Resident and former mayoral candidate Frank MacCormack told the Secaucus Town Council during the public portion of Tuesday night’s council meeting that he was not amused by an article that ran in the New York Post’s real estate section last month entitled, “Secaucus might be N.J.’s next big ‘it’ area.”
The story, which ran on Sept. 27, said, “The combination of convenience, low prices and planned developments could make Secaucus the next ‘it’ area.”
Mayor Dennis Elwell responded that he found the story “very encouraging.”
But MacCormack had mixed feelings.
“I’m not against development,” MacCormack said, “but I really, sincerely believe that at the pace we’re going, we may need a sensible moratorium.”
With thousands of new townhouses in various stages of completion in town, including a planned “transit village” near the Secaucus Transfer train station, some believe that increases in traffic and crowding are inevitable.
MacCormack explained that he was in favor of “controlled development” but that Paterson Plank Road, for example, is crowded “morning, noon, and night.”
Elwell responded that traffic has always been congested.
“I remember when it was backed up down Farm Road,” he said.
He asked MacCormack if he could point to a specific development that was rising too fast, and MacCormack said he was speaking of the collected developments. He also noted that Secaucus should be more “in control of its own destiny.”
Elwell agreed with that comment. Recently, town officials have become frustrated by the fact that some zoning decisions are out of its hands because a state commission – the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission – oversees 88 percent of zoning in Secaucus.
Most recently, the town hired an attorney to fight a project that the NJMC approved in spring. That project was the relocation of Damascus Bakery’s headquarters from New York into Secaucus. After the NJMC approved it in May, the public got wind of it. Some residents said they didn’t want crowding and other potential problems.
MacCormack encouraged Elwell and a committee of 14 Meadowlands-region mayors, which Elwell chairs, to get more involved in those decisions.
MacCormack also was concerned about the fact that the public wasn’t aware of a pair of towers that were cited in the Post story.
The story reads: “Indeed, there are several major new residential projects on the horizon for Secaucus. Equinox 360 is an upscale development with 614 units in two towers. Amenities include a heated outdoor pool, 24-hour concierge and fitness center. The 750- to 1,800-square-foot apartments will start at about $350,000 and go up to $700,000.”
MacCormack wanted to know exactly where these “towers” will be.
He wasn’t the only one.
“I never heard of it,” Elwell said. “I think Equinox is across the [Hackensack] River, but I’m not sure. No proposals have come here for towers.”
Another official said he believed the towers were in neighboring East Rutherford, not in Secaucus.
That was, in fact, the case. The luxury high-rise development is actually being built by Millennium Homes in East Rutherford, not Secaucus.
In any case, the Post article wasn’t entirely positive. It said, “Opinion [is] split on whether the New Jersey town is the next reincarnation of Hoboken or a swamp that’ll stay that way.”
New administrator chosen, tentatively
Aside from the council members and Mayor Dennis Elwell, Acting Town Administrator Peggy Barkala was also on the dais at the meeting. Barkala, who is the town’s Chief Financial Officer, is serving in that position until a new full-time town administrator can be chosen. The previous longtime administrator, Anthony Iacono, left last month to take a full-time job in Paramus.
In response to a resident’s question at the meeting, Elwell said that the job had been advertised on the town’s website and on the League of Municipalities website. They received 22 resumes and chose to interview six people.
Since then, three people accepted the offer to interview, and as of Tuesday, the council had chosen a tentative replacement for the job. Barkala is presently negotiating the terms of hiring with that person.
Before the meeting, Barkala said she did not apply for the job herself, and was looking forward to returning to her CFO position “very soon.”
$9M bond amended for recreation center
At the meeting, the council voted to amend the $9 million bond originally passed in 2005 for the town’s recreation center, which is currently under construction. The original bond ordinance was adopted on April 26, 2005.
The vote was actually to introduce the amendment. The final vote will be held at the meeting Oct. 23, and the public can speak on the matter beforehand.
Officials say the recreation center may be completed as early as February.
Elwell said that the city is working on hiring employees and must decide matters such as the hours of the center, and when the school’s teams will use it.
A resident made reference to Elwell’s recent letter to the newspaper inviting residents to read the state Department of Environmental Protection’s report on the site, in an attempt to quell rumors of possible environmental problems. The resident was unconvinced that the site was safe, and said if there are any problems, it wasn’t worth risking children’s health.
Other business
Also at the meeting:
* Mayor Dennis Elwell noted that pink ribbons are being tied around town in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, to raise awareness and encourage women to get tested regularly.
* The council considered a resolution adding $11,000 to a contract with the PMK Group for asbestos management services and Phase I Environmental Site Assessment for a portion of 276 County Ave. That property is next to a firehouse that the city would like to purchase. Councilman Gary Jeffas said that he is involved in residential real estate, and believes that they might be able to get the environmental surveys done less expensively. The council agreed to table the amendment so that they could discuss it further.
* A resident complained that after she called the police several times about her noisy neighbors, an officer said he’d refuse to come if she called again. She also noted that when she walked to the police station late at night to make a complaint, making her way past people who seemed “drunk or on drugs,” the doors were locked. “When you get to the Police Department, you kind of want to get in,” she said. “It made me wonder, maybe the police don’t feel safe.” Elwell said that a federal law requires the doors to be locked and a security camera to be there monitoring the entrance. Residents can ring a bell when they get to the door.
* Councilman Michael Gonnelli said that he hadn’t received answers to several questions he asked. He noted that the city had recently settled a lawsuit filed by a taxi company against certain city officials, but that nothing came through the council about the settlement. He said the settlement was for at least $85,000 and the council should be aware of that. The town’s attorney, Frank Leanza, said that it was paid for by the town’s Joint Insurance Fund, not by the city budget. Still, Gonnelli thought the council should have been informed because the suit involved town officials. Resident Tom Troyer later spoke on that matter and agreed that people should be made aware of such a settlement.
* Deputy Mayor John Reilly discussed traffic at the approach to Centre Avenue from 10th Street. Several officials said that maybe there is a need for a new stop sign in the area, and that they would consult with the Traffic Division.
* A resident of Radio Avenue complained about “unsightly” weeds in front of the radio relay station there. Elwell said that if the weeds are there, the town would ask the radio station to take action.
* Councilman Richard Kane said that “on the lighter side,” the town has started a flag football program for very young children. “If you want to have a good time on Saturday morning,” he said, “it’s better than anything on TV.”