APP:? DeFilippis, a property owner in Lakewood, wanted to know why the Lakewood Development Corp. was paying for a study on how to improve the area around the long-abandoned Jamesway shopping center on Route 9.? “Isn’t it the responsibility of the property owner to maintain it?” DeFilippis asked at this week’s LDC board meeting. “They are not.”…..That report is expected to be discussed at next month’s board meeting, but DeFilippis didn’t want to wait.? ?

Russell K. Corby, the LDC’s executive director, said it is common for government agencies to work with private companies to redevelop vacant properties. He emphasized that the study of the Route 9 corridor from the Howell boundary to Kennedy Boulevard encompasses more than the oft-mentioned Jamesway site.

In fact, the review covers a roughly 18-acre swath bounded by Route 9, Kennedy Boulevard, Clifton Avenue and the Metedeconk River. The report will be compiled by Stearns Associates LLC, a Hunterdon County firm. The company was hired for about $35,000, according to township records.

Cunliffe said he understands concerns that the township should not spend money to help private developers, but countered that township leaders have an obligation to improve large commercial areas to strengthen the tax base.

DeFilippis remains unconvinced. “Why is the township doing a study on privately-owned property?” she asked.

Lynn Celli, a board member, has made the same point, saying she fears using public money to study private land could start a trend.

“If people have the money to buy a property, they should be held accountable for it,” Celli said.

Celli was referring to Beth Medrash Govoha, the downtown rabbinical college that bought the 6.6-acre Jamesway parcel for $1.9 million in 2000.

Since then, BMG officials asked the LDC for more than $400,000 to revamp the Jamesway building and parking lot and start a business incubator with 10 start-up firms. Forty percent of the Jamesway building would be used as a federally-funded health and dental clinic.

Corby said no decision on the proposal has been made. The report on what can be done with the area around Jamesway, he said, is a good place to start before talking about BMG’s ambitious plan.

“At this point,” said board Chairman Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, “the LDC is looking into options. A lot can be done to upgrade the image and the look coming into Lakewood.”