TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Due to a lack of quorum at the Nov. 10 meeting when the Township Council voted 2–1 to approve a $104,400 temporary lease at Bethany Community Center for DPW storage and operations — for a maximum of 18 months — a new special meeting has been set for Monday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. to retake the vote.
The original vote Nov. 10 came after nearly a dozen neighborhood residents voiced opposition to the temporary 18-month lease at Bethany Community Center, 605 Pascack Road. Most residents opposed lived on or near Woodfield Road, where township officials installed a new driveway, fencing, and dark fence screening to shield the future DPW site.
Councilors who voted in favor continued to stress the 18-month lease is only “temporary,” and administration officials — including recently reelected Mayor Peter Calamari — assured residents that the storage area will be closed after 18 months.
Several residents questioned the mayor’s statement after it was acknowledged that no alternative site exists for storing extra vehicles when the new DPW facility is completed. The mayor previously said not all vehicles and equipment will fit into the new facility behind Town Hall. It’s not clear what will happen then, officials said.
After more than an hour of comments questioning the lease and its negative impacts on the quiet, pedestrian- and walker-friendly area, the council voted 2–1 to approve ordinance 25-23 authorizing the Bethany lease. Councilors Michael Ullman and Daisy Velez approved the lease; Council President Michael DeSena opposed it. Council Vice President Steven Cascio and Councilman Tom Sears were absent.
It was not clear why no one recognized the lack of quorum at the meeting. Pascack Press requested a copy of the lease, which was denied because no such signed document exists.
Prior to the Nov. 10 vote, the township administration had hired two contractors to build a new driveway and install security gates inside the Bethany lot. The lease is for 18 months, and Mayor Peter Calamari again said he has no future plan for storing vehicles there that cannot be housed at the new DPW facility.
Calamari previously said not all vehicles or equipment will fit at the new facility. It is unclear if storage space will be leased at that time, but the mayor insisted that the Bethany lot will no longer be used after 18 months. Some residents questioned that statement given no immediately available alternative.
Due to anticipated construction of a new $4.9 million DPW facility next to Town Hall, the DPW must move heavy vehicles and equipment to the Bethany site, including equipment currently stored in 35 leased spaces at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church’s parking lot.
Officials revealed that the lease cost was $5,800 monthly, or $104,400 for an 18-month temporary lease, after its introduction. Moreover, officials anticipated spending $57,700 for a new driveway, gate, fencing, and privacy screening around the leased parking lot.
Residents from Woodfield Road and nearby streets opposed the lease, noting concerns about pedestrian safety; possible heavy truck traffic on streets frequently used by walkers, kids, and adults; and how DPW vehicles using Woodfield Road and adjacent streets would increase safety risks, possibly lower property values, and likely reduce quality of life.
Officials, including Administrator Mark DiCarlo and Mayor Peter Calamari, who originally negotiated the 18-month lease with Bethany, answered residents’ concerns about temporary storage of DPW vehicles and equipment in the Bethany back lot off Woodfield Road.
When a Pascack Press reporter stopped by the Bethany site Nov. 6, the new driveway, fencing, gates, and black privacy screening appeared to have been completed. Pascack Press questions to DiCarlo about whether the work required a “courtesy review” by the Planning Board were not immediately answered.
Some residents urged that other properties be considered, or that instead of accessing the Bethany lot via Woodfield Road, DPW trucks enter and leave via Bethany’s Pascack Road driveway. Calamari said Bethany did not want DPW trucks pulling in and out off Pascack Road and that Bethany said that was “non-negotiable.” He promised to ask Bethany again about using the Pascack Road entrance.
Officials said eight to 10 potential storage sites had been reviewed but none passed muster for various reasons.
Some residents said they had not been notified in time — or at all — to provide input on the decision to temporarily house DPW vehicles and equipment in the Bethany lot off Woodfield Road. Most discussions of the proposed lease were held in closed session over months, with little information publicly available.
Pascack Press learned details after a certified letter was sent to 37 nearby residents, prompting calls to the newsroom. Even then, questions about costs on the lease were not answered until after the lease was publicly introduced on Oct. 20. (We broke the story about the proposed Bethany lease online Oct. 3 on our news site.)
Officials said releasing information publicly on the lease would have put them at a disadvantage in negotiations, and negotiations were discussed only in closed meetings.
In their own words
Several residents were concerned that the “temporary” storage lot might operate past its 18-month lease period. They asked officials what would happen if construction of the new DPW facility went past 18 months. Officials said the construction period was only 12 months and six months were built in as a cushion in case construction ran over deadline.
Resident Chris Romeo said he did not like the way officials did not properly notify residents about the temporary storage lot at Bethany. “I just don’t like the way it was done,” he said.
Resident Judy Guma of Woodfield Road said that DiCarlo and his assistant went door to door around Labor Day and told residents what was going to happen. She said DiCarlo described the Bethany parking and storage lot plan as a “done deal” and did not provide a handout or any written information on the proposal. She said the area was residential and safe, and feared it would change if the new DPW lot was allowed to operate.
Woodfield Road resident Anna Mateo said placing the temporary DPW storage lot on Woodfield Road was “terrible and we are not happy.” She said large trucks turning around and using the quiet residential road raised “concerns about visibility, air pollution, and noises when residents are sleeping.” She said many kids use the street, and having a DPW storage lot would be “bringing a burden to families.”
Carol Zwayne of Woodfield Road, a 55-year resident, questioned how many people were notified about the DPW storage lot at Bethany and the access driveway off Woodfield Road. She said the administration decided not to give residents a voice in the decision to store DPW vehicles on the church lot. She said residents were told, “this is the plan” and had little choice in responding to it. She called out the administration for not including residents.
Zwayne called Bethany “the winners” in the negotiations and neighborhood residents “the losers,” noting Bethany’s lease was paid for by taxpayers. Officials noted Bethany Church is a tax-exempt, nonprofit religious organization.
Devon Road resident Kevin Janosz wrote Pascack Press noting our coverage leading up to the Nov. 10 council vote. He emphasized he objects to the temporary DPW storage plan at the Bethany property on three grounds:
- he says the site sits beside a brook feeding into Schlegel Lake, raising concerns about fuel or oil runoff from heavy vehicles;
- he warns that directing DPW trucks through a new driveway adjacent to a heavily used pedestrian and biking path creates safety risks for children and walkers;
- and he argues that many residents were unaware the plan was being considered, with key decisions made in closed session and construction of the driveway and fencing underway before the public had a meaningful chance to weigh in.
Officials also noted Bethany was paid to host the relocated General Election polling place on Nov. 4. An invoice obtained by Pascack Press showed a $1,200 fee per event. (Officials earlier reported about 3,000 registered voters used the new polling place.) The voting place was moved due to increased parking lot congestion behind Town Hall, officials said.
Mark Levy of Devon Road suggested acquiring the Valley Bank property, which is adjacent to Town Hall, via eminent domain to store vehicles and equipment. However, Calamari said he had asked the property owners to let him know if and when they decided to sell the property and they did not notify him. The property is listed for future development under the township’s Fourth Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, Calamari said.
Previously, DiCarlo told us, “Our entire (DPW) fleet will be stored there (Bethany). Nothing that would be considered hazardous material will be stored there,” he said.
DiCarlo said he would expect “a normal amount of noise associated with those (DPW) activities.” He added, “However, I do not have any reason to believe there’ll be any type of excessive or disturbing noise coming from the site.” He said the leased site would operate 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., unless an emergency or town event occurs on a weekend.