If this were the baseball hot stove, ESPN’s Peter Gammons would have just reported that a “mystery team” had entered the fray for the rights to the free agent Bancroft property. This isn’t the Phillies, it isn’t the Cliff Lee signing of 2011, but it does have a definite bearing on one of the most pressing issues facing Haddonfield for 2012.
At a commissioners work meeting last week, Borough Administrator Sharon McCullough reported that a Camden County representative had contacted her and informed her that the county was looking to take an “active role” in partnering with the borough in preserving the Bancroft property as open space.
Camden County Freeholder Jeff Nash contacted McCullough and informed the borough that the county was keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings to possibly acquire the property. According to McCullough, if Haddonfield were to purchase the property for active or passive open space uses, the county would be interested in partnering with the borough to purchase the property.
Nash is currently the freeholder liaison to the Camden County Open Space Preservation Trust Fund Advisory Committee, which was established by the freeholders for the purposes of providing guidance regarding the trust fund and the principles of open space preservation.
The 19-acre property is one of the key properties the county is interested in right now, McCullough said. No possibly money figures were discussed, she said, as it is too early in the process and there is no set price for the Bancroft land.
Also, it’s undetermined exactly how much of the property — if purchased by the borough — would be used for open space purposes.
“The commissioners have not finished their redevelopment plan yet, so it’s not yet determined what portion would be used for open space,” McCullough said.
The commissioners will also be meeting with representatives from the Haddonfield Board of Education later on this month to discuss the district’s Bancroft proposal, which might be tweaked to make it more acceptable for the commissioners.
The borough currently has a $500,000 open space grant that it was awarded that it can use for the possible acquisition or preservation of open space.
