FOWWOS with an eye towards the future.”
The organization has also set it sights on the preservation of more land. Rancan points out that in its most recent newsletter, FOWWOS describes plans to add to the township’s 1,”600-acre open space inventory.
According to the newsletter, the township has obtained commitments from several landowners and developers of nine properties totaling 238 acres to transfer ownership of a total of 168 acres of their properties to the township as dedicated open space in exchange for development of the remainder of the properties.
They include a 98-acre tract on North Post Road, which would be developed with five houses, with 90 acres being set aside for permanent preservation.
Two other properties totaling 36 acres are on Clarksville Road, north of the Princeton Chase development. One house would be developed on the land, with access from Spring Hill Drive. The remaining 32 acres will be donated to the township.
Three adjacent properties totaling 28 acres on Penn Lyle Road, opposite Woodmere Way, are also under consideration. Proposed are the construction of 10 housing on five acres, with 18 or 19 acres dedicated as open space.
On a 35-acre parcel on Princeton-Hightstown Road near Rabbit Hill Road a 17-home development is proposed that would be clustered on nine acres. Some 20 acres, much of it in the township’s greenbelt, would be set aside as open space.
The township is also talking to the owner of a 127-acre parcel at the intersection of Village Road East and South Lane for the purchase of the entire property. Development of the site may be difficult because the tract is outside the township’s sewer service area and must be built with septic systems. The high water table in the area would likely limit the number of homes that could be built on the property.
