Kudos to Kingwood Twp. and its non-profit partners for preserving 73 acres on Horseshoe Bend Road. It's been a long time coming. Phooey to the Freeholders who failed to uphold the county's side of the deal, which would have made it a 335-acre project — with just $1.5 million of the $9 million bill coming from the county open space tax.

We've heard the explanations: the seller dragged his feet, failed to deliver, wanted too much money… Just because a statement is true, doesn't mean it's relevant. We recognize politics when we smell it.

Republican Freeholders William Mennen, George Melick and Rob Walton ultimately killed the deal. They seek re-election to the board in November. Four weeks before the primary, the board voted to end negotiations, but added a "rescue clause" that would allow them to "reconsider" if the seller provided certain environmental guarantees. Clever move: it signaled to Tea Party Republicans that the deal was dead without alienating preservation-minded Republicans.

At the freeholder level, Hunterdon Republicans rule. So after the June 8 primary, such subtlety was unnecessary. By then, the seller had agreed to every demand, but the majority said: too late.

Critics of the Freeholders' action say the board never wanted the property in the first place. Some say that county counsel Gaetano De Sapio kept moving the goal line to ensure its failure. If that's true, we suspect he did so because the Freeholders, or at least a majority of them, told him to drag his feet.

We don't know yet what this debacle cost the county in legal, engineering and consulting fees, let alone in time spent by county finance, planning, parks and other staffers. We anticipate a figure that's daunting.

And the fat lady hasn't sung. The seller intends to sue for breach of contract. Even if the county wins, what will it cost to defend the suit?

Thankfully payment will likely come from the regular budget, not out of the open space tax; three-quarters of county voters want land preserved with that money. On the other hand, this won't make it easy to listen to our Tewksbury and Hampton freeholders talk about reining in waste and legal spending.

Originally published here.