Tuesday’s unusually rancorous Town Council meeting was mainly consumed with discussion of the alleged conflict of interest case involving Councilman Michael Gonnelli, with the council considering a controversial resolution to take the matter to court.
Councilman Gonnelli sat in the audience during the meeting after Town Attorney Frank Leanza advised that he recuse himself from meetings until the town resolves how Gonnelli can participate in council sessions without possibly breaking the law (see story, inside).
Meanwhile, the rest of the council managed to get through a few other items of business during a three-hour meeting. Garbage collection, the recreation center, and the ongoing debate around televised council meetings were among the items discussed.
A new member was also sworn in to the Secaucus Volunteer Fire Department.
Irregular trash pickups
During the public comment portion of the meeting, a resident’s comment about irregular trash pickup in town led to some discussion.
“Trash collection used to be done in the mornings,” the woman commented. “Now it looks like they come at night. And when trash is left on the streets for a while, the birds and animals come and pick at the plastic bags, and trash is sometimes left on the sidewalk.”
She asked if there were any town laws regarding how trash should be contained.
Mayor Dennis Elwell responded that without looking at the town ordinance regarding trash containment, he was not sure whether residents are required to place trash in covered cans, or whether plastic bags are sufficient.
But he added that “We have heard some problems about trash pick up recently.”
Elwell explained that Nacirema Industries, the company contracted to collect trash in Secaucus, has had a few trucks break down, which has resulted in late pickups. These problems come at a time when Nacirema has requested the right to subcontract its trash collection service to another company, East Coast Disposal. The Town Council voted in December to allow Nacirema the right to subcontract.
Given the recent problems, however, the council voted on Tuesday night to rescind this permission.
“We have heard some complaints about their trash collection [in Orange, N.J.], and we need to look into these problems further before we allow them to subcontract to this other company,” Elwell added.
Recreation center memberships discussed
At the request of resident Sam Maffei, who inquired about current Secaucus Recreation Center membership totals, Town Administrator David Drumeler announced that the town has sold 796 memberships to date.
The Secaucus Recreation Center had a soft opening last month and will hold a grand opening sometime before Presidents’ Day in February.
________
Mayor Elwell has previously stated that the Recreation Center needs about 2,000 members to be financially self-sufficient.
According to Drumeler, 86 single adult memberships have been sold. Thirty-three young adult memberships have been sold. There are 49 senior individuals who have joined. Fifty-seven adult couples have joined, and 24 senior couples are members. Several families have also joined the recreation center. There are 87 two-parent families with children who are members and 45 single-parent families. In all, the town has collected $92,051 in membership dues so far, he said.
Adults 22 years and older can get an individual one-year membership for $299, or $30 a month. Younger adults under age 22 can sign up for $175, or $20 a month. Couples can join for $550, or $55 per month. Individual seniors can join for the annual rate of $175, or $20 a month, and membership for senior couples is $300 annually or $30 a month.
Family rates are also available for $350 and $575 annually, or $35 and $60 a month, depending on the number of adults in the household.
The facility cost at least $9 million to build, although critics of the facility fear the price tag is actually much higher. Critics are also concerned that Secaucus taxpayers will end up paying for the center’s monthly operating expenses.
The facility had what Drumeler called a “soft opening” last month, and will hold a grand opening sometime before Presidents’ Day in February.
Firefighter sworn in
Josue Rentas, a new member of the Secaucus Volunteer Fire Department, took the oath of office during the meeting. Rentas, a member of Engine Co. 1, took his oath before a council chamber packed with brother firefighters, many of whom were likely there to lend support to Gonnelli. But several members of Engine Co. 1 turned out for Rentas, who joins six other new firefighters who were sworn in recently.
Televised meetings stalled?
The governing body spent an hour discussing whether to tape and broadcast council meetings during its closed caucus session Tuesday evening. The council has been debating the issue for more than a year.
Although logistical factors, such as equipment needs, have delayed getting meetings on air, the bigger sticking point, according to the mayor and several councilmen, is whether comments from residents should be taped and aired. According to a report Tuesday from the council’s television committee exactly what should be recorded remains an unresolved matter.
Moment of silence
Mayor Elwell called for a moment of silence to remember residents Frank MacCormack and Pat Presa, both of whom passed away last week. MacCormack was the founder and former president of the MacCormack Insurance Agency. A successful businessman, MacCormack was also a veteran and a political activist who served as chairman of the Secaucus Republican Committee and ran for office several times.
Presa was a longtime board member of the Secaucus Public Library and was instrumental in securing the money necessary to build the new library on Paterson Plank Road.