Please check your facts regarding the Armory

I recently read a blog comment in Bernice’s blog from Rebecca Williams regarding the Armory. I was totally shocked at the misinformation that Rebecca gives to the public. As a council person this is why the council has become a joke in the state of New Jersey. After reading the comments I reached out for READ’s – the company that is working with the State and the charter school in trying to put this deal together. So for the councilwoman to say that the city will be on the hook is a total lie. In fact her comments are totally misleading. It is obvious that this council does not want to see anything accomplished with the current administration.

If you have read her comments on the blog and you read the letter that was sent to me from the READ’s group, you will find why Gov Christie is complaining about teachers like Rebecca Williams getting tenure and in reality if this is the way she teaches her students to conduct themselves as citizens then you can understand why the teachers are getting such a hard time.

I find it very offensive that someone that has been elected by the city of Plainfield blatantly puts out lies and misleads the public, when in reality any dummy would recognize that someone is going to do their homework on this issue.

1. The city is not going to be on the hook.
2. The city is not going to be financially responsible because the city has made its mind up that it is not going to support the children of Plainfield by not supporting a project that will help the children.

I am sure that the majority of you have read her comments. After reading her comments, I reached out to the developer to find out if anyone had changed their position on this issue. I was told they are still in negotiations with treasury department and the State to find ways of accomplishing this without any input from the city of Plainfield. Not one time did they mention that the city would be on the hook or that they needed the city to make this happen. Please be clear that in no place in this letter does it state that the city is responsible for anything.

Currently the State is negotiating with the charter school and the developer. I have posted the letter below that I received today from the developer.

Dear Assemblyman Green:

I wanted to let you know that we had a chance to speak with the NJ State Department of Treasury’s Division of Property Management and Construction about the Plainfield Armory. The Division of Property Management and Construction had the following to say about the Armory:

•The City of Plainfield still has the ability to negotiate for the sale or lease of the property I believe through June 30, 2011;
•However, the Division of Property Management and Construction is most interested in transferring ownership of the property and is willing to convey the property to a nonprofit owner directly such as our organization, READS;
•Should READS wish to buy the property, the State House Commission has the authority to sell the property to us directly; and
•Should the Armory sell for more than $500,000, a legislative act will also be necessary. Should the building sell for less than $500,000, the State House Commission has final authority.

I hope this clarifies the discussion with the NJ State Department of Treasury’s Division of Property Management and Construction.
Best,
Keith

It is obvious that Rebecca did not speak to anyone and she is clueless. The two parties involved – the developer and the State, make it very clear that there are ongoing discussions and the city is not involved.