Former City Council President Tony Soares has been appointed to the Zoning Board by Mayor David Roberts, Soares confirmed earlier today.
The Zoning Board has been two members short for some time, and Roberts has now acted in filling the seats. The appointments were prompted by a board hearing that kept being postponed due to members who believe they have a conflict of interests.
Soares submitted his resume for the position two weeks ago and Roberts called him last week to let him know he was being considered. Roberts called him today from vacation in Utah to confirm the appointment, Soares said.
Soares said the other member appointed was local engineer Michael Novak.
Novak is an environmental engineer at Atlantic Environmental Solutions in Hoboken who specializes in contamination management. He said he was asked by the administration to submit his resume late in 2008 and has yet to hear back.
One of the seats available on the board was a primary seat and the other was an alternate seat. It was not immediately clear which person had been appointed to what seat.
Soares has been a critic of the administration and has been outspoken on many city matters for some time.
He said as a member of the board he will be “objective, non-conflicted,” supporting conservation and improved aesthetics, when possible.
Soares said in order to engage in the ongoing hearings – like 920 Castle Point Terrace and the Neumann Leathers buildings – he will need to review tapes of previous meetings. He said he will confer with board counsel on whether or not that will happen.
“I’d want to be involved in everything,” Soares said.