Milford Twp. to NPS: deal or no deal

MILFORD — Asked to support National Park Service’s acquisition of the Santos Farm, Township officials on Monday responded by saying that “one hand washes the other.” Supervisors’ Chair Don Quick said he was not disposed to endorse the NPS purchase, but that he would if NPS would in turn provide an access to the river for a Milford area sewage treatment plant. Tom Gravel, of the Trust for Public Land appeared before the supervisors Monday seeking their endorsement of a federal grant application that would help fund the Trust’s $1.4 million purchase of about 90 acres in the lowland, flood plain portion of the Santos property. Historically, local government endorsement of grants for public land acquisition can be pivotal in their success. Gravel said the Trust was acting on behalf of the NPS, and at the recommendation of Pike County Commissioner Harry Forbes. He said NPS would take title of the property following the sale, and the land could provide public access to the river and other “passive recreational opportunities, such as ballfields. “Then the NPS will charge us to use them,” said resident Phyllis Simpson. “This is our land. I remember when we didn’t have to pay to use the river,” she said. Approximately 21 acres of the farm bordering US Route 6 would be subdivided for commercial or other uses, he said. He said the county, the Delaware Highlands Conservancy and the Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau have endorsed the plan. Quick agreed that many people still have hard feelings toward the NPS from the 1960’s when land taken for a dam that wasn’t built was then taken for the park. Quick said the NPS has never been sensitive to local needs, pointing to examples including limited access to park roads, the recent warning against the Delaware Valley School District’s addition of a second story on the elementary school because it could impact the view from parklands across the river in N.J., and the park’s insistence that no treatment plant be built. “They insist that sewage be piped, at the cost of millions, upstream where it gets discharged and floats back. And why ... because they know the cost is too great for that to happen.” Quick said his opposition was no reflection on the Santos family or the Trust, but as described, he saw no advantage for the township. “If they allow sewage, I’ll go along ... then there’s a benefit to Milford Township, “he said. No vote was taken, but supervisors Gary Williams and Phil Barletto both agreed. Gravel, who appeared to be caught short by Quick’s proposal, suggested that “it would be good to hear other voices,” including county officials who had endorsed the acquisition plan.