TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Mayor Peter Calamari said Oct. 17 that he would send a formal, written request to Bergen County Executive James Tedesco III seeking county accommodations for township public works equipment now stored at the former Washington Township Recreation and Swim Club facility on Ridgewood Boulevard North.
A resident told the council at its Oct. 17 meeting that county officials told him that no formal request for county storage space was received by the county executive.
The township purchased the 6.1-acre former club property in late April in a sheriff’s sale for approximately $800,000. Calamari recently said that extra and seasonal DPW vehicles and equipment would be stored there “indefinitely” until another storage site was found.
Anthony Conti, a club neighbor and frequent critic of storing DPW vehicles at the property, told the council that although Council President Desserie Morgan contacted Tedesco and he visited the county’s storage site, an aide to Tedesco said that the county had not received a “formal request” from the mayor or council to store DPW vehicles and equipment temporarily at a county facility.
Conti suggested that there may be temporary parking space available near New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, according to a Tedesco aide, and that the county just needs a written request to take action.
He said the aide said they would be happy to help the township and it did not mean that they needed to do the same for other county towns.
“We the townspeople are being told untruths: they were never asked, they were never told that we would do it temporary, nobody spoke to Mr. Tedesco’s office, or the associate … than Ms. Morgan,” he said, noting Morgan’s conversation found out that they would offer temporary storage for county vehicles.
Conti asked if local officials would formally request assistance from Tedesco, who is a Democrat. Calamari is a Republican, as are council members.
Moreover, Tedesco is running for reelection on Nov. 8 vs. two-term Bergen County Commissioner Republican Todd Caliguire. Tedesco has served two consecutive terms as county executive since 2014.
Calamari said he and town business administrator Mark DiCarlo would write to Tedesco to officially request county assistance with temporary parking of DPW vehicles now being stored at the swim club. “I’m not going to stand on formality. If you found out they need a request, I’ll take help from anyplace,” he told Conti.
Calamari said he “took exception” with Conti’s characterization of mayor and council statements about county storage assistance as “untruths.”
However, Feeney said that Morgan previously publicly stated that Tedesco told her that he would help out “in a pinch” to store DPW vehicles and equipment.
In mid-August, Calamari revealed that the new design for a proposed $4.5 million DPW facility at town hall would not include enough space to store all DPW vehicles and equipment. Some equipment is seasonal, used only for leaf and snow removal, and stored at the club, he said.
Council members said they also received a letter from the Golden Seniors Club. That letter said seniors were “very nervous” about how an expanded DPW facility at town hall might affect seniors’ parking and accessing municipal business, such as senior meetings and voting.
Conti pressed the mayor on whether the availability of county storage would mean DPW vehicles could be removed from the swim club site. Calamari said he would say a tentative “yes” but it would ultimately depend on the DPW’s input and where the county would offer to store the excess equipment.
Calamari said he would seek “more details” from the Bergen County executive on where township DPW equipment could be stored, noting Paramus would work versus the other side of Bergen County.
Calamari said he would give Conti a copy of the formal request letter after it is sent to Tedesco.
DPW equipment that was previously stored in 35 spaces at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church for $2,500 monthly was moved to the swim club in May following the club purchase.
Resident Julianne Lipnick, Finnerty Place, suggested Calamari consider the lot near the new firehouse, formerly occupied by a now-demolished red house, to store excess DPW equipment in a metal storage shed.
Calamari said plans were to have the lot paved for commuter parking, which was eliminated when the new firehouse was built in its place.
However, should the commuter parking not be needed there, Calamari said he would be “happy to consider storing some equipment there also.”
Recently, council members asked architect Arcari Iovino to redesign the DPW facility and present them with some steel structure options for a new DPW facility and equipment storage, hoping to possibly halve the $4.5 million estimated cost for a new DPW facility by using a steel building for storage needs.
The former DMF/DPW headquarters at the municipal complex was razed recently so that toxic soil beneath it could be remediated.