TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—The Township Council voted, 3-1, on Feb. 3 to introduce a bond ordinance appropriating $3 million to partially finance a proposed $5 million new DPW facility, with more than a dozen DPW employees in attendance at the meeting.
Administrator Mark DiCarlo told Pascack Press that the township has “approximately $2 million in existing capital that is already funded” and can be used for the new DPW facility.
The Township Council has yet to formally approve a design, although most members voted informally in favor of a less-expensive three-bay building with less storage to reduce cost.
Voting against the bond introduction was Michael Ullman. Voting to approve introduction were VP Steven Cascio, and Daisy Velez and Tom Sears.
Council president Michael DeSena was absent. No DPW workers spoke at the bond’s introduction.
The bond ordinance public hearing will be at the Tuesday, Feb. 18 meeting.
Ullman raised several concerns about prior bond issues and appropriations approved over the years and questioned Administrator Mark DiCarlo about what funds were left in specific accounts. DiCarlo said he would email all councilors a detailed history of spending from prior bonds and monies encumbered for the DPW since 2017, as requested by Ullman.
At the end of a 10-minute back and forth with DiCarlo on DPW funding left in prior accounts, with DiCarlo citing specific amounts available, Ullman ended his questioning.
Since mid-2021, DPW employees have been without a home base of operations, following demolition of the former DPW facility due to soil contamination caused by leaking fuel oil storage tanks in the 1970s and 1980s.
Most heavy duty DPW vehicles were once parked at the township-owned former swim club that was acquired in April 2022, and now most are stored in an outdoor parking lot at Our Lady of Good Counsel Roman Catholic Church. Vehicles had to be removed from the swim club after the council accepted a $438,750 county Open Space grant for the property’s acquisition.
The bond ordinance, No. 25-04, appropriates $3 million for construction of a new DPW facility, including issuance of $2,850,000 in bonds or notes, states the introduced ordinance. Attorney Siobhan Spillane Bailey said the bond ordinance would need four votes to be approved at the Feb. 18 public hearing.
Per a prior request from DeSena to inquire about a new building in Old Tappan, Mayor Peter Calamari said that the new storage facility built there was a pole barn used only for storage of equipment. He said he did not view that facility as an alternative to the new DPW facility.
At a prior meeting, DeSena said he would not hold a vote on the new DPW facility’s funding until estimated remediation costs were known for cleanup of former swim club property, and all councilmembers were present.