Distortions and misstatements ruled the roost at Monday evening’s council meeting when a lamentable 3-2 decision was made to tear down the Grover house.
Opponents of saving the house, parroting Mayor Hsueh’s stance from the beginning, constantly harped on overblown estimates for a restoration. The total cost, including windows, doors, and minor roof repairs, has been projected by an experienced builder at between $300,000 and $400,000 if done professionally. (It would be much less than this if a good part of the work were to be done by volunteers, as the Restoration Committee’s officers have proposed.) Kamal Khanna, on the other hand, stated that it could be in excess of $400,000 plus another $53,000.
Council members Borek and Geevers went along with this charade. They have ignored the results of a business plan that showed that repair costs would be returned by rental income with a positive cash flow from the moment of occupancy. Kudos to council members Maher and Samonte for standing up for the house; their efforts will not be forgotten.
The undisputed fact is that serious crimes of theft and vandalism were committed in the house right under the nose of the administration. The potentially embarrassing identities of the perpetrators have so far been hidden by Township Counsel Mike Herbert (who serves at the pleasure of the mayor) by doing an end run around our own municipal court system, which should have had immediate jurisdiction. Instead, Herbert sent the results of the police investigation directly to the county prosecutor’s office, which promptly sealed the file. Those of us who want to see the truth are considering an appeal to the state court system, which in the past has ruled that the results of criminal investigations can indeed be released under the common law.
When Mrs. Grover moved out in early 2009, the house was in excellent condition as shown by a transcript of council’s February 17, 2009, agenda session. It could have been immediately rented out and started to return significant funds to the township, and it would have been preserved. However, whether obsessed by the thankfully failed transit village project or by possible long-term plans to eventually convert the farm into other uses such as athletic fields, the administration stood by and did nothing while the house was being systematically wrecked from the inside.
I personally recall President Roosevelt’s address to Congress that declared December 7, 1941, as a “date that will live in infamy.” Sadly, July 8, 2013, will forever be remembered as an infamous date in the long and honored history of West Windsor.
John A. Church
West Windsor
