TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—The protest signs can come down.
The 1.5-acre, 95 Linwood Ave. property, formerly a Charlie Brown’s restaurant, will not be purchased by the township due to environmental concerns, the Township Council president told Pascack Press June 21 via a text message.
A motion to withdraw from the contract was approved, 5-0, late on June 20, town clerk Susan Witkowski told Pascack Press on June 21. Council had resolved to purchase the site for $1.35 million for a public good.
Although the property owner had agreed to extend the due diligence period until July 18, apparently the recent findings of gas pump piping underground and a request for more environmental studies weighed heavily on council members. That report recommended spending another $12,000 to $17,000 to further study what historic underground piping or storage tanks may exist on the site as well as soil and groundwater contamination.
“We voted unanimously not to move forward with the 95 Linwood Ave. property based on the environmental issues and concerns that came to light after the most recent study,” Council President Desserie Morgan told Pascack Press on June 21. She said the extra time requested by Township Attorney Kenneth Poller enabled the council to make an informed decision.
“I’m confident we made the best decision with the information we were given,” she said.
It was unclear what the next steps would be, or what options may come forward for a DPW location. The DPW’s former headquarters, at the municipal complex, was razed, and contaminated soil beneath it was remediated.
It also is not clear that Apple Montessori Schools, which was investing in its own due diligence on the site when the township weighed in with its own deal, is still interested.
Mayor Peter Calamari had long advocated for 95 Linwood as a new DPW, and worked with an architect and DPW leadership on plans over months. Those plans were met with loud disdain from neighbors here and in Paramus. Calamari then said he preferred the site for a new police headquarters, which had more community support.
(On May 27 he posted to his Facebook page, in part, “I do not believe any surrounding or comparable municipality operates so many departments and services from such a small piece of property. It accelerates the upgrade of the Police Station, but we knew that upgrade was only a few short years away and doing it now at 95 Linwood Ave. is the more fiscally responsible choice.”)
Morgan said she would be open to suggestions from council members and the mayor of where future DPW operations may go. She said she hoped vehicles and equipment stored temporarily at the swim club are removed soon.
Administrator Tovo is out
Former township business administrator Robert Tovo was not present at the meeting, as he had recently resigned. Calamari announced at the meeting that Tovo had left to pursue an opportunity in the private sector and that the town would soon look for a replacement.
Tovo leaves also amid the town deciding what to do with its purchase of the former private Washington Township Swim and Recreation Club, the late completion of the joint volunteer fire and ambulance headquarters on Washington Avenue, anticipated preliminary work toward an overhaul of the Pascack Road–Washington Avenue intersection, and 450 Pascack Road litigation/property acquisition.
Residents commenting on the vacancy said they hoped whoever makes the hiring decision will land on a candidate who will be transparent and responsive with the public.
‘We’re not coming back’ (then council came back)
When the council went into closed session June 20 following a nearly three-hour meeting, both Morgan and Poller said the meeting would not reconvene after closed session to take action. Due to that, there was no video recording of the unanimous vote that followed the closed session, unlike a prior recording of a post-closed session vote at the June 8, 2022 meeting.
Questions about 95 Linwood Ave.’s future remediation for buried underground storage tank pipes and possible soil and groundwater contamination went unanswered during the June 20 council meeting, with Poller stressing updates be discussed in closed session only. Poller advised members not to speak June 20 about their concerns for purchasing the site, which followed the release of a third environmental site assessment on June 14 that showed indications of underground piping from a former gas station believed to have existed on the site from around 1940–1960.
The site contamination issue was not deeply addressed by the council in public on June 20. Morgan said she was “not looking to spend any more money in finding out” issues with the property. Cascio said “I’m done” spending more taxpayer dollars on the question. Both previously said they were against more environmental studies on the property.
Member Thomas Sears called the site a “perfect spot” for the DPW. He noted he had questions on the third environmental study, questioned rising bond interest rates, and also questioned rising mortgage rates for buying and selling properties. He said he had been dismissing Borough of Paramus resident and governing body concerns as irrelevant, saying he was “offended” the town’s neighbor would speak out about the issue, which also affects them. He said he’d make “a clear decision” on July 11 after having his questions answered.
Member Daisy Velez noted that 95 Linwood Ave. had been added to the night’s closed session discussion, in addition to 450 Pascack Road litigation/property acquisition. (Pascack Press did not find 95 Linwood Ave. on the online agenda.) Velez said she had questions “about how much money it’s going to take” and hoped to have her questions answered.
Vice President Stacey Feeney was undecided before the council broke for closed session.
The council’s next regular meeting is July 11.
Report reveals problems
The third report, requested by Poller after submission of an archival photograph that showed at least three gas pumps on the site, was done on an expedited basis and cost $16,961. (See “Consultant: Piping Found at 95 Linwood Likely From Prior Gas Station Use,” June 14, 2022).
Paramus resident Robert Lindsay told council members that should more piping from gas pumps be found, or potential soil or groundwater contamination, remediation costs could easily top $100,000.
Both Feeney and Velez previously said they wanted a residents’ poll if the property is purchased to determine whether to place the DPW or police department there.
At the council’s prior meeting June 8, the council reversed its initial decision against a third environmental study by voting, 3-2, with Sears changing his vote from no to yes after exiting a closed session near 1 a.m. on June 9. Morgan and Cascio opposed any further study.
The old photograph showing gas pumps on site was presented at a prior council meeting by William McAuliffe, a Hemlock Drive resident, who called attention to the potential site contamination issue. However, it was not until Rose Candeletti, also of Hemlock Drive, later emailed the photo directly to attorney Poller that Poller took action to investigate the prior use.
Apparently unaware of the photo, the consultant, Lisko Environmental LLC, of Belmar, had only done ground penetrating radar investigation and ground test borings in the Charlie Brown’s parking lot, not the front of the site where the pumps were previously shown.
Lisko Environmental is the township’s licensed site remediation professional, or LSRP, a consultant which undertakes environmental studies and cleanups that meet state environmental standards.
On June 20, Candeletti questioned when the council planned to make a decision, its transparency, and how much more money they planned to spend on studies, and possible cleanup, to acquire 95 Linwood Avenue. She said the council had access to information about possible site contamination, and prior gas station use, “weeks before us” and yet did not act.
“My question is: ‘How much more taxpayers’ money would you be willing to spend on this property?’,” said Candeletti. She said now that three studies have been done, with more recommended, and possibly cleanups to come, when will council decide they should “back out” of its purchase.
Lastly, she questioned whether another resolution was needed to specify that the police department might be built at 95 Linwood Ave. prior to closing. Poller said the resolution previously approved stated that the $1.35 million in bonding was for a public purpose and another resolution was not needed.
Calamari said he did not think any similar property would become available soon. He said the police and public works had “outgrown” their current locations and noted he “did not have a firm dollar value” on a cap on how much spending might be needed to acquire the property.
Resident Greg Getz said he did not think either the DPW or police department should be put at 95 Linwood Avenue, and alleged the township might “spend upwards of $10 to $20 million” to put an up-to-date police headquarters there. He said there “was no reason to go forward with that” and later added, “the taxpayers just cannot afford that.”
Calamari said the architect’s preliminary estimate was around $10 million to construct a new police headquarters at 95 Linwood Ave. and a new DPW at the town hall site.
Resident William Ferrara, citing Pascack Press reporting on the third environmental study finding gas station pipes, said he did not “know why we’re proceeding with [95 Linwood Ave.]”
He said he was “fearful” the township would acquire it and a large cleanup would be required. He also cited the recent rise in bond rates “somewhere north of 4%” and questioned the increased and rising cost of bonding.