SOPAC-Do you know the latest?!!

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Author Message   South Orange Alliance for Redevelopment Citizen Username: Soar Post Number: 19 Registered: 10-2004 Posted on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 5:03 pm:        SOAR was approached by a number of individuals whose businesses surround the SOPAC pit. They are extremely upset about what has transpired in the last 2 weeks and we feel that the community should know what is going on down there. First off, the people digging the pit hit an oil storage tank, spilling oil. Then they suposedly covered it back up without properly capping the tank. The ground was contaminated...and Sayed from the rug store illegally (this was brought forth at last night's planning board meeting)took dirt from the SOPAC pit to use as fill dirt for his own pit. When his dirt was tested it came back as contaminated as well! Next, the diggers at SOPAC dug too deep into the water table and they have been pumping water 24 hours a day into the brook...BUT how do we know that the oil leak hasn't caused that water to be contaminated? There were reports that the fire department, the police dpartment and Village officilas were swarming around the pit. Now we learn that the site has been closed down and a new company has been hired to do the work, the last being fired. NJ Transit has shown up as well as they are extremely nervous about the proximity of work to their high voltage cables! Verizon lines were sliced and businesses were without telephone service for a full day. All this on top of reports that the so-called performing arts center may run an operating shortfall of anywhere from $300,00- to $800,000 annually only lead us to believe that the project should be shut down until a full analysis lets us know whether this is a viable project or not. It seems we may be throwing good money after bad. We the taxpayers will be on the hook as the Village has guaranteed all loans for SOPAC. That means all of us will be on the hook to pay should it fail. The orignal budget for SOPAC was $7,000,000. They fired the original design firm because their design came in at around $11,000,000. Mind you that was because the powers that be kept adding features and when warned that the budget would be exceeded, simply said go ahead, the money would be found. Now the project stands at $13,000,000 and counting. When will enough be enough!