TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, N.J.—The Township Council has approved a $60,600 lease with Our Lady of Good Counsel Church to harbor DPW vehicles on 35 parking spaces—the lot behind the rectory—for two years.
The deal obligates the town for certain maintenance and repairs and has the town taking the church in under its insurance for the use.
Critics weighed in at the council meeting of April 19, at which the ordinance passed. Several residents are not satisfied with answers they were given, including over legality, costs, ethics, and transparency.
Township Attorney Kenneth Poller advised the council not to divulge details of any negotiation the governing body might have taken up in closed session in an exploration of alternative sites.
Meanwhile, the town has more time to remediate the soil beneath its DPW facility before fines apply. The township had been bracing for New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection fines to be triggered this May.
Councilmember Michael DeSena, a senior civil engineer who is challenging first-term mayor Peter Calamari for the gavel this year, told Pascack Press on April 21 that the township recently secured an NJDEP extension into 2022.
He said he voted for the OLGC parking ordinance in the interest of moving the overdue work along.
He also questioned the administration’s timing and goals, saying the council gets information “piecemeal.” He complained that the town was erecting DPW sheds in awkward places, including at the base of a popular hill at Memorial Field.
“It’s disturbing that our administration doesn’t understand the importance of that hill to our players and our youth,” he said.
He added, “We don’t have plans for the building, we don’t have remediation plans, so I feel there’s something else going on. The work has to be done, but we’re working at light speed for something that we don’t even have plans for.”
He said, “I think the administration’s ultimate goal is to combine our DPW with another town’s.”
The township has had years to plan for soil remediation at its DPW headquarters, on Hudson Avenue, including finding a temporary home for capital equipment.
Calamari said April 19, “This remediation is a result of contamination by a fuel storage tank leak that occurred onsite in the 1970s and 1980s. A portion of this contamination is underneath the existing building [in a residential zone], so the building must be taken down as part of the project.”
He said Jan. 6, “We have run out of time and options to find a temporary home in the township for the [DPW] while the soil is being remediated and a new facility is constructed.”
The council authorized Calamari to strike a similar deal with OLGC, at 668 Ridgewood Road, near the high school, late last year but on Dec. 21, after protests over ethics and costs were raised, Calamari said it was “no longer needed.”
Plans also were advanced, then withdrawn, at town land including Sherry Field and behind the Dog House Saloon and Grill.
Calamari and councilmembers met with Sherry Field neighbors, who proved persuasive about their quality of life concerns.
This March 29 we reported Calamari had concluded, “The decision was ultimately made to construct a two-bay garage at the Town Hall site where the existing DPW building is located. This decision was not easy and was based on the fact that the DPW already operates from this location and the deadline for remediating the soil is fast approaching.”
Then April 5 a new OLGC ordinance was introduced. Its lease amount is $2,500 a month for the first year ($30,000 annum) and $2,500 a month for the second year ($30,600 annum).
There is a three-month option after year 2 at a 3% annual increase. The deal can be terminated on 30 days’ written notice.
Tenant shall have total control and use of the leased premises and the hours of operation will be Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and all day in emergency situations, i.e. snowstorms, etc. Tenant is responsible for all snow and ice removal for leased premises. The leased premises shall include all exterior walkways, sidewalks, and driveways abutting the property.
Use of the premises is subject to the needs of the landlord in unforseen circumstances.
Signatories are Calamari and the Rev. Monsignor Thomas P. Nydegger, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Newark. It is to be attested to by OLGC secretary the Rev. Stephen Cinque and the township clerk.
Conflict of interest?
Former council members Michael Ullman and Joe D’Urso called in to the April 19 meeting to ask questions and voice concerns. Former councilman Robert Bruno has criticized the deal online.
Ullman asked whether the zoning officer had reviewed the agreement to ensure it is a permitted use. He also asked whether the tax assessor had reviewed the deal to see if it jeopardizes the church’s tax exemption, “now that this is a revenue-producing business not in line with OLGC’s ministerial mission.”
He also said of one provision, which reserves the spaces as church overflow, “We have no protection, or process, if OLGC needs the space as permitted.”
And he asked if the deal had been vetted by the town’s insurer.
Poller said the appropriate local officials would see the document, which he said was written in language peculiar to the church.
As to complaints some residents have with the plan—that Calamari is a Eucharistic minister whose father, formerly the chair of the Planning Board, serves on the church’s grounds and finance committees; and that it is not stated who else on the council or the planning and zoning boards has ties to OLGC—the mayor said these were not an issue.
He said he asked OLGC whether it might be interested in renting space to the township, that he was told yes, and that he then turned negotiations over to Poller and the Archdiocese of Newark.
He also said the town has contracted with local churches at other times, such as for hosting recreation program activities.
And, lamenting a falloff in parishoner attendance, Calamari said OLGC hasn’t needed the spaces in question for event overflow in a number of years.
Bruno derided a reciprocal indemnification clause and said, “Should there be any taxes imposed or levied on the assessment on the transaction, then the tenant, the taxpayer, is responsible to pay.”
He also said the town was taking on thousands of dollars in “labor, materials, salt, etc. to plow and maintain [the church’s] walkways and sidewalks.”
As well, he said, “Any tax assessment expense will be borne by the taxpayer. So, the town sends a tax bill to OLGC, OLGC in turn gives it back to the town, we in turn rip it up and lose tax revenue. It is unethical and violates the township ethics code.”
D’Urso said at the meeting, “I don’t agree with the town on this. We have Sherry Field to park our trucks for free. I feel it is a conflict of interest to rent from the church…”
He said, “The church should be a good neighbor and not charge $60,000 over two years for an empty parcel. Valley Bank was a good neighbor and did not charge the town [for a similar service].”
He was brushed back—and ordered cut from the ordinance hearing—after he pressed for Sherry Field for the parking plan.
D’Urso told Pascack Press on April 20, “I have concerns for neighbors who live near the church and will now hear trucks starting up at 7 in the morning. My opinion is the church should not be going into business at a cost to township taxpayers for $60,000 or more.”