TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—A sign advertising the availability of the 1.5-acre 95 Linwood Ave. site of the former Charlie Brown’s restaurant went up within days of the Township Council’s June 21 early-morning vote to cancel its $1.35 million planned purchase over recently discovered underground piping from gas pumps once used on the site.
Following nearly six months pursuing the property — under threat of condemnation — for a public purpose that first comprised a Department of Public Works facility, and then plans for a new police department after the public works facility generated strong opposition from local and Paramus residents, the discovery led the council to pull the plug on the purchase.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m.
The purchase negotiations were shepherded by Mayor Peter Calamari and township attorney Kenneth Poller, despite early opposition from site neighbors who said they were blindsided by the township’s mostly secret efforts to buy the property, which was also being sought by Apple Montessori Schools.
The township’s interest came to light in mid-January when a caller, Erica Amon, of Apple Montessori Schools, called a special council meeting and said she was told by the property’s owner that the township had bid on the property and threatened condemnation if not successful. She said then that Apple Montessori Schools had a contract to purchase the property.
Prior to the township’s bid for the site in early January, officials from Apple Montessori Schools had begun due diligence studies to acquire the triangular shaped site not far from Pascack Road and near entrances to Route 17 and the Garden State Parkway.
We reached out to Montessori officials for comment but did not hear back by press time.
Calamari said he agreed with the June 21 decision not to purchase the property. “When the latest facts and amounts came out regarding the environmentals at 95 Linwood, I agreed with the council’s decision to not pursue the purchase. At this time I cannot think of another suitable location,” he told Pascack Press on July 5.
Council President Desserie Morgan said members likely would discuss rebuilding the facility at its old town hall complex site, now that contaminated soil has been removed below the former DPW headquarters, which was razed and its equipment dispersed at sites around town.
DPW equipment is now stored at the town’s latest land acquisition, the former private Washington Township Swim and Recreation Club, on Ridgewood Boulevard North, where neighbors object to the presence of the machinery.
“The council is still considering the options we individually recommended at prior meetings. I would like it to remain at Town Hall,” Morgan said.
Morgan and Steven Cascio, were the first council members to oppose the purchase when initial environmental studies showed cause for further environmental probes.
Cascio voted against the site’s purchase in March, opposed to bonding for the site. He favored renovating the Town Hall complex and leaving DPW and police department operations in place.
Morgan agreed that the Town Hall site would likely be the best option. “I think creatively the architect can redesign the space so that it can house all of the equipment and parking, etc.,” she told Pascack Press.
“That option would require the ambulance building to come down, which was happening regardless,” she added. She said the council had not discussed the matter since June 20.
The volunteer ambulance corps is leaving the town hall complex as soon as they get the all-clear to move into their new facility next to the volunteer fire department, at a large, multimillion-dollar complex taking shape on Washington Avenue near Pascack Road.
Report suggests problems
The third environmental 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, Pascack Press online).
That third 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.
One Paramus resident, Robert Lindsay, told council members on June 20 that should more piping from gas pumps be found, or potential soil or groundwater contamination, remediation costs could easily top $100,000.
Before the council adjourned to closed session on June 20, Morgan and councilman Steven Cascio both said they were against purchasing the site. Vice President Stacey Feeney, councilwoman Daisy Velez, and councilman Tom Sears, were waiting for more information.
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 an April 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 sent the photo directly to attorney Poller that Poller took action to investigate the prior use.
Apparently, the township’s licensed site remediation professional, Lisko Environmental LLC, of Belmar, did not discover or find the historical property use. It was pointed out by McAuliffe at an April 18 council meeting, where he said he received an archival photo of the property showing three gas pumps in front.
McAuliffe said the photo arrived anonymously in his mail about a week after he first spoke against the DPW proposal. However, he said it only noted a Ho-Ho-Kus post office box number.
McAuliffe told Pascack Press that he researched online state and federal environmental databases to try to find whether the former gas station’s underground pipes and storage tanks had been remediated. He said he found no such evidence that had occurred.
See “Special Meeting May 3 On DPW Plans,” May 2, 2022, Pascack Press online.