The City Council unanimously approved the Resolution for the SW Appraisals!
The official title of this resolution is:
A Resolution by the city Council Promoting the furtherance of the public Interest in Acquisition of Land for Open Space, Flood Remediation and Enhancement of Property Values, Supporting the Issuance of the contract for Appraisal Services, to be funded through allocation of already collected park tax dollars.
This is the third time a resolution for appraisals has been put forth, the previous failed to have any follow through. Here’s why the new resolution is different:
- It has a funding mechanism in place to cover the costs of the appraisals.
- It provides two appraisal firms that have already submitted their RFP’s (Request for Proposals) and meet the NJ State Greenacres requirements.
- The State Fiscal Monitor, Judy Tripodi, approved and signed off on the resolution.
This time, the appraisal resolution has been improved by tightening its language of intent (including flood remediation) and by providing details on qualified professionals and a funding source. But a crucial factor is that Judy Tripodi has signed off on this resolution whereas in the past, the administration did everything in their power to thwart this effort.
In her introduction of the resolution, Councilwoman Mason explained that the economic situation with dropping property values has created a unique opportunity for the city to improve our quality of life by pursuing the acquisition of park land.
A special thank you goes to Councilwoman Mason for her work and follow through on the Appraisal Resolution.
A special thank you goes to Council President Nino Giacchi for his support and co-sponsorship of this resolution.
A special thank you goes to HSPC Board Member, Ann Holtzman, for her diligent research and watchdog efforts.
See the press coverage:
http://hoboken411.com/archives/11220
http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2009/01/the_future_of_parks_in_hoboken.html
