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ATTORNEY WARNS DEBATE OVER ICE RINK COULD IMPACT PURCHASE NEGOTIATIONS
By Catherine Galioto
 | | Photo by Eric San Juan Township attorney Jean Cipriani has warned elected officials that public comments about the Ice Palance site, Chambers Bridge Road, could be impacting purchase negotiations. |
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The township has its eyes on the Ocean Ice Palace, and its owners are in the market to sell it. All that is left to seal the deal is figuring out the fine print. According to township attorney Jean Cipriani, negotiations with the owner, the Dwulet family, are underway.
But at the township council meeting this week, Cipriani warned that public comments are putting some doubt in the seller's mind, doubts that could put the township at a disadvantage in the deal.
She said the very public debate over the purchase - township democrats, including Mayor Dan Kelly and Councilwoman Kathy Russell, are calling for the matter to be placed on the Election Day ballot - has created worries on behalf of the seller.
"The negotiations have slowed down because the seller cannot be entirely sure of the town's willingness to buy," Cipriani said.
The township is seeking to spend $5.4 million to buy the ice rink, pools, buildings and fields on the 13-acre parcel fronted by the Ocean Ice Palace on Chambersbridge Road, in hopes of turning the facility into a community center with recreation, senior services and other amenities.
When the township announced the deal last month, democratic officials pushed for a referendum question to be put on the ballot to see if the residents approved of the deal. Others are seeking more information about the total cost of the project before lending it their endorsement, with some commentators speculating on the real cost of the purchase.
That speculation has all but ground the deal to a halt. The township and the seller have not met to negotiate further since the last council meeting, Cipriani said.
During a recent council meeting, Russell questioned parts of the proposed contract, reading into the record some of the seller's requests.
Cipriani said publicly revealing and commenting on this information could hurt negotiations, as the township tries to figure out very specific points to the deal.
In addition, Cipriani said, having a referendum on whether to have the purchase puts the deal at risk in several ways. If a referendum seeks to approve a certain amount, any amount spent in excess of that breaches the referendum. Additionally, on its face, the act of pushing a referendum could be seen as the township not acting in good faith - an importhe tant part of the negotiation process, according to Cipriani. This could allow the seller to easily walk away from the deal. She said she is not against public information and referendums in general and said the township could create ample opportunity for public forums on the project, but that discussing the information now is bad for contract negotiation.
As further discussion unfolded at this week's council meeting, Cipriani again winced and often tried to get the council's attention to remind them of how the public comments and referendums could adversely affect the negotiations. "You could really be gambling it (the deal) away," she said.
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