HOWELL – The Township Council has accepted a bid for a township-owned property off Route 9, Howell, which for the past three years has served as a home for individuals who are unable to make other living arrangements.
On July 17, Councilman Bob Walsh, Councilwoman Evelyn O’Donnell, Councilwoman Pauline Smith and Deputy Mayor Robert Nicastro passed a resolution accepting a $1.6 million bid from Dr. Richard Roberts for the 10-acre parcel that is zoned for commercial uses. Mayor Theresa Berger was absent from the meeting.
Howell’s Director of Law Joseph Clark said the parties are working on the sale agreement and no closing date on the property has been set.
Officials received one other bid on the property, from Eracles Panayiotou. That bid was $1,000 less than Roberts’ winning bid.
Nicastro addressed audience members before the meeting was opened to public comment.
“The governing body is aware that many of you are coming out tonight to speak about the homeless camp in Howell. We are also aware there is information being conveyed that is not accurate and painting this governing body in a negative light, despite the fact this governing body has done more for the homeless than any municipal body in the area. We are now being threatened with litigation, therefore we have been advised to not respond to any questions about this matter in order to protect the taxpayers of Howell,” Nicastro said.
Nicastro offered a history of the property. He said Howell acquired the land in 2011 through a donation and was required to maintain possession of the parcel through June 2014. In early 2014, officials began discussing the potential sale of the property and had an appraisal conducted which established a value of $1.2 million.
In the summer of 2015, municipal officials learned people were living on the wooded property. The same group has remained at the location until now, he said.
“After exploring various options, (the township manager) proposed a temporary solution. The solution included partnering with Destiny’s Bridge, a nonprofit, which would supervise the Howell transitional encampment. Destiny’s Bridge provided a plan that included the temporary housing and care of homeless individuals and building a transitional housing community. The proposal provided for an intake process (and for) each individual signing a release and hold harmless agreement and a community agreement,” Nicastro said.
Nicastro said the individuals living on the property were told Howell could sell the tract at any time. He said Destiny’s Bridge was informed the transitional encampment was intended to be temporary.
In April, Howell officials notified Destiny’s Bridge and Steve Brigham of the Lakewood Outreach Ministry, a non-denominational Christian church, of their intent to sell the property.
Nicastro said that in a subsequent meeting, “(Municipal officials) were very disappointed to learn there had been no residents transferred to permanent housing … despite many people having been there for over three years.”
When the land was placed up for sale, Howell officials notified potential bidders the township did not plan to spend taxpayer money to relocate the people who were living on the property.
Nicastro said potential bidders were informed through a notice that “all responsibility for relocating those individuals from this property shall be the sole responsibility of the successful bidder and the township shall not be required to assist financially or otherwise in the relocation of the individuals on the property.”
“The language was not intended to create a duty on the part of the purchaser or to tell the purchaser how to relocate the individuals, nor was it intended to create any rights whatsoever in the members of the encampment. The language was included to protect the township and was for the township’s benefit and nobody else,” Nicastro said.
Destiny’s Bridge posted on social media that the residents of the encampment had until July 20 to vacate the property. Municipal officials denied that was the date.
“The township has been advised that the purchaser (Roberts) has met with some representatives from Destiny’s Bridge. (Roberts) inquired what the needs of Destiny’s Bridge were to relocate the individuals in their care. Upon not receiving a response, he made an initial offer. That offer was quickly turned down (and) individuals quickly turned to social media to criticize,” Nicastro said.
On July 13, Howell was contacted by an attorney representing residents of the encampment. Nicastro said that up until the afternoon of the July 17 council meeting, municipal officials and Clark had been working to coordinate meetings with Roberts’ attorney and the encampment’s attorney to “come up with a plan that works for everyone.”
“It is disheartening to hear members of the public and the camp criticize Howell when we have provided land to use and made improvements to that land for the camp’s benefit. The township has also arranged for access to medical screenings, vaccinations, county social services … all while this was the responsibility of Destiny’s Bridge,” Nicastro said.
He said he maintains his position that Howell has done more for the homeless than “any other town around.”
“The council is now faced with balancing the needs of these dozens of people vs. the needs of over 50,000 residents. I ask you to contemplate how many people would benefit from the injection of an anticipated $1.6 million plus the tax revenue from 10 acres of prime commercial real estate,” Nicastro said.
During public comment, attorney Jeff Wild, a partner at the firm Lowenstein Sandler, said the firm “had the honor of representing about 120 people who lived in the Lakewood tent city and we were successful after years of litigation in getting six months of rental housing for every resident at the expense of Lakewood.”
Wild was referring to a property in neighboring Lakewood at which individuals who did not have permanent housing resided. Lakewood officials eventually removed the tents that comprised the “tent city.”
Wild said he represents some residents of the Howell encampment and said, “I am not here to threaten litigation and I am not here to posture. I am a problem solver and I am here in the hope we can avoid litigation. I believe the deputy mayor accurately described the chronology in a lot of ways and I believe Howell has acted humanely and lawfully right up until this very moment.”
The attorney said Howell has been “the good guys” and asked for 30 days to address the issue by having the council not vote on the resolution selling the land to Roberts.
“You cannot sell land and delegate, you have to try and solve the problem before you approve the sale of it. (If) a sale is approved without that plan being in place, that is where you are crossing into uncharted legal territory,” Wild said.
“You do not need to do it. I heard about the $1.25 million surplus you have, do not pay lawyers. Ask anybody from Lakewood how much they spent on litigation; it is not something in your taxpayers’ interest. This is something that can be resolved for a pittance compared to that,” the attorney said.
Wild noted several times that he was not retained to initiate litigation.
Brigham said Berger had previously indicated Howell officials would do what they could to help the residents of the transitional camp relocate.
“I sat down with a very fulfilled and confident heart that this (council), this township, was going to in some way help us. I went to a meeting the next day and it was a totally different story; ‘we cannot help you.’ I saw right then, again, a lot of insincerity,” Brigham said.
Brigham said he believed Howell did a “great thing” by permitting individuals to reside on public property.
“This encampment is something,” he said. “We have run that camp with dignity. I think on both sides we did very well. I kept my side of the bargain, you kept your side of the bargain, but we put in a clause (which states) the buyer has a responsibility (to relocate the residents) and I hope that was sincere.”
At one point, Walsh said he had lost faith in Brigham. Walsh said the discussion 18 months ago seemed to indicate the encampment was transitional and yet, people are still living there, seemingly with no other place to go.
Brigham, Nicastro and Walsh discussed the issue for several more minutes. Brigham said the residents of the encampment know the location will be closing and will do what they have to do to secure their relocation.
