Officials in Sussex County may be taking a closer look at Sussex County Community College's plan. Watch video
A New Jersey community college's plan to launch a second campus where a car dealership operated for nearly a century may be hitting a speed bump.
Sussex County Community College's board of trustees approved a one-year, $80,000 lease on July 24 for the former McGuire Chevrolet site in Newton, about a half-mile from the 167-acre main campus.
Jon Connolly, president of Sussex County Community College, walks through the former McGuire Chevrolet dealership in Newton, July 27, 2018 (Rob Jennings / NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) College President Jon Connolly said the goal is to offer five technical classes, some as soon as September, while working toward an eventual purchase of the 2.5-acre property and its two buildings totaling 25,000-square-feet, including the historic dealership structure built in 1917 and facing Main Street.
However, Sussex County Freeholder Board Director Jonathan Rose said he wants to hold off on three bond ordinances paying for the eventual acquisition, pending a joint meeting involving the freeholders, college board, Newton Town Council and Sussex County Technical School board.
"The question is not whether there should be a middle skills program. The question is, is the McGuire property the right place to have that program?" asked Rose, adding that he wants to take a closer look at possibly using a building on the technical school campus in Sparta.
The joint meeting, as of Tuesday, had not been scheduled. The ordinances, totaling $2.8 million, are scheduled for introduction, but not a vote, when the freeholder board meets Wednesday.
Connolly did not respond to a request for comment on Rose's bid to delay the bonding ordinances.
However, retired Superior Court Judge Lorraine Parker, chair of the college's board, defended the plan via an editorial published by the New Jersey Herald.
Parker wrote the project would cost $4.2 million over several years, including the renovations and an estimated $2 million purchase price, and that the college is simply seeking to shift funding from a separate, county-approved construction project to the second campus proposal.
The former McGuire car dealership in Newton, July 27, 2018 (Rob Jennings / NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Rose, though, charged that the freeholder board has less information than it needs to evaluate it.
"The freeholder board has never been given any sort of budget for this. For them not to have gotten us involved in this is very disconcerting," Rose said.
McGuire Chevrolet closed the Newton location in 2013 and opened a new facility about two miles away, on Route 206 in Hampton.
Since the dealership closed, Newton officials have discussed possible uses for the site, as part of a broader redevelopment plan for the area.
Connolly said previously that, within three years, the college expects to offer five technical programs -- automotive, diesel, machine tool, welding and culinary -- to an estimated 300 students at the the second campus. Automotive and welding were scheduled to start in September, but it is not clear if hesitation by the freeholder board could prompt a delay.
Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.