Tempest in a Teapot

Note: Certain individuals are trying to purposefully distort the record so I'm including my full correspondence with COAH.

Yesterday, several critics accused me of lying. Here’s the background.

On April 19th, the township attorney declared unequivocally and repeatedly that Aberdeen Township would lose its COAH certification two days later at the April 21st COAH meeting if the town council did not approve an ordinance creating an Inclusionary Housing Overlay Zone for the purpose of constructing nearly for the construction of 194 residential units.

I have since argued the attorney lied. We were never on the April 21st agenda, the developer had withdrawn its petition, and, according to an email from COAH, if the developer had resubmitted its motion, it wouldn’t have been considered until the May meeting.

On Sunday, I wrote “a majority of town council members have commented privately or, in the mayor’s case, publicly that they were misled by McCarthy regarding COAH.” Meaning, it was their understanding that we would lose certification on April 21st and, since the lie had been exposed, they were tacitly acknowledging being misled.

My critics have argued the council members have never acknowledged being misled and I’m wrong on the facts – that we could have lost our certification on April 21st.

Here’s one anonymous comment –
You have not established that it would have been impossible for the developer to have its Order heard on April 21st. I absolutely defy you to find anyone at COAH who will tell you that COAH would have turned away the developer on April 21st if they had appeared. [Bold in the original]

Well, I did something wholly unpredictable and unusual. I contacted COAH again and I’ve posted my email for anyone wishing to see the full exchange. [Bolding not in original]

COAH - Mr. Warren – COAH heard oral argument at its March 10, 2010 meeting regarding a motion filed by C&M Real Estate and RCM Group for an Order to Show Cause as to why Aberdeen Township will not abide by the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding executed with RCM on December 17, 2009, based upon a settlement agreement reached at COAH mediation. However, because Aberdeen Township passed the ordinance in question on firsts reading two weeks ago, the developer withdrew the motion. Presumably if the Township did not pass the ordinance last night, the developer would have refilled the motion to be heard at COAH’s May meeting.

Warren - I'm sorry to bother you again regarding this matter but could you please clarify the following point. If Aberdeen Township had failed to pass the ordinance on Monday, April 19th and the developer refiled his motion on Tuesday, April 20th, was there any likelihood the matter would have been considered at the April 21st COAH meeting?

COAH - No. Motions require a briefing schedule, which is usually 30 days. Emergent motions are occasionally scheduled, but the briefing schedule is rarely shorter than 10 days. The Council also would have had the option of issuing an order to show cause without a motion being filed.

So, there you have it. McCarthy told us if the ordinance failed to pass we would definitely lose our COAH certification two days later. He lied.

I’ll leave it to the reader to judge for himself – When a council member says he thought we would lose our certification on the 21st, is that the same as saying he was misled? One thing’s for sure – it’s the closest they’ll ever come to admitting the township attorney lied to them and lied to us. >>> Read more!

Aberdeen Hides from the Sunshine Laws

This Tuesday, May 18th, 2010, at 7PM, Aberdeen Township will, once again, violate New Jersey’s Open Public Meetings Act, a.k.a. the Sunshine Laws. According to the agenda, “This meeting is being held in conformance with the Open Public Meetings Act.” But that can’t be. Why not? Because the township will be voting on the school budget and it’s not on the agenda. How do I know the township will be voting on the school budget? Let see.

• First, the township has a state deadline (page 8) of May 19th “to determine and certify to the county board of taxation the amount of money necessary for school purposes to be raised by taxation for the ensuing school year.”
• Second, it’s on Matawan’s agenda for that same night

Could it be they simply forgot to include one of the biggest votes of the year? No. This will be the town council’s third offense in just six months.

Last December, the township authorized, in secret and without a vote, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with developers to rezone two properties to allow for the construction of nearly 200 units. The authorization occurred a month after now-Governor Christie was elected following a pledge to demolish COAH and a month before a new mayor and three new councilmen would take their seats. By all accounts, the MOU triggered a series of events leading to the ordinance rezoning the properties, despite the likelihood of COAH being terminated.

On April 6th, Councilman Cannon motioned, Deputy Mayor Vinci seconded, and the council unanimously passed a first reading of the ordinance rezoning the properties to create an Inclusionary Housing Overlay Zone. Remarkably, only one month later, township attorney McCarthy, who was present at the meeting, couldn’t remember when the first reading took place. More remarkable still, despite being unable to recall the first reading, McCarthy was able to explain why it wasn’t on the agenda, claiming the council didn’t know it was going to be on the agenda until that day. (The ordinance had been in development since the March 10th COAH meeting.)

This time, the school budget isn’t on the agenda. The Sunshine Laws require “to the extent known” the agenda of the meeting be posted. Furthermore, all items must be public unless the law specifically provides for an exemption.

To understand how unusual this is, consider this – After covering the school district for over 30 months, there has never been an instance when the school board was aware of an agenda item that wasn’t on the public agenda. Nor has the board ever approved a motion by any board member that was pre-planned but not on the agenda.

Sadly, the town council’s record isn’t shocking. The township continues to retain an attorney who threatened police action against residents asserting their right to speak at a public meeting. McCarthy blatantly lied to the council. Yet, he remains the township attorney.

Enough is enough. Action will be taken. >>> Read more!

They Mayor, McCarthy, and I

For the handful of readers disappointed they missed my "performance" at the April 19th Aberdeen council and planning board meetings, here I am at the May 4th town council meeting. I had to cut the beginning and end because YouTube only permits ten minutes. You can click here for the entire video if you're interested.

The only missing highlight was my gaffe in referring to the planning/zoning attorney of "police action" fame as Lesniak instead of Leckstein.

Included in the video are McCarthy's denials and explanations for:

• Claiming COAH threatened to withdraw certifacation
• Claiming Aberdeen risked losing certification at COAH's April 21st meeting
• Implying he was the only Aberdeen representative present at the March COAH meeting
• Explaining why the council never voted to approve the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the developers
• Explaining why the residents were not entitled to know about the MOU
• Claiming he didn't remember the first reading of the ordinance creating an "Inclusionary Housing" zone was in April
• Explaining why the ordinance's first reading wasn't on the April 6th agenda

The audio isn't great but I think it's good enough. Enjoy. Thanks to Ken Aitken for providing the video.

>>> Read more!

More Township Lies Exposed

On April 19th, Aberdeen Township’s planning board and town council were very clear that they were being forced to approve an ordinance allowing the construction of 194 new housing units because, if they didn’t, the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) would withdraw certification at its April 21st meeting. The only evidence that COAH would do such a thing was township attorney Dan McCarthy’s insistence COAH told him so.

On Thursday, I reported that McCarthy had lied because Aberdeen wasn’t on COAH’s April 21st agenda and RCM, the developer, had withdrawn its COAH petition so there was no possibility of losing certification at the April 21st meeting.

Now, more lies have been exposed. At the infamous April 19th town council meeting, the attorney and town council claimed COAH had threatened to withdraw Aberdeen’s certification during its March 10th meeting and that the only person who had heard the threat was township attorney Dan McCarthy.

Well, the minutes for that March 10th meeting were released this week.

First, Dan McCarthy was not the only representative from Aberdeen at that meeting. With him were Joe Criscuolo, Aberdeen’s town manager, and Diane Dabulas, McCarthy’s co-counsel. It’s amazing that nobody recalled Criscuolo was at the March 10th meeting, particularly Criscuolo himself who sat silently at the dais during the entire council meeting.

And then there are the March 10th minutes themselves. All it says about Aberdeen is that the “matter was referred to a task force.”

Furthermore, McCarthy claimed that Lori Grifa, acting commissioner for the Department of Community Affaris, personally threatened the township. Does that mean he’s also claiming the task force, consisting of three members of COAH (of which Grifa chairs) aren’t independent thinkers or that Grifa was so determined to hammer Aberdeen that she would the task force's recommendation?

Also, how likely was the task force to submit a recommendation at the April 21st meeting had RCM not withdrawn its petition? Do the task forces really operate that fast?

So, next question for the town council – Why did nobody know that the town manager was at the COAH meeting and why didn’t the town manager acknowledge being there? >>> Read more!

Those Lying Lawyers of Aberdeen

Last Monday, Aberdeen Township was bamboozled into approving an ordinance zoning for 194 new housing units to allegedly appease the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), even though only 37 of the units are actually for affordable housing (19 for moderate and 18 for low income). I say allegedly because the only evidence that COAH ever made such a demand is town attorney Dan McCarthy’s say-so. And Dan McCarthy is a liar. But he’s not Aberdeen’s only liar for hire. So is our esteemed planning/zoning board attorney, Michael Leckstein.

Town hall was packed with over a hundred people protesting a massive housing development that would flood our schools, increase our taxes, and congest our roads, not to mention the environmental impact from high-density construction in a wetlands area. (Hat tip: AberdeenNJlife)

Leckstein famously set the tone by first insisting the public had no right to comment on any of this at the planning board meeting and then, when the audience asserted its right to speak, he threatened “police force”.

According to Leckstein, “There’s no requirement in the statute to have any public comment whatsoever about what’s happening.”

No requirement in the statute? Is it possible Leckstein never heard of The Open Public Meetings Act, a.k.a. “The Sunshine Law”? That particular statute states “a municipal governing body shall be required to set aside a portion of every meeting of the municipal governing body, the length of the portion to be determined by the municipal governing body, for public comment on any governmental issue that a member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the municipality.”

Leckstein – You’re a liar and I wouldn’t mind seeing you subjected to a little “police force”.

After the planning board unanimously approved the ordinance, the town council considered the issue, this time led by McCarthy. He claimed Aberdeen was the “poster child” of COAH’s cruelty. McCarthy insisted repeatedly and throughout the night that if the council failed to immediately approve the ordinance, Aberdeen would lose its COAH certification two days later at COAH’s April 21st meeting and be subject to an onslaught of builder remedy lawsuits.

Only one problem. Aberdeen was never on COAH’s April 21st agenda. I emailed COAH about the inconsistency and they replied -

Mr. Warren –

COAH heard oral argument at its March 10, 2010 meeting regarding a motion filed by C&M Real Estate and RCM Group for an Order to Show Cause as to why Aberdeen Township will not abide by the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding executed with RCM on December 17, 2009, based upon a settlement agreement reached at COAH mediation. However, because Aberdeen Township passed the ordinance in question on firsts reading two weeks ago, the developer withdrew the motion. Presumably if the Township did not pass the ordinance last night, the developer would have refilled the motion to be heard at COAH’s May meeting.

Now, one might be inclined to ask “What’s the difference? April, May, it doesn’t matter.” But it does matter.

The council claimed the only reason it was approving the ordinance was because McCarthy told them COAH had “put a gun to the head of the township” and would withdraw its certification. There is no documentation, no correspondence, nothing in writing whatsoever to substantiate McCarthy’s claim. Nor was anyone else from the township present at the March 10th hearing to confirm McCarthy’s reconstruction.

And McCarthy lied about the April 21st meeting. That doesn’t mean he lied about everything but what sane individual would vote to authorize 194 housing units based solely upon the testimony of a liar.

The township approved an “Inclusionary Housing Overlay Zone” for the largest construction project since Avalon because McCarthy told them to. The council never consulted with the school district, never conducted an economic impact study, and never asked the developer how many children we could expect from the development. Nor will the 37 affordable housing units do much to alleviate our COAH obligations, the supposed reason for allowing the project.

Was the council duped? I would have assumed so until they and McCarthy claimed to not know who the principal was behind RCM. Hmmm. What are the chances that, after negotiating for over a year with RCM, they never realized the company is owned by Cifelli, Aberdeen’s largest developer?

It’s also fascinating that the council never discussed COAH’s threat at its March 16th meeting. The first we see any discussion is after Governor Christie’s task force recommends abolishing COAH and sharply curtailing affordable housing obligations across the state.

Next thing, they’ll be blaming the school district for our high property taxes.

To everyone who was there to protest that night and to everyone who wishes they could’ve been there as well – this ain’t over. Not by a long shot. >>> Read more!

Of Mice and Men (and Women)

According to an old army rule, you never look at your enemy’s family photos because, the moment you do, you realize he’s a family man, too. Though I have been a consistent and harsh critic of the Matawan-Aberdeen Board of Education and the Aberdeen Township Council, this past week I was taught a bit of humility.

Last Friday, at the prompting of some readers, I sent an email to James Lauro, Aberdeen’s acting town manager, regarding sewers in Freneau and seawall development. I was greatly, and pleasantly, surprised to receive a phone call from Mayor Sobel in response to the email; it was the first time we ever spoke.

Mayor Sobel was very generous with his time and patiently answered my questions. Regarding the seawall, he explained the township won $262,000 in matching grants, meaning the money will be released when the township allocates matching funds. CME Associates, the township engineer, is presently developing plans to widen the seawall and provide beach access as part of an overall plan to promote the shore. My guess is we’ll hear more about the project in time for next year’s election (there are no matching funds in this year’s budget).

Regarding Freneau, he explained that sewers would cost millions of dollars and the money isn’t there absent development in Aberdeen Forge. I asked about scaling back the road improvement program and using some of that money towards the sewers. The Mayor said he didn’t believe the sewers had sufficient community support to warrant the massive investment, that his understanding was many, if not most, homeowners were content with their septic tanks.

The conversation then segued into other development projects. He explained that the Anchor Glass Area was purchased by Somerset Development but that he was unaware of any real progress. He also warned against relying too heavily on proposed development plans as these projects often result in something very different from the original vision.

I told Mayor Sobel that I was very concerned with the selection of Silver Oak Properties as the primary developer for the Transit Village Project. Not only does Silver Oak have no experience with large-scale development, the owner, William Bocra, is a convicted felon, having gone to prison for three years after attempting to bribe an IRS auditor. I expressed that, given the large number of local developers arrested on bribery charges, including the original Aberdeen Forge developer, Anthony Spalliero, appearances matter.

Mayor Sobel said he understood my concerns but felt the point had become moot. He said it was his understanding that the township no longer has any standing relationship with Silver Oak Properties and that he’s not had any recent discussions with them. He further assured me that “not one shovel” would hit the transit area until the roadways were first expanded, at an estimated cost of $125 million, to handle the increased traffic. Sure enough, a cursory review of payments to the township attorney, Daniel McCarthy, reveals only a few inconsequential payments regarding Silver Oak.

My biggest surprise was Mayor Sobel expressing he had no strong opposition to merging the township with Matawan.

We ended the conversation on good terms and he offered to make himself available for future discussions.

Also last week, Patricia Demarest became President of the district’s Board of Education. We have always been on good terms since I first began attending board meetings but I had become concerned, following the heated election, that our relationship would become strained. Not so. She’s been as warm and open as ever. Though I don’t care for her allies on the school board, I have always admired her for her integrity and desire to help the students of our district. When nobody else on her side of the aisle appeared at Meet the Candidates night, she was there.

When she was elected president, I was the first to applaud her.

I mention Mayor Sobel and Board President Demarest because it takes great character to reach out to one of your harshest and most vocal critics. And I contrast their actions against School Board Member Barbato who retained legal counsel to issue me a cease and desist letter that accused me of committing “liable” [sic].

Although I will likely continue to criticize and dissent, I intend to give every opportunity to the opposition to express their viewpoints. I’m a strong believer in lively debate and I welcome any courtesy the opposition extends towards me.

Mayor Sobel and Board President Demarest, thank you for your time and patience. I look forward to speaking with you in the future. >>> Read more!

This Post Has Been Removed Upon Special Request

This Post Has Been Removed Upon Special Request

>>> Read more!

A Norman Kauff Bedtime Story

My dear readers, I know how much you like to read about Matawan and Aberdeen but I hope you’ll forgive me if I digress a bit, today. You see, this story takes place in a far away land called Manalapan.

A long time ago, in the year 2000, Mayor Stuart Moskovitz of Manalapan complained that the township attorney, a man named Norman Kauff, was charging too much money. Yes, he accused our precious Norman Kauff who served so many years as Aberdeen Township’s attorney.

Anyways, the mayor complained and kvetched and carped until Kauff stopped coming to town meetings at all. But this just made Mayor Moskovitz even angrier. After all, Norman Kauff was still getting paid, both salary and pension contributions, even though he was no longer coming to town meetings.

But Mr. Kauff didn’t see any problem at all. In fact, only two years later, Hazlet had agreed to hire Mr. Kauff as their township attorney even though he wouldn’t be attending their town meetings either. No, he would send a subordinate to attend those long and boring public forums.

Well, Mayor Moskovitz kept complaining until Norman Kauff quit. That same year, Moskovitz lost reelection but a few years later, in 2005, he was appointed the township’s attorney. That appointment only lasted one year. But I jump ahead of myself.

After Kauff quit, he got a job for his good friend, Daniel McCarthy, as an attorney on the township planning board and as special counsel. Yes, this is the same Daniel McCarthy who replaced Kauff as Aberdeen Township’s attorney.

Daniel McCarthy, with some encouragement from Kauff, began agitating for Moskovitz’s dismissal. As township attorney, Moscowitz had overseen Manalapan’s purchase of two homes in front of the Manalapan Recreation Center. At the time of the transaction, there was no problem and New Jersey’s Green Acre’s program contributed $250,000 to the purchase. However, the township engineer, Greg Valesi, now claimed the site required an environmental cleanup that his company would be happy to perform; the homes had an underground storage tank and some pesticides were found on the grass.

Mr. Valesi works for a small company called CME Associates. Yes, the same CME Associates that serves as Aberdeen’s engineers. Original cost estimates for the cleanup were $18,000 but they’ve now risen to $110,000.

McCarthy then convinced the township to sue Moskovitz for damages.

I don’t know about the next part of the story but Moskovitz claims that the new township attorney, Caroline Casagrande, and the new mayor, Andrew Lucas, were reluctant to pursue the case but Kauff promised them party support for higher office. I don’t know how Kauff, a strongman in the Monmouth Democratic Party, could help two republicans but Casagrande and Lucas did gain their party’s nominations.

Casagrande won election for State Assemblywoman of the 12th district. Lucas, at age 29, became one of the youngest people to ever receive the republican nomination for Freeholder in Monmouth County. He was also the first republican in over 20 years to lose the election.

Shortly after her victory, Casagrande founded a new law firm, Menna, Supko & Casagrande. Yes, that’s the same Pasquale Menna who’s the borough attorney for Matawan. Pasquale Menna was formerly of the law firm Kauff & Menna, as in Norman Kauff.

Well, to get back to the story, Manalapan decided to sue their former mayor and township attorney and hired Casagrande (Menna’s new partner) and McCarthy at about $130 per hour.

Here’s where the story gets good.

Around this time, an anonymous blogger calling himself “daTruthSquad” suddenly appeared. daTruthSquad was both highly knowledgeable and highly critical of the town’s lawsuit. Casagrande and McCarthy insisted Moskovitz must be the anonymous blogger but he denied it. So, they did what any fine attorney billing the taxpayer an hourly rate would do – they subpoenaed Google, demanding the Internet behemoth unmask the blogger.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation leapt to daTruthSquad’s defense and the presiding judge quashed the subpoena.

And the case continues for around $130 per hour per attorney plus expenses, all for the good of Manalapan. Or is it for the benefit of you-know-who?

Now, my dear reader, it’s time for bed. But you best remember to be on good behavior or I’ll be calling Norman Kauff.

>>> Read more!