The City Council focused Wednesday on a controversial contract revision for the planners of a large development, and on possible action by the state to pick a new police chief.
A few weeks ago, the council decided not to approve a payment to FXFOWLE, the planners contracted to design a proposed 70-story office tower and development on the New Jersey Transit property along the south edge of Hoboken. The payment would have increased the cost of FXFOWLE’s contract from $155,000 to $255,000. NJ Transit will actually reimburse the city for the payments on the contract, but the council still felt the increase was not earned.
The council has voted down the contract increase once, tabled it the second time it reappeared on the agenda, then discussed the matter again on Wednesday when it was questioned by outgoing Councilwoman Terry LaBruno.
In the past, council members complained that the development plan was unduly influenced by NJ Transit and their hand-picked developer for the site, LCOR, and that it did not represent the wishes of the public or the council.
However, shortly after the council tabled the payment at a previous meeting, Tripodi – who had said in the past that she would not interfere with development issues – wrote the City Council a letter to explain why she was going to exercise her power to override their decision.
At Wednesday’s meeting, LaBruno questioned why Tripodi stepped into the middle of the dispute.
Tripodi was not there to respond. But on Thursday, Tripodi said, “The firm did the services, and I didn’t want to open up the [city to the] possibility of litigation.”
She said her intervention was only to pay the bill, not to influence the overall development.
“I do not live here,” she said. “It is totally unacceptable for me to make decisions that will impact development in the city.”
At the meeting on Wednesday, Councilman Ruben Ramos said committee meetings to forward the planning process have found little support from most council members.
Tripodi said in her interview that questionnaires asking what council members want for the development site were sent out in February and addressed again in March and April, but only three council members have responded – Ramos, Michael Russo, and Beth Mason. Councilman Peter Cammarano, because of a conflict of interest, has abstained from voting or entering into the process.
Public speaks out
During the public speakers’ portion of the meeting, some residents and development activists raised concerns about Tripodi overriding the council’s refusal to approve the payment.
Mary Ondrejka said asked someone on the council to “stop this monster,” referring to Tripodi. “She’s taking advantage of this town.”
Maurice “Moe” DeGennaro said that FXFOWLE isn’t just an arm of the city government. “They should be answerable to the public, not just the a few council people,” DeGennaro said.
Ramos agreed with DeGennaro after the meeting. He said it was up to the council to reach out to their constituents to find out what they want from the project, and report back to the committee to try to find common ground.
Who will pick the PD chief?
Councilwoman LaBruno also questioned why the city hadn’t picked a chief of police yet. The police chief’s exam concluded in December, and the final three candidates – Acting Chief Robert Lisa, Captain Anthony Falco, and Captain Edelmiro Garcia – were interviewed months ago, but the city has yet to explain the delay.
City Attorney Steven Kleinman said at the meeting that Tripodi’s former boss, Susan Jacobucci, the director of the state’s Division of Local Government services, might intervene in the decision making process, although to what extent Kleinman couldn’t say. Jacobucci was on vacation and not available for comment at the end of last week.
“We may be headed to court for some kind of declarative judgment [on who will appoint the police chief].” – David Roberts
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“She told me she has no interest in having that authority,” Kleinman said at the meeting, a view to which Tripodi concurred in an interview.
Mayor David Roberts, who would ordinarily make the appointment, told Kleinman to prepare to enter a motion in court challenging the state if they exercise authority over the appointment.
“We may be headed to court for some kind of declarative judgment,” Roberts said.
Insiders are claiming that Roberts and Tripodi have taken sides backing different candidates, but Tripodi has denied taking any side in the matter.
Roberts said he supports Falco, who scored the highest on the test. Actually, Lisa outscored Falco on the exam – but tenure is factored into the final score for the state-administered test, and Falco has been there longer.
Roberts also sent a letter to the state from six councilpersons endorsing Falco. According to sources, Mason, Dawn Zimmer, and Peter Cunningham did not support the letter.
Audit approved
The council also approved the final draft of the 2008 city audit. The audit detailed many shortfalls of the administration over the past year, including a number of problems with procedures and controls “designed to safeguard assets from loss, damage, or misappropriation,” according to the document.
Tripodi said each department is designing corrective action plans that will address negative audit findings that pertain to their department. The city council must receive the corrective action plans within 45 days.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.