Historical Restoration Projects Could be Done Cheaper, Letter Says

Responding to perceptions that two historical restoration projects in the borough have become an undue burden on Oakland taxpayers, a member of the town’s historical society recently said that the projects could be completed at a lesser expense if the borough approached them differently.

A $44,000 grant awarded to the borough in June by the county for the preservation of the Van Allen and Stream Houses ignited debate on the council about whether the latter building, which the borough previously considered tearing down, should be restored at all, with one council member labeling the century-old building a “blight.”

In an opinion letter published by the Franklin Lakes-Oakland Suburban News Aug. 8, Oakland Historical Society Vice President Jerry Angermeuller said that the costs of restoring the two buildings have jumped with the planning studies required for utilization of government grants.

“When you apply for money from the county or state, you have to follow their rules to get it,” Angermeuller wrote. “If the borough wants to save money, representatives can create our own town maintenance plan for the buildings, submit it to the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, and have the work done as the borough chooses,” he said, claiming that the Van Allen House roof could be done privately for as little as $30,000.

The grant for the buildings caused controversy on the council mainly because, according to officials, the county will not disburse money for the Van Allen House without tying it to the less popular restoration of the Stream House.

But it's unclear whether the borough would be willing and able to pay for the expenses of restoring either building. When the Ramapough Conservancy, the organization that leases the property from the borough and is overseeing its restoration, received the grant in June, president and founder Judith Sullivan estimated the total costs of the projects closer to $2 million, citing historic preservation requirements that drive up construction costs.

And given other capital improvements slated to move forward in the borough, it’s unlikely that substantial taxpayer funding would be on the council’s radar in the near future.

The Ramapough Conservancy informed Patch that it recently applied for a much larger grant for 2014, filing a letter of intent for $300,000 in funding from the Bergen County Historic Preservation Trust Fund, the same organization that supplied the June grant.