TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Nearly 30 speakers from the Township, Paramus and Ridgewood told the mayor and Township Council May 3 to cancel the proposed DPW facility at 95 Linwood Ave., reconsider the mayor’s new recommendation to move the police department there, and consider other alternatives for the site, including possibly not even purchasing it.
Throughout the three-hour meeting, which featured numerous calls for order and civility by Council President Desserie Morgan, township officials repeatedly stressed that no final decisions had been made and no votes had been taken over what direction to take on the soon-to-be purchased property.
Also speaking from the public microphone were councilmembers from Paramus, whose governing body recently passed a resolution urging the township consider its neighbor.
Local officials noted that with a June 14 deadline to make a decision on whether to purchase 95 Linwood Ave. it was likely another public meeting or more would be needed before a final vote was taken on what option to pursue for DPW or the police department.
When the May 3 meeting started, it appeared the initial speakers were unaware of Mayor Peter Calamari’s “Plan B” that he revealed online on April 29, and briefly at the May 2 council meeting. That plan, complete with an architect rendering, showed a new police station facility at 95 Linwood Ave.
After an initial half-hour of residents criticizing the potential DPW move there, Morgan asked Calamari to provide a brief presentation on the two options under consideration.
Only a few days before the May 3 meeting, Calamari disclosed on social media that he had worked with architect Di Cara Iovino to come up with an alternative plan to locate the police department on the former Charlie Brown’s restaurant site.
Moreover, he said this would allow the DPW to stay at the municipal building and take over the former police department headquarters and parking, which would accommodate its heavy vehicles and equipment on site.
At the May 3 meeting, Calamari showed architect renderings of the two proposed moves and said the proposed moves “accelerate spending” that would take place in the future to upgrade police facilities but also essentially solves two problems at once by leaving the DPW at town hall and moving the police department to 95 Linwood Ave.
He said the department has needed more space for years and that that priority was to be addressed in the near future.
However, Calamari’s comments on social media April 29 were his first public mention of any expanded police department needs, and several residents criticized the switch from a DPW facility to a police department facility in two short weeks.
Others said that the township was spending funds – and increasing local taxes – unnecessarily following the recent $800,000 acquisition of the 6.1-acre former Washington Township Swim and Recreation Club.
The township had also bid $430,000 last summer to purchase a 3.2-acre mostly wooded tract at 450 Pascack Road under threat of condemnation should negotiations founder. No updates on negotiations have been provided as the matter is discussed in closed session only.
The largest applause of the meeting occurred after councilman Steven Cascio, a self-described fly in the ointment, called for keeping a centrally located police department in town and said he was “never a fan of buying the property in the first place.”
Indeed, Cascio voted against the $1.35 million bonding for the property in a 4-1 vote on March 21.
He said the $1.35 million might better be used to renovate a few rooms at the police department and improve the recently purchased swim club property with a “nice senior center”, and recreational facilities, which may mostly be subsidized by a $675,000 county Open Space grant that the township was applying for.
He said renovating as opposed to new construction “is a lot cheaper.” He called for more public input and thinking “outside the box” noting, “the township would save a lot of money, taxpayers would save a little bit on their taxes” and approximately $35,000 in annual taxes from 95 Linwood Ave. could continue coming to the town.
He criticized bonding for 20, 30 and 40 years and said the council should try to make surrounding towns and Washington Township “affordable” despite local taxes continuing to increase, noting school district increases are beyond council control.
He said he was in favor of “a lesser price” to accommodate DPW and police, and applause erupted from the audience.
The Township approved a $1.35 million bond issue on March 21, and Township Attorney Kenneth Poller said the 60-day due-diligence period concludes June 14, when the Township will likely purchase the property.
Poller warned council members to provide advance warning to him if it appears they will not purchase the property.
Poller said the bond counsel told him that even though Ordinance 22-07 appropriating $1.35 million in bonds states it is for the DPW moving to 95 Linwood Ave., it also states the funds are for a public purpose at the site, leaving the site open for a possible police department, or other public uses.
Some speakers on May 3 urged the council to rethink even its purchase of the 1.45-acre triangular tract, formerly home to Charlie Brown’s Restaurant, and instead rebuild the DPW facility on site, possibly building a larger facility on site, and not changing the police department’s present location.
Calamari said the space limitations at Town Hall, including limited parking for seniors and visitors, would not make that a viable option.
However, no matter what option is chosen or not, Calamari said due to a lack of local open space — he called the township “100% residential” — he favors the town’s purchase of 95 Linwood Ave.
Most residents and nearby Paramus homeowners cited traffic, pollution, child safety, and public safety concerns to discredit the site for a possible DPW facility, while more appeared in favor of a police department.
However, for residents, the department’s location appeared to be a concern for increasing response times to emergencies in other parts of town, plus the safety of police vehicles in exiting onto busy Linwood Avenue, a county thoroughfare.
Some also noted heavy Highland Avenue traffic flows, nearly directly opposite the proposed site’s entrance/exit onto Linwood Avenue.
Three Paramus Council members said they hoped to be included in discussions about the 95 Linwood Ave. site because whatever happens there affects Paramus residents too, and also Ridgewood residents to some extent.
Paramus Councilwoman MariaElena Bellinger asked the township to allow their engineer to “weigh in” on whatever is proposed on site “and consider how [the project] impacts Paramus as well as Ridgewood.”
Paramus Councilman Jorge Quintana, who lives on Highland Avenue, said he found out through neighbors that a DPW building was planned for the. site He noted close to 700 township, Paramus and Ridgewood residents have signed an online Change.org petition — started by resident William McAuliffe — to oppose a DPW facility on the site.
He said he would support a police station on the site.
He also accused the township of removing a large banner erected on site to oppose the DPW and urge attendance at the May 3 special meeting.
Calamari said that “unequivocally” no one from the township had taken down the banner, and noted he had checked with local officials including the DPW and code enforcement.
Paramus Councilwoman Jeanne Weber questioned whether a traffic study had been done on the busy Linwood Avenue and said, “Nobody wants the DPW there.”
She called the police station proposal “a more palatable idea” and lauded Cascio’s option to not purchase the site.
Calamari told her that the township lacks “an industrial area” like Paramus has, where Valley Hospital is building a new facility, and lacks the available space for siting municipal facilities.
Resident Nicholas Papson, Andrea Lane, wondered if he and others would be compensated for a loss in property value. Later, Poller told him that would not occur, as lowered property value tax assessments are made by the assessor on many factors, such as high traffic counts, but that such assessments were “wholly within the confines of the [local] tax assessor.”
Resident Toni Rossi, Robinwood Road, said taxes were getting too high and urged officials to consider merging the local police with Paramus to save taxpayer dollars.
She urged officials to leave the DPW where it is now and “be the innovator” and merge police coverage with Paramus to reduce taxes.
Council Vice President Stacey Feeney later told her that savings for such mergers were generally not as much as residents think and generally don’t amount to much over time.
Several residents thanked them for slowing down the process and asked to see other options for the DPW and police department, or how to consolidate and improve DPW operations without purchasing the site.