BY PAUL HUMMEL
CORRESPONDENT
HILLSDALE, N.J.––Apparently, one dollar still can buy a lot today, especially if you live in Hillsdale.
For 90 cents, the Borough of Hillsdale will rent out the commuter parking lot to Demarest Farms for 18 weekends from Labor Day to the end of October in an effort to alleviate the parking problems near the farm during the pick-your-own season.
The Hillsdale Council voted 4-0 to pass the resolution for the use of the commuter lot at its Aug. 8 meeting. Councilmen Scott Karcich and Frank Pizzella were absent from the meeting.
Mayor Doug Frank, who presided over his last Hillsdale Council meeting as he is retiring at the end of August, had previously mentioned that the rental cost for the lot was low.
Both parties, the borough and the farm, have presented arguments to the Bergen County Agricultural Board to solve the parking dilemma at Demarest Farms, which has about 225 parking spots at its site for patrons. With the addition of the commuter lot, another 250 parking areas will be now available via a shuttle bus.
The borough passed a resolution last month to close 37 streets to parking by farm patrons to insure the safety of residents in the area surrounding the farm.
Demarest Farms is co-owned by Jason DeGise and Jim Spollen. DeGise had some comments for the council during the public speaking portion of the Aug. 8 meeting.
“It is part of the record before the [agricultural] board [and] was represented to the farm that the [commuter] lot could be used for a token payment,” DeGise said. “Based on that representation by both the council for the borough and the mayor, the farm made a token bid. The bid was not designed to insult anyone nor did we feel there was any significance to it.”
“To the extent that if the mayor and council were insulted by the bid, that certainly was not our intent,” he added. “Our understanding was about helping an historical farm survive in an urban development.”
DeGise also added that the farm is a great supporter of many civic activities in the borough ranging from sports, fundraisers and concerts.
Demarest Farms currently has a lawsuit against the borough in regard to the 37-street parking ban. The suit contends that its business comes under the state’s Right to Farm Act and such a parking ban is in violation of state law.
The next meeting between both parties and the Bergen County Agricultural Board is scheduled for Aug. 14. Public opinion is welcomed at the meeting and there is a possibility that the board may render a decision.