|
|
Senate Environment and Energy Committee to hold first hearing on implementation of Public Ballot Question 2
If you read my November 2nd post, Protect our parks, open space, and clean water: Vote ‘NO’ on New Jersey Ballot Question 2, you know that with passage of Question 2 came serious financial impact on our State Parks and Historic Sites, severely limiting their ability to fund capital projects, such as building or repairing restrooms, roads, and bridges. With a $400 million backlog of repairs, new construction and improvements to existing facilities in state parks and historic sites, dedicated funding has been virtually eliminated.
What? You say you don’t believe this, because ‘Keep It Green’ (KIG) coalition groups told you otherwise during their misinformation campaign this fall? Fine, don’t take my word for it then, read this and this and this and this. Then look at how my friend Bill Wolfe details the issues further in an entry entitled Flying Blind on Open Space – And Lying About It on his WolfeNotes blog.
Even Director of State Park Service Mark Texel wrote about the issue in a comment on the ‘KIG’ Facebook page November 5:
As the Director of the NJ State Park Service now coping with the reality that our entire Parks capital budget will be completely eliminated beginning July 1, 2015 as a result of the YES vote I can say this is the darkest day I have faced in my professional career. Worse than Superstorm Sandy. 440,000+ acres of preserved open space, 52 historic sites, 39 parks — used by 8 million visitors each year — all managed by my agency and now with no funding plan in place for stewardship beginning in just 7 months. This is not a bad reality TV show. This is New Jersey’s Inconvenient Truth hidden from voters throughout this campaign.
So Monday, December 8, 2014 you get your first chance to fight for restoration of budgets for Park capital when the Senate Environment and Energy Committee hold the first (hopefully of many) hearing on implementation of Ballot Question 2:
NEW JERSEY STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE
STATE HOUSE ANNEX
PO BOX 068
TRENTON NJ 08625-0068
C O M M I T T E E N O T I C E
TO: MEMBERS OF THE SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE
FROM: SENATOR BOB SMITH, CHAIRMAN
SUBJECT: COMMITTEE MEETING – DECEMBER 8, 2014
The public may address comments and questions to Judith L. Horowitz or Michael R. Molimock, Committee Aides, or make bill status and scheduling inquiries to Pamela Petrone, Secretary, at (609) 847-3855, fax (609) 292-0561, or e-mail: OLSAideSEN@njleg.org. Written and electronic comments, questions and testimony submitted to the committee by the public, as well as recordings and transcripts, if any, of oral testimony, are government records and will be available to the public upon request.
The Senate Environment and Energy Committee will meet on Monday, December 8, 2014 at 10:00 AM in Committee Room 10, 3rd Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, New Jersey.
The committee will hear testimony from the public on the implementation of Public Question 2. Those wishing to testify may contact the committee aide at (609) 847-3855 for a list of issues the committee would like to focus on.
Bill Wolfe again nails it with his latest blog post, NJ Open Space Voters Did Not Support Slashing Funds for State Parks and Clean Water Programs, and I suggest you take a look at his very valid points if you are testifying at the hearing, or sending your comments to the committee for their consideration. (See above, written comments can be submitted to the committee via email to OLSAideSEN@njleg.org.)
Here are some other points for you to consider:
- To make adequate repairs and restore usable condition to State Parks facilities used by the public, Green Acres distribution must, at minimum, remain at the 2014 level of $16 million as was promised in ACR 195. Additionally, a means of prioritizing needs for major repairs must be developed so that these funds can be allocated appropriately to the State Parks in need.
- Already existing State Park facilities are in dire need of ongoing stewardship, and funding for the continued care of these facilities and historic buildings for the public must to be addressed. These sites are already being held in the public trust, and must not be forgotten. Again, the other $16 million that was promised to State Parks in ACR195 must be continued, so that their stewardship may continue.
- Speaking of stewardship, while lands purchased by non-profits or land trusts may indeed require funds for stewardship, Green Acres money should not be used for lands being held by these groups without an approved stewardship plan and budget, and should only be a portion of the total stewardship costs relative to the Green Acres funds portion of the total purchase price. Nor should Green Acres funds be allowed to accrue to these non-profits to fulfill their own administrative costs.
- Finally, Green Acres funds must be used to promote acquisition and rehabilitation of urban parks, forests and programs that promote better urban health.
This is your chance, people. Speak up!
No, not for yourself (although the weather for Sunday looks seasonably cool) but for someone less fortunate. My friend Andrea Proctor, the Resource Interpretive Specialist at Historic Waterloo Village posted this on their Facebook page shortly after I posted the announcement for the Feast on History program to this blog:
Waterloo Village
We had a NJ public school cancel their field trip to Waterloo Village today because the children did not have coats to wear. It is a harsh reality that has touched the entire staff and Waterloo community. In an effort to “be the change” we hope we can help an existing charity with their annual coat drive. We will be collecting coats on Sunday November 23rd at our Feast on History program at Waterloo Village and we will volunteer our time to coordinate the delivery of all donated coats to Jersey Cares. http://www.jerseycares.org/
This really made an impression on me. I don’t think twice about being able to throw on a jacket and gloves when I run out in this crazy cold weather. But there are children right here in our state who aren’t able to do this. Children who just this week missed out on an incredible learning experience because their families are unable to afford basic necessities that many of us take for granted daily.
Andrea has done an incredible job to re-establish school tours through Winakung at Waterloo for the past several years, and Waterloo Village now hosts over 200 children per day in their history education program. They “educate and engage current and future generations with interactive, hands-on fact based learning,” and “preserve, honor, and respect the history of New Jersey by presenting it in an unbiased setting based on actual information.” It is an opportunity that every child in New Jersey should be afforded. There is no reason a child growing up in America in 2014 should be deprived of this experience because their family can’t afford winter clothing.
If you are coming to Historic Waterloo Village for the ‘Feast on History‘ program, do as Andrea suggests and ‘be the change.’ Please bring a child’s coat along for the Jersey Cares Coat Drive.
Gobble up the food, facts and fun at
Feast On History
at Waterloo Village
Sunday November 23rd, 1 pm – 4 pm
Featuring period food by: JAM at Waterloo Village
Native American cooking demos by: Heart to Hearth Cookery
17th Century Lenape Indian Village
Log Cabin & Farm Site
19th Century Victorian Traditions
FREE Crafts-Games-Activities
$5 per vehicle parking – FREE admission
Hosted by the NJ Division of Parks and Forestry and JAM at Waterloo Catering
 Scott Olson photo By Scott Olson
November 2, 2014
On Tuesday, I’m voting to protect our parks, historic sites and open space. I’m voting to maintain protections of our drinking water and precious natural resources. I’m voting ‘NO’ on New Jersey’s Open Space Preservation Funding Amendment, Public Question Number 2, and I’m urging you to do the same.
This has not been an easy decision. Open space preservation has always been an important objective to me. As a Byram council member, I sit on the Township’s Open Space Committee, and have advocated for the Garden State Preservation Trust since well before I was elected. I even hosted a press conference in Byram with members of ‘Keep It Green’ (KIG) prior to the 2007 election. But on the 2014 ballot question, I must part ways with the position they are taking.
The ‘Yes’ proponents say that Question 2 will “dedicate a small portion of existing tax revenues to open space, farmland, historic preservation, and other critical environmental programs.” It is a small portion of the Corporation Business Tax (CBT) – just 4%, or about $100 million in 2013 – that is currently dedicated to programs monitoring water quality, removing underground storage tanks, and providing for capital improvements to our parks and historic sites.
A ‘Yes’ vote will divert a major portion – approximately 70% – of current CBT revenues from these and other important environmental programs to the sole use of financing preservation of open space.
What does this mean? According to a press release titled Jersey Open Space Measure Cannibalizes Parks & Eco-Programs from New Jersey Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), it would:
- Adversely impact State Parks and Historic Sites by severely limiting their ability to fund capital projects, such as building or repairing restrooms, roads, bridges and other projects. Dedicated funding would fall from $32 million per year to zero. There is currently a $400 million backlog of repairs, new construction and improvements to existing facilities in state parks and historic sites;
- Cut funding for state water resources programs and projects by two thirds, from $15 million a year currently down to $5 million; and
- Slash hazardous waste cleanup programs by more than half, from the current $53 million a year to $25 million.
Continue reading Protect our parks, open space, and clean water: Vote ‘NO’ on New Jersey Ballot Question 2
(Note: The author of this letter – a New Jersey DEP employee with a thorough knowledge of the fiscal impact of SCR84 on NJ State Parks and Historic Sites – has ask to remain anonymous.)
I ask that you read this email so you might fully understand the potential impacts of a ballot initiative that NJ voters are being asked to consider on Election Day this year (November 4th). It’s long, but hang in there….
The ballot question will ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment which would provide funding dedicated to the state-wide Green Acres Program (SCR84). The NJ Keep It Green Coalition, environmental groups, and several politicians are heavily backing this ballot question and really getting the word out to have people approve it, so much so they have hired a lobbying firm to convince people to vote “yes” on it. Traditionally, all ballot questions pertaining to open space have passed in NJ. Normally, I would be one of the people voting yes. But not this year. If this amendment passes, it could spell the death knell to NJ State Parks & Historic Sites. Think I’m being dramatic? Here is the full impact of voting “yes” on this ballot question will have on NJ State Parks & Historic Sites that people aren’t talking about:
First, a little history….
Back in 2006, voters were asked to approve, and overwhelming did, a constitutional amendment that authorized 15% of corporate business tax (CBT) funds to assist NJ State Parks & Historic sites with major deferred maintenance known as capital projects. Ok, so what’s that? Capital projects are large projects as traditional as restrooms, roadways, bridges for trails, picnic pavilions, and overnight camping cabins and as complex as full restoration and conservation projects of historic sites, the building of new visitor centers, stabilization of bulkheads, etc. This was to help with the more than $400 million backlog in projects at NJ Historic Sites. The backlog was due to sporadic (at best) to zero capital funding given to State Parks as part of their budget for years and years. Between the State Park Service and the Division of Fish & Wildlife, there are over 1900 buildings they are responsible for maintaining and over 1,500 miles of public roads and trails. That does not include bridges, dams, and other structures. And year after year, the state budget did not adequately supply the funds to care for them. The amendment passed in 2006 addressed this and gave a stable source of funding for major project.
You can read more about this money, and what it has been used for since then, at this website: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/cbt/index.html Remember, that 15% is about $15 million each year….to be used on projects found throughout the state at all NJ State Parks & Historic Sites. There is a very large waiting list on major capital projects. As part of the way the 2006 amendment read, a boost to that funding is slated for next year, increasing to about $32 million, which would really assist in the management of our beloved State parks and historic sites.
The money is desperately needed because the amount of visitation these sites have seen over the last ten year has increased dramatically, while infrastructure has continued to fail. Staffing levels have dropped to new lows because of retirements and attrition, while the amount of property and buildings the State Park Service is responsible for has only increased. With reduced staffing, you have less people to do basic maintenance to structures, which eventually turns into larger, more complex needs, which capital funding would address. And major natural disasters like Hurricane Irene & Sandy pummeled NJ State Parks & Historic Sites, requiring immediate repairs to buildings and bulkheads (think of the damage to the historic Liberty State Park terminal building or Island Beach State Park). Capital funding was funneled to these projects so that the parks could be reopened to the public, while the State continues to wait for FEMA reimbursements. Thus, other capital projects have been put completely on hold. I think you all get the idea. Our state-owned parks & historic sites require a lot of upkeep and maintenance, but it’s all for the public! It’s all so people can come and visit these places and enjoy everything the state has to offer! Staff want visitors to have the very best experience they can when they visit and offer as many opportunities for outdoor recreation and historic and natural education as possible! We live for this stuff, but funding and staffing continue to be a challenge.
Now a little history on the Garden State Preservation Trust and the Green Acres Program…
Green Acres is a terrific program. Truly it is and I do love open space and the fact that my fellow New Jerseyans care about open space and preservation. But here is the problem: Green Acres is allocated monies to purchase open space, historic sites, farmlands, and blue acres (flood zone) structures. After they purchase these things, they give them over to others to manage and administer. Very, very often, these properties are given to…who else? NJ State Parks and the Division of Fish & Wildlife. But these parks and wildlife management areas are not given funding for the maintenance and upkeep of these sites nor are they given additional staffing to administer them! The amount of acreage some state parks manage has gotten absurd! Ringwood State Park alone manages over 40,000 acres spread over 4 counties and 17 (!!) towns. Some of the property it manages is more than 45 minutes away by car from the main office! Whoa! And the thing that really stings is that when a really amazing property is being offered for purchase by Green Acres, more and more we find that we are appealing to them to not purchase them because we are barely able to take care of what we currently have.
From 1999 to 2006, $235.8 million in Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT) local and nonprofit development funding was awarded and spent on grants in municipalities and counties. During that same time, only $50 million was available to the State Park Service and the Division of Fish & Wildlife. To be fair and in the interest of full disclosure, $10 million of that $50 million came from the GSPT, while the remaining $40 million came from state budget appropriations. So you might be thinking, “Wait. Those grants are available for open space and historic preservation, too.” But guess what? They are not available to any state-owned entities. Those wonderful NJ Historic Trust Grants? Not available to state-owned historic sites. Those open space and recreation grants? Also not available to state-owned properties. Our non-profit friends groups can apply for them, but there is a matching component and often non-profits do not have the ability to raise 5 or 6 figures to match a capital grant. So often county and local parks, recreation facilities, and historic sites are better managed and maintained then our state ones!
Now finally onto the BIG problem with the current ballot initiative (SCR84) and why I’m writing this email…
I said earlier that if voters approve the measure, it would could be the death of state-owned parks & historic sites. Here’s why: the amendment as currently written would completely strip NJ State Parks & Historic Sites of their current ability to fund capital projects. I’m going to repeat that: NJ State Parks would have NO funding to do any capital projects and there is no current plan to fund them. Parks wouldn’t be getting that $32 million next year, they wouldn’t be getting that $15 million. They would be getting zero. That money from the CBT fund? It would be completely diverted to the Green Acres and the GSPT.
Let’s for a minute contemplate the craziness of it all: first, we can’t take care of what we already own, but would be buying up land and structures with no real plan or funding source to take care of them. Second, we barely have enough staff to run what we already own. And finally, two departments (Parks and Green Acres) within the same agency (Department of Environmental Protection) are being pitted against one another. Vote yes, and state parks and historic sites take a huge hit. Vote no, Green Acres is not funded.
Don’t believe me? You can take a look at these sites to confirm what I am saying. There’s always a very vague statement about ending the CBT funding to “environmental programs,” but never a full explanation of what that means:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2014/Bills/SCR/84_S2.PDF
http://ballotpedia.org/New_Jersey_Open_Space_Preservation_Funding_Amendment,_Public_Question_No._2_(2014)
http://www.wolfenotes.com/2014/08/public-parks-funding-would-be-slashed-to-pay-for-open-space-program/
http://www.wolfenotes.com/2014/09/christie-contradictions-could-doom-open-space-ballot-vote/
http://www.wolfenotes.com/2014/08/initial-thoughts-on-the-open-space-vote/
I, personally, am voting no.
It’s time that we start taking care of what we, as citizens, already own. We also need to start looking more critically at the properties that are being purchased and the value of them to existing parks, natural features and wildlife, and to private homeowners. But it’s up to you to decide for yourself. Read the information, do more research, and figure out what you think. I’d tell you to write your legislators, but since this is up to the voters, the only good writing your local representatives will do will help make them aware of your knowledge of this huge bungle and hopefully encourage them to start better funding State Parks & Historic Sites in the state budget. You can find your legislators by clicking here: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp You can then search for your town, which is listed in alphabetical order, on the right side. It will show you who your local representatives are, and usually they even have an email listed. Send them a short note saying you think this ballot initiative is bad and that they need to support the state parks and historic sites in your district!
Feel free to also forward this to friends, family, and like-minded individuals that might be interested in this information. And if you don’t live in the state, but have others that do, feel free to send it to them! You may not be able to vote on this, but they can!
One final word: local media has not picked up on this at all. Should you choose to make them aware of the potential consequences of the vote by forwarding this information to them, I’d ask that you please remove my name from this email. I obviously am sending this on my personal time, from my personal email account, from my personal computer, from my own home! It’s my personal opinion! But I would prefer that my name not be attached to this information should it end up in a newspaper, blog, or social media. Copying and pasting into something new would be much appreciated!
Thanks so much for reading this LONG email!
Join us for the 7th annual environmental education event for children (and adults!), to be presented by the Musconetcong Watershed Association on Saturday, July 26, 2014.
 Byram Township’s Riverside Park. Photo by Beth Styler Barry. (Click to enlarge) Come out and get your feet wet!
Date: Saturday, July 26, 2014
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Place: Byram Township’s Riverside Park, River Road at Waterloo Road, Byram, NJ.
(Click here for a Google Map)
Stop by and get your feet wet! This program allows children to come down to the river’s edge and splash around in the water. We’ll turn over some rocks and maybe we’ll be lucky enough to catch a frog! You’ll need to wear water shoes, old sneakers or sandals with a strap on back. No bare feet and no flip-flops please! Parents must be present but do not need to get their feet wet – there will be plenty of volunteers on hand. Call 908-537-7060 or e-mail kyle@musconetcong.org for details. MWA members free, Non-members will be charged a $4 donation per child ($15 limit per family.)
MWA’s primary mission is education and awareness. They believe that a community that is fully aware of the importance and vulnerability of it’s natural resources is a community that will actively support efforts to ensure environmental quality. The MWA carries out its mission through grassroots activities, including educational programs in local schools, municipal government outreach, workshops and seminars for the public, stream cleanups and outdoor educational programs.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
——- Original Message ——–
Subject: engineer who may be able to help
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 17:17:21 -0500
From: Peggy Snyder <deleted @verizon.net>
To: Scott Olson <deleted @northbyram.org>
Hi,
I have been reading about your fierce battle on the Highlands listserve.
I am a civil engineer who makes a living reviewing stormwater plans for consistency with the state regs. I sometimes take on development battles in my free time if I think they are worthwhile. This one certainly seems to fit that bill.
Peggy Snyder
Pennington, NJ
That’s how it began. An eight year friendship that started with a simple, unsolicited offer to help fight a development battle as big as any I’d ever seen.
I was looking forward to seeing Peggy again soon, to celebrate the recent victory in that fierce battle to Save Rural Andover Borough.
But last Thursday morning, I received an email from Jeff Tittel that crushed me. “Last night Peggy Snyder died…terrible news.”
Terribly sad news.
I spent some time that day going through years of old listserv emails, marveling at how Peggy, along with that “small group” she volunteered to help in Andover, overcame huge odds, a deep-pocketed developer, and high-powered attorneys to save those 260 acres from the bulldozer. Finding that first email from Peggy again summed it all up for me. And there are probably dozens of groups who’ve fought bad projects that can tell you the same thing. With Peggy, it was always about changing the world.
Peggy was an environmentalist’s engineer. She knew the rules, line by line, and did everything in her power to make sure applicants – and perhaps more importantly, local planning boards or the DEP – stuck to them.
“We have to protect our resources here…we have to come together and demand that all these environmental rollbacks be stopped. I’m not an ED of an enviro group and I really have no clout whatsoever…I am just on the ground watching the environment suffer day after day.” Peggy Snyder, November 3, 2011
Continue reading Never doubt: Remembering Peggy Snyder
 Earth, April 22, 2014 Dear Earth,
Not gonna wish you a ‘Happy’ anything today, because there’s not really a lot to be happy about. I just want to say I’m sorry that we humans have f*cked you up so much, and that I promise that I personally will do better in the coming year.
Stay strong, and I’ll try and do the same.
Peace & love,
Scott
|
|
