Letters
Sun - Oct 18, 2009
Letter to the Editor - Wenke Taule - Quarry Puts Residents, Environment at Risk
Suburban Trends
Dear Editor:
When the Republicans came back into power in 2007, their campaign slogan was "getting Ringwood back on track." But maybe it should have been "a giant step backward." Their handling of the Saddle Mountain Quarry is the most recent example. In two short years, the quarry has stopped complying with our ordinance, and has once again become a serious problem to residents in the Stonetown area.
The quarry that exists in the Stonetown section of Ringwood has been plagued by controversy since 1990 (not five years ago as was written in the Suburban Trends article, "Quarry neighbors fed up with blasting") when it forced its way into Ringwood with the help of the all Republican Council (Republicans have controlled the Ringwood Council for 33 of the last 35 years). The quarry was originally Van Orden Sand and Gravel, but after the Braen family purchased the business they turned it into a full fledged quarry operation even though quarrying was not a permitted use in Ringwood. The neighborhood affected by the quarry operation fought long and hard to keep the quarry from devastating this pristine section of Ringwood, but without the support of their local government they failed.
The quality of life for the residents living in Stonetown deteriorated to an unbearable level, with intense blasting shaking their homes, fly rock landing in people's yards, pollution of the Westbrook, dangerous truck traffic on rural roads, noise and destruction in their once quiet residential neighborhood. Finally, in 2000 the residents' outrage forced the Borough to deny the quarry a license renewal, which Saddle Mountain challenged in court.
The taxpayers of Ringwood paid hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting Saddle Mountain. The borough attorney, Richard Clemack, earned over $150,000 in just a 4 year period. In 2000 Judge Humphries upheld Ringwood's right to control the quarry operation to protect the residents and their property. Unfortunately, the Borough never used this power. Neither Sean Isgan, the engineer hired to monitor the quarry, Ringwood's borough engineer, or the Ringwood Council forced the quarry to adhere to our ordinance prior to 2004.
When the Democrats took control of the Ringwood council in 2004 the quarry was up for relicensing. We hired the engineering firm of H2M to bring them into compliance with our ordinance -- over the objections of Councilmen Heck, Marsala, and Taukus. It took over two years of wrangling between H2M, the Council and Saddle Mountain to resolve the quarry's numerous violations. The Democrats and our borough attorney, Joseph Maraziti, worked diligently with the Stonetown residents, and forced the quarry to pay for all engineering and legal costs associated with the relicensing. Once the quarry became compliant we issued them an extension of their license, contingent upon quarterly monitoring of their activities.
Unfortunately, Saddle Mountain's compliance was short lived. When the Republicans took back control of the council in 2008, they let H2M go, rehired Sean Isgan and never monitored the quarry. It is interesting to note that the quarry operators donated $1000 to the local Republican Campaign in 2007.
Now the quarry is up for relicensing again and it is an election year, so of course the Ringwood Council is pretending to see the light. They rehired H2M, who have found significant violations. The Council claims that there are no complaints regarding blasting, however residents dispute that claim. The most disturbing violation is the fact that the quarry has blasted 60 feet deeper than allowed by the court ruling. Water for the residents in Stonetown is supplied by private wells, consequently blasting below the allotted depth jeopardizes the aquifer that supplies them with water.
It is a failure of the Ringwood Council and Borough Attorney that the quarry has gone unchecked for two years, allowing it to threaten the neighborhood's quality of life once more.
At the recent quarry hearing Councilwoman Anderson and Councilman Speer voted to stop a resolution that would immediately prohibit the quarry from blasting deeper than allowed by the court. They voted to protect the quarry not their constituents! And at the subsequent council meeting when Mayor Davison was questioned about the depth violation he exclaimed, "How did this happen?...Weren't there supposed to be inspections?"
Wenke Taule
Former Mayor, Ringwood
Wed - July 8, 2009
Letter to the Editor - Robin Canetti - Boro’s Hiring Policy Hurts Taxpayers
Suburban Trends
To The Editor,
The current Ringwood Administration has once again given a high-paying job to a Republican crony without benefit of an advertised job search. Scott Heck has just been hired, at $95,000 a year, as Director of Public Works. Astonishingly enough, this is the same person they created a $60,000 a year position for last year, also without benefit of a legitimate job search. I’m talking about Scott Heck, former Republican councilman, mayor, and Republican Municipal Leader. As soon as the Republicans returned to power, they immediately started to reward their party faithful. They put the Ringwood Republican Club attorney back in place as borough attorney, with an increase in pay from the last attorney. They granted Borough Clerk Kelley Rohde the additional position of Acting Borough Manager, with an increase in pay of over $40,000. Then they created for Scott Heck, the owner of a small, local landscape business, a $60,000 a year job (with $22,000 more in health benefits) as Deputy Borough Manager. This was a brand new position that was handed over to a man with seemingly no related experience. And the Ringwood taxpayer picked up the tab for their benevolence towards their pal.
Heck, whose prior work experience was running a small business, now controls a good part of Ringwood’s town business. They didn’t advertise anywhere for either of his two jobs. They didn’t interview anyone else for the first job, and supposedly interviewed only two other town employees for the second job. They just hired Heck, because “he knows more about Ringwood than anyone.” Oh come on! There are small business owners throughout Ringwood, people who have lived here for years…are they all qualified to run our town? And can no actual, trained professional manager from outside of Ringwood learn what’s needed to do the job? How can people charged with the responsibility of managing taxpayer dollars make an $82,000 decision or their recent $127,000 + decision (salary plus benefits in both cases), without any transparency in the hiring process, without even attempting to find the best person for the job? He was apparently the “best” person they knew, and he needed a job. Best is a relative term. There is no way to know whether they hired the “best” candidate if the administration didn’t even consider anyone else.
From the very beginning, they were already planning his next plum position, Director of Public Works. How do we know this? They raised the salary of just-replaced Willard Bierwas to $95,000 (a salary he’d worked his way up to over a period of over 25 years), even though it was public knowledge that he was planning to retire. Why? Mr. Heck was preparing to take the tests needed to replace him and they wanted to pump up the salary.
In what business, except a carelessly-run family business, would a newcomer get top dollar as his starting salary? In what business, except a family business, would a person who just passed the required tests receive the top of the salary scale, the salary that had been earned by his predecessor who had decades of experience? The outrageous thing, of course, is that this is not their family’s business…it’s ours, the taxpayers. After Heck was hired as Deputy Borough Manager, we were told over and over again how much he was doing for the town, how much he was needed, how he was working 24/7. Now, he’ll be working in a “significantly-reduced” capacity as Deputy but will still receive $10,000 in addition to his new salary of $95,000. Who will be doing all the things he was supposedly doing as Deputy? Is everything in town all fixed, roads perfect, problems solved? Or will he be working 48/14?
When pressed about this situation, the current administration keeps repeating that Mr. Heck is doing a great job, and no-one has complained. Neither of those statements is true if you merely look at the facts. There was an article in the “Bergen Record” in January that there was ongoing Internet blogging about the poor snow removal this year; there was the $18,000 settlement for a water main break that damaged a resident’s home (a situation Mr. Heck didn’t follow through on the day it occurred); there was the switch to salt only for road cleaning, even though salt is not good for the lakes or water system; and there was the subsequent rise in sodium levels in water testing; there is the stalled road project in Erskine Lakes because the person spearheading the work didn’t anticipate hitting rock ledge in Ringwood (seriously?), and of course, there is are still many unresolved issues with the Upper Ringwood residents. These items all point to a certain level of inexperience and poor decision-making skills. However, to be perfectly clear, even if Mr. Heck was doing a great job, it is irrelevant to the fact that his hiring was done without a proper job search. He was hired because he was a friend of this current administration and, in this economy he needed a job with health benefits and a pension, since as a self-employed landscaper he had neither.
The administration is supposed to spend taxpayer dollars in a fiscally responsible manner yet they make serious, costly hiring decisions as if they ran a local grocery store. Heck’s main advantage, if one listens to the administration and party faithful who speak at meetings, seems to be that “he knows Ringwood.” I think that’s a ridiculous argument; that only a Ringwood resident could be in either of these jobs. However, even if we assume that’s the case, I’d venture a guess that, when dozens of our neighbors have lost their jobs in this dreadful economy, there are many with management experience who would like to have been considered for either job. I’d guess that many would have been perfectly willing to take the exams necessary for Heck’s latest job. This administration owed the taxpayers a duty to explore, really examine, the credentials of more than one person before paying out these incredibly high salaries, in the first instance for a custom-made position.
The true outrage though is that they have perpetrated this exact scam before, and it continues to cost taxpayers money, more than seven years later. When Mayor Davison was a councilman, he also found himself in need of a job. Unexpectedly, the Borough Manager resigned and the council appointed one of its own, Mr. Davison, to the job with a $30,000 increase over his previous salary. Surprisingly, we continue to pay health benefits, to the tune of over $20,000 a year, to the person Davison replaced. Why have we paid close to $150,000 for benefits for someone who doesn’t work for the Borough anymore? The Borough Manager serves at the appointment of the council. When they’re replaced, they’re done. Why do we continue to pay this money? Will we go on paying forever? And who made these arrangements in the first place? Back then, the Ringwood administration included some familiar names: Taukus, Davison, Heck and Rohde. Three were councilmen and one was a part-time clerk/stenographer. When they were done with their political patronage, Davison was the highly paid Municipal Manager, Mrs. Rohde was the Municipal Clerk, Mr. Marsala was a councilman, and Kathy Cenicola was gone with perks we’re still paying for, over seven years later. If you connect the dots, they will take you right back to this administration, and the jobs they handed over to Scott Heck on a silver platter. Our silver, our platter, our taxes, our town, handed over without question to one of the people who paved the way for Mr. Davison’s equally costly position over seven years ago. Same dots, different configuration, since now Mr. Davison is the Mayor, Mrs. Rohde earns approximately $140,000 between salary and benefits, Mr. Heck earns $127,000 between salary and benefits, and Taukus and Marsala are back as councilmen. Taxpayers should be livid, I know I am.
Robin Canetti
Tue - July 7, 2009
Letter to the Editor - Tom Mac Allen - It Should be Your Money, but Alas they Forgot to Apply
Suburban Trends
To the Editor,
I find Ringwood Borough’s explanations regarding the missed opportunity to receive nearly $50K in Highlands Tax Stabilization aid this year rather unconvincing. ("Council trims municipal budget", Suburban Trends, Sunday, June 14). Initially, at the May 21st Council Meeting, when the council first introduced the budget, I questioned why they were showing no revenue from this State aid program. Borough Manager Kelley Rohde, supported by Borough Auditor Charles Ferraioli, defended the loss of this aid, stating that the Highlands Tax Stabilization Aid program was discontinued. At the time I pointed out I did not believe this to be the case and it was my understanding the Borough simply dropped the ball on applying in a timely manner.
This aid program is written into the legislation of the Highlands Act and is awarded annually by the Highlands Tax Stabilization Board (HTSB) which is part of the State Treasury and as has been the case each year since the inception of the act. However each and every year the town must apply to be eligible to receive the aid, as they have done in the past. The Board charged with managing this aid program was created in the Highlands legislation and is appointed by the Governor. Had this program been discontinued as was presented as the excuse by the Manager, it would have required an amendment to the Highlands Act by the legislature. It would have affected all 88 Highlands communities. Can anyone be so naive as to think this would not have been newsworthy? Can anyone be so naive as to think this would not have resulted in an outcry by the affected municipalities? This program is major a financial underpinning of the Act.
The Borough Manager has since recanted and admitted that the borough simply missed the application deadline as I originally believed, but what I find equally disturbing is the fact that it appears she and the council are trying to down play this costly mistake by stating that Mount Olive only got $7000. What they are not so quick to point out is, A) Mount Olive received less than $20K in 2008, while Ringwood received nearly $50K; B) Mount Olive’s reduction was mostly due to a town wide reevaluation which does not effect Ringwood until its time to apply for next year’s aid. Do not be fooled, this was a $50K oversight on the part of the Council and both the Borough managers that our tax money is supporting.
Some may say $50K is not that much, but it could have paid 2 years worth of health insurance for our past Borough Manager Kathy Cenicola for whom as tax payers we have contributed over a $100K as a result of a deal made years ago is part of a buy out program to create a job for another councilman; it could pay for almost a years salary for the latest job created for another political insider and past Republican club Municipal leader; or it could have paid for 10 years of seed money for the Ringwood Highlands Fair, and event shared by the entire community and that provided the opportunity for many of our businesses volunteer groups to raise money; or it could have simply lowered our Taxes. What the 'Heck' were they thinking; perhaps if the council would spend less time on finding ways to funnel jobs and open space funds to their friends and family they would have more time to catch these oversights. It’s your Money folks, start paying attention before your pockets are picked bare.
It is a shame that the borough missed this chance to provide tax relief to its residents. It is also unfortunate that misinformation is being used to justify the borough’s mistake.
Tom Mac Allen
Sat - January 10, 2009
Letter to the Editor- Grace Hazeldine
Suburban Trends
To the editor,
As we read about the corruption in Illinois, we have our own sad story of abuse of power in Ringwood.In June, the Ringwood Borough Council voted to submit an application to the 2008 Passaic County Open Space Trust Fund committee to purchase a parcel of land owned by Genesis Real Estate, asking that a total of $1.025 million be paid to the owners for the 36 acre parcel of land. Sounds good, right? Ringwood would receive Open Space Funds to expand the preserved acreage in town.
Except that the land was only on our tax rolls as being assessed at $30,600, it being argued by the owners, the Wallace family, in 2005 that the land was only worth $15,000. The tax assessment board lowered the assessment of the land 90% from $306,200 to $30,600 and the Wallace family has only been paying taxes on the current assessment of $30,600 for the years of 2006-2008. Now they want $1.025 million for their land!! While the rest of us in Ringwood are paying taxes on the full value of our homes.
But again, as in a lot of things in life, it's who you know.
I went to the June 19th council meeting to protest the application's submission, since the Wallace family of developers had previously declared bankruptcy, leaving the town of Ringwood in the lurch with approximately a half million dollars in capital improvements not completed. Pat Wallace, after having the steep slope laws changed for him in 1996 by some of these same council members led by then Mayor Scott Heck, built 35 luxury homes in Ringwood and then did not complete the project, leaving Coventry Drive and Briscoe Chase unpaved for 8 years. The week after the application for $1.025 million was submitted by the Ringwood council to obtain county money for the Wallace family, the road was finally paved after 8 years. Coincidence? The Ringwood taxpayers know better.
I brought up the fact that the council should not be negotiating a $1.025 million contract with a close personal friend. At this point, Kelley Rohde stated it was she, not the council members, who was negotiating with the Wallaces. After seeing the televised council meeting, I got more than one phone call to inform me that Kelley Rohde and the current owner of the land, Teri Wallace Bukowski, are close personal friends. This is unethical, at best.
The Ringwood council argues that the land was at the top of the Ringwood Open Space list, so that is the reason the application was submitted. I have spoken to some of the previous members of the Ringwood Open Space Committee and they are adamant that this parcel of land was NOT on the top of the list, and that it was manipulated by the current council to be so. The Ringwood Open Space Committee is appointed by Mayor Davison. Scott Heck went before the committee and I quote, "Mr. Heck speaking on behalf of Mr. Wallace" in the notes from the June 19, 2007 meeting. A clear favor for their friends, the Wallace family.
I obtained a copy of the Open Space application for the Wallace land, and found it was full of lies:
1. On page 2 of the application, it states that the town has already been awarded $200,000 in a Green Acres Grant. This is NOT TRUE.
2. On page 3 of the application, where it is asked if the property is owned by a developer, it is answered No. NOT TRUE Everyone in Ringwood knows the Wallace family are developers.
3. The description of the 36 acre parcel contains numerous misleading and incorrect facts.
In September, Councilman John Speer, made a presentation to the Passaic County Open Space Committee on behalf of the Wallace land. I was one of several members of the Ringwood public there. When Speer was asked by the committee for appraisals of the land, he said he would rather not state them out loud, since there were members of the Ringwood public present at the meeting!! He was immediately admonished by the committee that this was a PUBLIC meeting, and as members of the public the interested audience members were entitled to know the facts. If this is a legitimate application, why the attempted secrecy? To their credit, the Passaic County committee had done their homework, and were particularly upset that there would be an application submitted for a total of $1.025 million for a property that had been valued on the tax rolls for $30,600. One member of the committee stated that the Wallace family can't have it both ways, paying taxes on $30,600 and then asking for a million dollars for the property.
In a quote from an article on the Suburban Trends website, Mayor Walter Davison said that the Open Space Committee “unanimously supported” the municipality’s application. Kelley Rohde said that the committee “encouraged” the borough to reapply for the Wallace property next year.
Of course Mayor Davison and "Acting Borough Manager" Kelley Rohde, are saying this, hoping the public will fall for it. These are the same two people who attested and signed their names that all the information on the application was the truth, when it wasn't.
The plain truth is that a fraudulent application was submitted to the Passaic County Open Space Committee by the officials of Ringwood on behalf of their friends, the Wallaces. Expect all kinds of denials and explanations from the council and Kelley Rohde. If the Open Space Committee had "unanimously supported" the application as Mayor Davison says, then why was the application rejected?
And the sad truth is that Ringwood was seen as submitting a fraudulent application to a County Committee and it was rejected. And as bad as it is that the Ringwood officials tried to get their friend a million bucks, it also means that another legitimate application was not submitted instead and the town of Ringwood lost out on the chance to obtain Open Space funds for the year of 2008. This is a disgrace for the town.
As I said, in Ringwood as well as the rest of the world, it's who you know.......and wouldn't we all like to get $1.025 million for a property that was assessed at $30,600. Nice deal if you can get it....for the record, in the current Ringwood revaluation the same Wallace property ( Block 877, Lot 16) is assessed at $94,700.
Ringwood taxpayers deserve better. Remember, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Please watch the council meetings to see what is actually going on in our beautiful town.
Grace Hazeldine