TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—The Township Council emerged from closed session, Oct. 6, and without comment voted, 5-0, to approve an 18-month lease with Bethany Community Center to temporarily store DPW vehicles and equipment on a 1.25-acre lot — to be fenced and gated, and shielded from view.
The terms: $5,800 per month for up to 18 months. There will be no public access to the site, and no public debris drop-off.
Town officials said they had to remove DPW vehicles and equipment now stored behind town hall so that construction of a $4.9 million DPW facility could begin.
For months, council and the administration had been negotiating with Bethany Community Center, at 605 Pascack Road, behind closed doors.
Bethany, a short walk from Memorial Field, is a partner on the township’s summer rec camp. It’s a year-round hub for fitness, recreation, and community life. The 60,000-square-foot facility features a wellness center, indoor track, swimming pool, and group-fitness studios, and hosts programs from basketball and pickleball to senior games and personal training. It partners with independent academies offering swim instruction, martial arts, soccer, and boxing, and rents space for parties and events. Sundays, the building serves as the home of Bethany Church’s worship services.
BSA Troop 321 Eagle Scout Derek Kaine was just honored by the Westwood Regional School District’s board for his capstone project, a community garden behind Bethany Community Center.
No information was released prior to the council’s vote — such as estimated costs for the lease or anticipated site improvements, including required fencing and an access driveway.
On Oct. 7, the day after the vote, town administrator Mark DiCarlo emailed Pascack Press that the lease was $5,800 monthly for up to 18 months, or $104,400. He said no estimates were available for planned site improvements. He said he hoped the lease would begin “as soon as possible in October.”
Asked, “Where are those funds coming from? Were they budgeted in advance or being taken from one or a bunch of accounts?” DiCarlo replied, “It will be paid for out of the budget.”
Pascack Press reported Oct. 3 on the lease, discussed in closed session for months, after details began circulating following letters sent by DiCarlo to 37 nearby households notifying them of the proposal.
DiCarlo also spoke with neighbors about the plan and reported that almost no objections were voiced. DiCarlo explained the administration will keep tabs to “keep the inconvenience to a minimum and safety to a high regard.”
Zoning questions
Prior to the council entering closed session, resident James Stickel questioned the lot’s zoning and whether commercial vehicles could be stored there. Town attorney Siobhan Spillane Bailey said she thought it was in the “B,” or business, zone.
Mayor Peter Calamari said the center’s lot was a nonconforming use in the Office-Research zone. Pascack Press sought clarification but could not confirm the zoning or whether vehicle storage was permitted.
Bethany stipulated that the DPW not use the main driveway. DiCarlo told Pascack Press he was seeking construction quotes for fencing to secure the leased area within the parking lot, and a new access driveway off of Woodfield Road. Asked how many DPW vehicles might be entering/exiting the lot on a daily basis, he said he had “no idea.” As for vehicle/equipment storage after the lease expires, DiCarlo said, “there is no solid plan at this time.” Calamari said post-lease storage needs would be addressed.
Council President Michael DeSena, who is independently challenging Calamari for mayor this Nov. 4 — as is Democrat Meghan Stamatopoulos — said the council had been looking for alternate DPW vehicle sites for the past two years and longer, with nearly a dozen sites failing to pass muster due to size, wetlands, price, and other restrictions. DeSena thanked DiCarlo for his work in finding and reviewing potential sites.
DeSena said DPW vehicles had to be removed from the former township swim club (purchased in April 2022) when county open space funds were accepted; the county grant required no vehicles be stored there due to open space rules.
He noted once the Bethany lot is ready, DPW vehicles will no longer be stored on Our Lady of Good Counsel’s parking lot, where 35 spaces were leased for nearly four years.
When the new DPW facility is finished, that project will resolve work Mayor Peter Calamari identified as a key priority when he undertook his first term as mayor, in 2019.
For more information, see “‘Thank God, we’re finally getting it done’ on DPW HQ” by Michael Olohan, Sept. 13, 2025.