TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—An appeal from the township administrator to Bergen County Executive James Tedesco III to use county space to store seasonal public works vehicles and equipment was turned down by the county executive, said the administrator.
“Mr. Tedesco politely advised that the Township may not store our DPW equipment at a county facility unless it was an emergency situation. Mr. Tedesco did not feel the situation was an emergency,” Administrator Mark C. DiCarlo told Pascack Press Oct. 26 in an email.
Ridgewood Boulevard North resident Anthony Conti, who requested the mayor and administrator make a formal written request to Tedesco for storage space, was not impressed. Conti has been a presence at council meetings and a critic of storing equipment at the former private swim club overlooking his backyard.
A dozen or more snow plows, vehicles, small trucks and trailers are stored at the 6.1-acre site, which the township purchased for $750,000 in late April.
DiCarlo sent a brief email to Tedesco Oct. 19 introducing himself to Tedesco as the new business administrator and asking if he can confer with Tedesco “regarding a small problem I am faced with. If I may respectfully request a moment of your time with a phone call? Thank you, Sir. If you are available my cell phone is [redacted].”
Shown the administrator’s email, Conti said, “It should be a written request by the town. Absolutely not a phone conversation. They [the town administration] are playing games…”
DiCarlo was asked if there were other alternatives to storing the seasonal DPW equipment on county property. “At this time there are no alternatives to storing seasonal equipment on county space,” DiCarlo emailed.
Calamari did not reply to the emailed question.
When we asked Conti if he had any other storage alternatives since it appeared the county was now not an option, he suggested that the old firehouse might be a good place to serve as DPW offices, as well as repair and store some vehicles.
Conti said, “The only thing I would ask: Why take down the old firehouse and then build a new building for the DPW at town hall? In the old firehouse we can install a lift to work on the smaller (DPW) trucks when needed. The county does the repairs on our larger trucks.”
He speculated: “The town doesn’t want to take down the old ambulance building yet are very willing to remove the old firehouse. Save the money on demolition and building new.” He supposed “The overflow of trucks and equipment can go where the proposed new DPW building would have been.”
(Calamari has said that the old firehouse would be demolished when the ambulance corps soon joins the fire department at the new Emergency Services Building.)
Conti continued, “Then make the swim club as they originally proposed it to the town at a council meeting, a park and community center! I remember how the council spoke of Christmas tree lightings and a meeting place for all.”
Conti’s suggestion was emailed to Calamari, DiCarlo and council President Desserie Morgan for comment. Only Morgan responded by press time: “I agree with Mr. Conti and I think that would be a viable option. I am interested to see what the mayor and administrator’s thoughts are on this. I understand that the fire department building needs significant repairs and the bays do not fit our larger fire trucks, which is why we opted to build a new one.”
“That being said, I think the bays would be able to house some of our DPW equipment without an issue. Again, I’d be interested to get the opinion of the mayor and administrator,” said Morgan.
Pascack Press reached out twice via email to Calamari and DiCarlo for comment. “I would prefer that Mayor Calamari answers your inquiry. I will inform him of your email,” replied DiCarlo on Oct. 31.
Calamari did not respond to our email by press deadline.
For at least two years, the township has sought parking space for its vehicles while the original DPW facility was being razed following discovery of contaminated underground soil due to leaking oil and gas storage tanks in the 1970s and 1980s.
In mid-August, Calamari told council that an architect’s $4.5 million design for a new DPW facility at town hall would not fit all the vehicles and equipment currently held by the department. He said seasonal equipment used mostly for snow and leaf removal would be stored at the swim club “indefinitely” until another site was found.
Previously, Calamari had asked all Pascack Valley towns if they had any storage space to help store township DPW equipment while the former DPW was being demolished. No space was found, and the township temporarily stored vehicles for free behind a local bank, and rented 35 parking spaces from Our Lady of Good Counsel Church for $2,500 monthly.
Most temporary local storage spaces, such as Sherry Field, and behind the Doghouse Saloon, were not feasible options and residents opposed the loud, noisy, heavy vehicles on residential streets due to public safety concerns.
Calamari said those vehicles and equipment were moved to the swim club in May following its purchase to save the township money.
Finnerty Place resident Julianne Lipnick suggested to Calamari Oct. 17 that he consider the lot near the old firehouse, formerly occupied by a now-demolished red house, to store excess DPW equipment in a metal storage shed.
However, Calamari told her that commuter parking was intended there, though should the parking not be needed, he said he would be “happy to consider storing some equipment there also.”
Calamari also took to Facebook Oct. 20 to note “we are discussing the options” for possible commuter parking next to the new Emergency Services Building. He said plans for such parking were not included in the original ESB plans because plans were “in the air” then from the private sector to possibly create a commuter lot.
Those plans did not pan out, said the mayor, noting the new commuter lot would be built on the footprint of the old firehouse, planned for demolition soon. (See “Calamari eyes commuter lot’s return,” Pascack Press, Oct. 31. 2022.) He did not address Lipnick’s suggestion for DPW equipment storage in his Facebook update.
The original commuter parking lot was eliminated when the new Emergency Services Building was built on its footprint.