The Roselle Park Board Of Education (BOE) has reached an agreement with John Adase, Jr. on a five-year lease for the property located at 258 West Webster Avenue – the site of the school district’s Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC); its official name being the John J. Adase Sr. Early Childhood Center.
Negotiations with John Adase – which lasted for months – received attention from the public when a “For Sale/Lease” sign was placed on the building, leading some to speculate that the district was doing away with the center and its pre-school program. Clarification from the Board, by way of School Superintendent Patrick Spagnoletti, was that the initial five-year lease for the property was over and the Board along with the property owner were in talks for the next lease period.
At the March 6th BOE meeting it was announced that an agreement had been reached between both parties and the lease amount would remain at its current rate until 2013; where after the monthly lease would increase by 2% annually until the lease expires during the 2015-2016 school year. At that time, the BOE will have spent $1,264,380 in rent alone for the property.
| School Year | Monthly Lease | Annual Amount | Annual Property Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-2007 | $9,000.00 | $108,000.00 | $6,194.83 |
| 2007-2008 | $9,900.00 | $118,800.00 | $6,620.98 |
| 2008-2009 | $9,900.00 | $118,800.00 | $6,968.78 |
| 2009-2010 | $9,900.00 | $118,800.00 | $7,174.53 |
| 2010-2011 | $10,890.00 | $130,680.00 | $7,405.76 |
| 2011-2012 | $10,890.00 | $130,680.00 | $21,183.67 |
| 2012-2013 | $10,890.00 | $130,680.00 | |
| 2013-2014 | $11,108.00 | $133,296.00 | |
| 2014-2015 | $11,330.00 | $135,960.00 | |
| 2015-2016 | $11,557.00 | $138,684.00 | |
| TOTAL | $1,264,380.00 | ||
The original amount of the lease in 2006 was $9,000. An increase of 10% in monthly rent – which is paid for 12 months, not 10 – was implemented in 2007 and 2010. During that same period, 258 West Webster Avenue LLC (owned by John Adase) paid an average of $6,872.98 a year in property taxes.
The sharp increase in property taxes for 2011 was due to what is termed an ‘omitted assessment’ that was made on the property because it had gone for a full year without its added assessment being placed the tax rolls. There had been improvements done to the property which resulted in $52,000 of added assessment to the property. This brought up the total assessment to $115,700. This new amount was multiplied by Roselle Park’s municipal tax rate (11.983%) and resulted in $13,864.33 in taxes. According to the state, additional assessments which, through error, were not made at the proper time, may be placed on the tax rolls through the Omitted Assessment Laws. An omitted assessment can be made for the current year of discovery and one prior year.
The “For Sale/Lease” sign has been removed from the building.