Town, firm working on golf course lease Lambertson house, to be near the 8th hole, may be used for storage BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer OLD BRIDGE - With lease negotiations well under way, the township is one step closer to teeing off at the proposed municipal golf course. For several years, township officials have been planning for the course and working to enter into a partnership with a firm that will create the 18-hole course for residents in a way that would not pose a burden to taxpayers. "We're ready, willing and able to enter into a public-private agreement," Mayor Jim Phillips said. The proposed course, which would be built on over 200 acres of land purchased by the township largely with state Green Acres funding, will be located on the former Lambertson and Rose farms, located at Lambertson and Amboy roads. Far Hills Capital Partners is the proposed developer for the course, and Township Attorney Jerome Convery said town officials are awaiting a copy of the revised lease from that firm in order to move forward with the project. In order to forge an agreement with Far Hills, the township was able to gain permission from the State House Commission to double the typical leasing period to 50 years. The extended lease length is meant to help the developer in securing funding for the project. "What we're trying to do here is something I think is fairly innovative," Council President Pat Gillespie said. "The length of time is relative to the amount of investment they would be putting into it." While the lease negotiations comprise a major piece of the project's movement, other steps will have to be taken before it reaches fruition. Once the lease is approved, environmental permits must be sought from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Since there is no way to speculate on how long that process could take, Gillespie said the town has not set a target date for the beginning of construction. "We've gotten through a fairly significant hurdle," Gillespie said. One point of concern with the project has been the Lambertson house, which has been deemed of historic value by the Madison Township Historical Association. The house's oldest portion dates back to the early 1900s, according to Township Recreation Director Tom Badcock, with portions having been added on in the 1920s and 1930s, after the structure was moved back from the road. The former Lambertson Farm comprises 70 acres of the site, which is currently being leased for farming. The township purchased the tract in 2002 from the Lambertson family for $3.75 million. Township officials have said that although the house is unfit for use as a public facility, it will be rehabilitated to some extent, in order to keep its historic integrity. "I know that the town's position is that it is a historic building, and it should be retained," Convery said. According to Badcock, the house would be renovated in a period style, with a signboard that would tell of the land's history. A flower garden would be added to enhance the site, which will be near the golf course's eighth hole. A golf cart path would go past the structure so patrons could view the artifact as they traverse the course. "It just adds to the interest of the facility," Badcock said. The only use the inside of the building might serve would be as storage space, Badcock said. The other portion of the golf course site is the former Rose Farm, which was owned by another historic family in the town. That tract, consisting of about 140 acres, sold for $4.25 million. "They could have sold this land to a developer of homes for millions of dollars," Badcock said. "We're trying to preserve the tradition and history of both families. There are a lot of ways you could keep the name[s] alive." Badcock said it is likely that the Rose and Lambertson names will be used in components of the golf course. Though the general plans for the project are somewhat set, Badcock said there are many details to be worked out between the town and the proposed developer. Examples of these include determining whether residents would receive priority booking at the course, and whether the high school golf team would be able to use it. Perhaps most importantly, it must still be determined at what point during the 50-year lease the town can expect to see revenue from the course, and to what degree, Badcock said. Though seeking a profit is not the town's priority for the project, the state will want it to bring revenue into the town for it to be justified, Badcock said. "Simply, if it breaks even, I would be satisfied," Phillips said. Any revenue received by the town from the golf course must, by law, be put into open space acquisition or development. Badcock said this is a positive thing, because it slows development and allows the town to buy up more open space and create recreational facilities without burdening taxpayers with the costs. Through its partnership with the township, Far Hills would take on the responsibilities of designing, constructing, maintaining and operating the course in return for the land lease. User fees for the course would follow state guidelines, Badcock said. They would run on a three-tiered scale, with the lowest fees for Old Bridge residents, a higher fee that could be up to double the town resident fees for state residents, and the highest fee being charged to out-of-state golfers. "We know from the demographics that there is a lot of New York traffic coming through there," Badcock said.