HILLSDALE—The Borough Council’s five-member majority criticized a proposal from councilman Zoltán Horváth — supported by Mayor John Ruocco — to bring up a discussion of a public referendum for the General Election on the council’s plans to spend
$3.5 million on Centennial Field improvements, including a new artificial turf field.
Horváth moved an “off-consent” agenda motion to propose a non-binding referendum question on Nov. 8 “to ascertain the sentiment of the legal voters of the municipality” up for council discussion.
The motion lacked a second and failed to carry, said Ruocco, who did not allow discussion as the motion died.
However, later under council commentaries — time set aside for Ruocco and council members to offer personal opinions — Ruocco, Horváth, and several other council members made sure their points of view were heard.
Ruocco said he was “a little bit disappointed” that the council, all fellow Republicans, failed even to discuss a non-binding referendum and said even a discussion of it “would help the council improve its image of being more open.”
He said the decision not to have that discussion “feeds a certain amount of distrust on the part of residents” especially on field returfing “that will help certain parts of the community but not all parts of the community.”
He said the new turf field will help “young parents” and repeated that a discussion of a non-binding question “would have been helpful, particularly on projects where we’re all going to be paying on it.”
He said if the field improvements are “properly planned and costed out,” he felt most residents would favor it.
He spoke to Horváth’s pre-meeting reminder to him that the citizens advisory committee, appointed by Ruocco, ranked resolving the DPW’s flooding issues and community center before the recreational field improvements.
The council approved $44,500 in mid-April for Colliers Engineering and Design to begin studies, field work, and prepare bid specs for Centennial Field upgrades.
A concept plan for field improvements is expected by June, borough engineer Craig Zimmerman said in April. (See “Preliminary studies OK’d on $3.5M Centennial Field fix,” Pascack Press, April 18, 2022.)
Councilman Frank Pizzella said previously the discussion on Centennial Field was tabled by councilwoman Abby Lundy and needed to be reintroduced and dealt with within 30 days.
Also, he said he thought the council on May 3 had agreed to “push for the senior center and also going to push for the fields.”
He said seniors and families with young children “have been pitted against one another” since he’s been on the council.
He said both groups had been asking for their needs: seniors for more space and parents for improved recreational fields and facilities.
“These are all things that we all said that we were going to do… there has to come a time where we give people who pay taxes here what they’re looking for,” Pizzella said.
Horváth said he “had no objection to doing the fields, no objections to doing anything else” but favored a public referendum on Centennial Field’s planned $3.5 million upgrade to “get the input from the town.”
He said “there are two ways of doing a referendum” noting that either council approves a public question or residents can petition for a referendum.
At that point, Lundy said, “We’ve already tabled this discussion. Why are you talking about it? It’s tabled.”
Calling a parliamentary point of order, Ruocco said Horváth could discuss any topics he wished to during his council commentary.
Horváth said he thought “everybody in this town should have input into this” in light of taxes being raised last year to set aside $500,000 for down payment on a $10 million bond for a new community center and turf field.
Council President Janetta Trochimiuk questioned why some council members were pitting certain groups, such as seniors and parents, against each other. She suggested Horváth may be using “propaganda” or “grandstanding” about the field improvements “in very negative or accusatory tones that somehow someone is trying to do something to someone else.”
She said, “We have agreed that we are going to do the fields,” and noted that a senior center would be done and council had agreed to do both. She said doing the fields was “low-hanging fruit” that could be done in a short period of time, whereas a senior center would take more time for design and location.
She said fields could be done this year and the senior center may follow next year. She called a referendum asking whether to spend $3.5 million on field upgrades that mentioned increased taxes is “already constructed in a very negative manner.”
She said the needed field renovations have been discussed for seven years.
She said having recreational fields improved “adds value to the town” and added “it adds value to your house, even if you’re a senior… so does a community center/senior center: again, all positive good things that we want to do and I just don’t want to hear all this negativity.” She urged the council to “move forward.”
Councilman Anthony DeRosa said Ruocco and Horváth continue to raise concerns about the fields and the need for a referendum. He said their “implication: is council majority is trying to hide something.
“I don’t understand why you don’t see this as a tremendous benefit to the town,” DeRosa told the two.
He added, “We all have to get on the same page at some point in time. I suggest that point in time is now.”