Tax amount abated by year for PILOT developments Walnut Hill and Cubesmart
Dear Clark Township,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
Tax amount abated by year for PILOT developments Walnut Hill and Cubesmart. How much each year would have been due in taxes for Walnut Hill and Cubesmart since they have been built
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
John Greaves
To: John Greaves <[OPRA #80007 email]>
From: Edith L. Merkel, Township Clerk, Township of Clark
Re: OPRA request - Tax amount abated - Walnut Hill and CubeSmart
Date: August 26, 2025
The Township of Clark received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on August 26, 2025. The official Records Custodian, Edith Merkel, received your OPRA request on August 26, 2025. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is September 5, 2025. This response to your request is being provided to you on the same business day as the custodian’s receipt of said request.
Your OPRA request sought access to:
"Tax amount abated by year for PILOT developments Walnut Hill and Cubesmart. How much each year would have been due in taxes for Walnut Hill and Cubesmart since they have been built"
Response:
There are no records responsive to your request. Custodians are not required to conduct research or create new records in response to an OPRA request.
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Township of Clark to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
Dear Clerk's Dept.,
In the long term exemption agreement there are provisions that state the charges will be a percentage of the "amount of the taxes otherwise due on the land and improvements".
In the 2024 user friendly budget page 6 sheet UFB-5 there is a section "Prior Budget Year's Payments in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) - 5 Year Exemptions/Abatements" where there is "PILOT billing revenue," "Assessed Value", and "Taxes if Billed in Full 2023 Total Tax Rate"
I would like the documents used to make these calculations. Specifically, the ones that contain the information for each property for each year separated since 2022 that would show the "Taxes if Billed in Full Total Tax Rate" and or the "amount of the taxes otherwise due on the land and improvements" as referenced in the user friendly budget and the agreements.
Yours sincerely,
John Greaves
Your request has been received and will be processed in accordance with the Open Public Records Act.
Edith L. Merkel, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of Clark
430 Westfield Ave.
Clark, NJ 07066
(732) 388-3669
To: John Greaves <[OPRA #80007 email]>
From: Edith L. Merkel, Township Clerk, Township of Clark
Re: OPRA request - Tax amount abated by year for PILOT developments Walnut Hill and Cubesmart
Date: August 27, 2025
The Township of Clark received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on August 27, 2025. The official Records Custodian, Edith Merkel, received your OPRA request on August 27, 2025.
As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is September 8, 2025. This response to your request is being provided to you on the same business day as the custodian’s receipt of
said request.
Your OPRA request sought access to:
In the long term exemption agreement there are provisions that state the charges will be a percentage of the "amount of the taxes otherwise due on the land and improvements".
In the 2024 user friendly budget page 6 sheet UFB-5 there is a section "Prior Budget Year's Payments in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) - 5 Year Exemptions/Abatements" where there is "PILOT billing revenue," "Assessed Value", and "Taxes if Billed in Full 2023 Total Tax Rate"
I would like the documents used to make these calculations. Specifically, the ones that contain the information for each property for each year separated since 2022 that would show the "Taxes if Billed in Full Total Tax Rate" and or the "amount of the taxes otherwise due on the land and improvements" as referenced in the user friendly budget and the agreements.
Response:
From: James Ulrich <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2025 9:53 AM
To: Clerk's Dept. <[Clark Township request email]>
Subject: RE: EXTERNAL- RE: - OPRA request - Tax amount abated by year for PILOT developments Walnut Hill and Cubesmart
There are no documents responsive to the request as the Pilot is in stage 1 for the first 15 years.
James F. Ulrich
Business Administrator
Township of Clark, NJ
732-388-3600
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Township of Clark to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
Dear Clerk's Dept.,
Essentially, I am requesting documentation of how much the normal tax amount would be without PILOT agreements for all the properties with PILOT agreements. This information is available in the budget but not separated by individual properties. Please respond with the data used to formulate "Taxes if Billed in Full Total Tax Rate" which is present in the 2024 user friendly budget page 6 sheet UFB-5. This information would be separate from and unrelated to any stage in the PILOT agreement which was cited as a reason for previous rejection.
Yours sincerely,
John Greaves
Your request has been received and will be processed in accordance with the Open Public Records Act.
Edith L. Merkel, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of Clark
430 Westfield Ave.
Clark, NJ 07066
(732) 388-3669
To: John Greaves <[OPRA #80007 email]>
From: Edith L. Merkel, Township Clerk, Township of Clark
Re: OPRA request - Tax Abated/PILOT/Walnut Hill and CubeSmart
Date: September 8, 2025
The Township of Clark received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on August 27, 2025. The official Records Custodian, Edith Merkel, received your OPRA request on August 27, 2025. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is September 8, 2025. This response to your request is being provided to you on the seventh business day after the custodian’s receipt of said request.
Your OPRA request sought access to:
"Essentially, I am requesting documentation of how much the normal tax amount would be without PILOT agreements for all the properties with PILOT agreements. This information is available in the budget but not separated by individual properties. Please respond with the data used to formulate "Taxes if Billed in Full Total Tax Rate" which is present in the 2024 user friendly budget page 6 sheet UFB-5. This information would be separate from and unrelated to any stage in the PILOT agreement which was cited as a reason for previous rejection."
Response:
There are no records responsive to your request.
Dear Clerk's Dept.,
Sheet UFB-5 is in the user friendly budget. Since the specific data I am requesting is unavailable, please provide all the documents used to make the calculations on this sheet UFB-5 on page 6 of the 2024 user friendly budget.
Yours sincerely,
John Greaves
Your request has been received and will be processed in accordance with the Open Public Records Act.
Edith L. Merkel, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of Clark
430 Westfield Ave.
Clark, NJ 07066
(732) 388-3669
Dear Mr. Greaves,
Please see the attached correspondence. Thank you.
Christina M. DiPalo, Esq.
La Corte, Bundy, Varady & Kinsella
989 Bonnel Court
Union, NJ 07083
(908) 810-0500 (office)
(908) 810-0513 (fax)
[1][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Christina DiPalo,
This response seems contradictory since the sheet in the budget exists and it had to be calculated based on some information.
Could you please confirm that it is the position of the town that there is no information available to determine the assessed value and abated tax amount for PILOT properties.
Yours sincerely,
John Greaves
Please see the attached correspondence.
Christina M. DiPalo, Esq.
La Corte, Bundy, Varady & Kinsella
989 Bonnel Court
Union, NJ 07083
(908) 810-0500 (office)
(908) 810-0513 (fax)
[email address]