Ocean Ice Palace buy could hinge on election Due diligence on property could take a month or more, lawyer says BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer It's doubtful that the township will be able to buy the Ocean Ice Palace property before the November election, township officials said. They will spend the next month or two doing their homework about the possible purchase of the 13.34-acre property and ice rink on Chambers Bridge Road. "If the purchase goes through, it will have been moved along by due diligence," Township Attorney Jean Cipriani said. "Doing due diligence will provide a lot of the information many residents have indicated they would like to have." The research will include the update of a phase-one environmental study owner Joan Dwulet has already had done, and some structural inspections, she said. "Just like when you get a property inspection if you were buying a home," Cipriani said. The recently scheduled meeting with the seller to discuss the due diligence procedure had to be rescheduled because Mayor Daniel J. Kelly had to have an emergency dental procedure. It will be rescheduled, she said. "We all want the mayor to be there," she said. "Any meeting that has to be scheduled will include the mayor and the council president, as well as any other persons deemed necessary by the township or the sellers." An upgraded environmental study will determine if there are any significant former or present environmental issues on the property, she said. "Due diligence is in the township's best interest no matter what, whether the contract can be completed or the deal closes," Cipriani said. The deal could also hinge on the outcome of the November election, she said. Four council seats are up, along with the two-year unexpired term of former Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli. "If November comes and Steve [Township Council President Stephen C. Acropolis] and all the council members are swept out, [Mayor] Dan Kelly might want to go through with it or not," Cipriani said. The township has a verbal agreement with the seller to buy the property. But a verbal agreement is not binding, Cipriani said. "In order for any municipality to enter into a binding contract, a resolution entering into a written contract is required," she said. "A verbal agreement only means we are going to move forward towards it. It's done in anticipation of such a purchase." Township Council members on Aug. 21 tabled the second reading of a $5.45 million bond ordinance to purchase the Ocean Ice Palace property until Oct. 23. By then, Township Administrator Scoot M. Pezarras expects to have met with the state Local Finance Board, a division of the state Department of Community Affairs. The township wants the board to sign off on the township's request to waive the $272,000 down payment on the property. The finance board wants to see the township's yearly audit first, Pezarras has said. But Acropolis said Monday the ordinance probably won't go to a second reading on Oct. 23. "We're not going to get some of the reports we're looking for by then," he said. Acropolis said he is getting "positive feedback" on the purchase from his doorto door campaign walks each week. But he thinks there are some who are trying to "stall" the project and "kill" the community center. "Absolutely," he said. "No doubt in my mind." Representatives from a company interested in managing the ice rink flew in from Ohio last week to meet with township officials, Acropolis said. "From my perspective, the sooner we can start moving forward, the sooner we can start having revenue come back to the township," he said. The township put "for sale" signs up on the old Foodtown property on Route 70 and on the Civic Center property on Chambers Bridge Road, Acropolis said. "Scott Pezarras is getting inundated with people asking about the properties for sale," he said. The plan is to sell the Civic Center plaza on Chambers Bridge Road, which houses the township recreation offices, and move the recreation department across the street to office space in the ice rink building. The Civic Center property has been appraised at between $2.8 million and $3.2 million. The proceeds would then be put toward the Ocean Ice Palace purchase.