VIDEO: Roth and Holland Reach Stalemate Over Lucas Land Deal

Tonight in Freehold Borough, the Monmouth County Agriculture Development Board (MCADB) will meet and vote on the farmland preservation application of Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas. Lucas’s application to purchase the 96 acres of land on Iron Ore Road known as Burke Farm has come under scrutiny in the last several months at both the Township Committee and County levels.

The land had been slated for the development of nine houses when Lucas purchased it in March 2010.

The ongoing debate has featured two partisan opinions of what an elected official should or should not be able to do when it comes to township land and his personal finances. Two key figures who have been outspoken in this debate are Democratic-turned-Republican Committeeman Don Holland and his former running mate Democratic Committeewoman Michelle Roth.

On May 11, Holland, along with Deputy Mayor Ryan Green and Republican Committeeman Jordan Maskowitz voted “yes” on two resolutions that advanced Lucas’s application at the township level. The first resolution was the township’s approval of 16 percent of the agreed total that they need to pay Mayor Lucas under the Planning Incentive Grant (PIG) program. The second was to allow Township Engineer Greg Valesi to conduct a survey of the land in accordance with program guidelines.  

The Asbury Park Press reported that under PIG, a property owner stands to be paid for the purchase of the land by the township (at 16 percent), the county (at 24 percent), and state (at 60 percent) of the total negotiated price. Freehold Patch reported the exact figures; Manalapan will pay Diamond Developers, LLC, which has named Lucas a partner, $184,320, Monmouth County will pay $276,480, the state will pay $691,200.

While her Republican colleagues have viewed Lucas’ preservation as commendable in preserving open space, Committeewoman Roth has expressed an opposing viewpoint of what constitutes good will.

“A sitting mayor putting his newly acquired property into the farmland preservation program and then asking for money so he can afford to pay for it from taxpayers in his own town, county and state, does not qualify as heroic,” said Roth in an email to Patch.

Roth has previously stated her objections, telling Lucas that he and calling him out for his failure to recuse himself from a January vote which lowered his own taxes by $25,000; the Committee did a re-vote in which Lucas abstained.

On May 11, Roth voted “no” to advance the application. Again, she alleged that Lucas fast-tracked the project in nine days of his closing on the property.

Roth has speculated that Lucas has used his political ties with the County Agricultural Board, particularly the appraiser of the land, former Colts Neck mayor James Stuart who sits on the panel. Roth says there’s “too much of a cozy relationship” between Lucas and County officials.

Holland counter argues that Stuart is a State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) Certified Appraiser and ultimately the total value must be state-approved. In this process, it is customary to get two appraisals. The Asbury Park Press reported that Stuart’s appraisal was $844,800 and the second appraisal, completed by Norman J. Goldberg, was a total of $1,209,600. The SDAC settled on $1.15 million appraisal and submitted it to the county in early 2011.

“I have to wonder if another farmer who was not involved in the political process would be treated in the same way,” Roth added. Following these remarks, Roth made an unsuccessful motion to table the resolutions.

Mayor Lucas later said, “I would be willing to tell the people of this township, as I have in every campaign that I’ve run in, that I will do everything I can do preserve every last acre of open space in this town, including putting my own money where my mouth is.”

Just moments before this remark, Roth had called out Republican State Senator Jennifer Beck for remaining quiet on this issue. Beck has co-sponsored an amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution regarding the preservation of open spaces.

“During my time in the Senate I have been working to repair New Jersey’s farmland assessment laws that permit decreases of property taxes of up to 96 percent for actively devoted agricultural land,” said Beck on May 23. “Unfortunately we know that some of that land is receiving the generous tax break even though it is not a real farm. Additionally, New Jersey, unlike surrounding states, has used its farmland assessment law to preserve open space, and that is really the wrong mechanism.”

These remarks represent a central part of Roth’s argument against Lucas.

Roth said the property was flipped into the preservation program by the mayor within nine days after he acquired Diamond Developers, the corporation that owned the land, as a means of securing funding. The mayor’s unwillingness to disclose what he paid for the property adds to the suspicion, she added.

Holland, who preserved his own farm (prior to serving on the Township Committee) and pioneered the township’s program, has openly admitted that he approached Lucas with the idea for purchasing the land and stands by the Mayor’s actions. According to Holland, it is neither Roth’s business nor the public’s concern what the mayor paid for the farm.

Holland predicts that after tonight’s review, the County Agricultural Development Board will approve the application, with Stuart recusing himself from the vote. He also points out that Manalapan’s Agricultural Advisory Committee, Manalapan’s Township Committee, the Monmouth County Preservation Coordinator, the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) and the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders, have all forwarded the application, so he sees no reason why the county will stall. 

Roth, who launched her own investigation and sought information available on the county clerk’s website, claims there is a lack of transparency at the county level.  

So far, Roth has earned the support of only one political ally, County Freeholder Amy Mallet, the lone Democrat on that panel, who cast the one dissenting vote during a May 12 meeting, .

“We have 53 municipalities, we have hundreds of parcels that are available—why this property?” Mallet said. “The people of Manalapan, Monmouth County and New Jersey appear to be purchasing a farm for the mayor of Manalapan and that is not right.”

During the May 11 Township Committee meeting, Holland said that he would be complicit in illegal activity and risking his own reputation if Roth’s allegations were true. 

“Mrs. Roth has never taken an interest in a farmland preservation application like she has in mine,” said Lucas after the two resolutions were approved on May 11. “I think if there’s any ethics violations here tonight it’s certainly Mrs. Roth."

There is still six to 12 months of work to be done on Mayor Lucas' application before it is complete.

“Andrew Lucas is going to receive $1,152,000 from taxpayers for a farm he owned for nine days.  He also voted in January to reduce the property taxes on that property by $25,000.  Every time Andrew Lucas or his colleagues get caught serving their own interests they cry politics,” said Roth to Patch. “This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with transparency and open government.”

The meeting of the Monmouth County Agriculture Development Board will take place tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Monmouth County Planning Board conference room, 2nd Floor, Hall of Records Annex Building, One East Main Street in Freehold.  

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