The mayor and Town Council have announced that they have entered into an agreement with Secaucus Brownfields Redevelopment after discovering earlier this year that the company has been filling the former Malanka Landfill property. The developer has agreed to pay the town $1,000 plus $1.00 per cubic yard of recyclable fill material delivered to the site from Feb. 1 on.
“We were pretty much unaware that this activity was going on,” said Mayor Michael Gonnelli at the March 27 council meeting. He said because the developer had been entering the site through Jersey City the town did not notice the activity until recently, once the developer began working near the turnpike.
“They are not required to pay us the host community tax because it is soil and it is not any kind of waste material,” said Gonnelli. Landfills charge for each yard of waste that is collected and are required to pay taxes where it is dumped. He added that the developer has the ability to take in 150,000 yards this year and expects they will ask Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to increase that number to 250,000 yards, which if approved could translate to $250,000 for the town.
“If we had known about it back when it started it could have been a much bigger number…This should have happened a long time ago,” said Gonnelli. Town Administrator David Drumeler said that rather than debate the fees that could be assessed, the developer agreed to the contract in order to be a good neighbor.
The Malanka landfill was active in the early 1960s and 1970s. Since 2000, the developer has been filling the site – which is located next to Secaucus Junction, east of Laurel Hill Park – as part of a remediation process that is being monitored by the Department of Environmental Protection towards the goal of closing the landfill.
Which is good news, Drumeler said, because the landfill once closed will be a taxpaying and viable piece of property.
Improving parks and playgrounds
Residents will see ongoing improvements to parks and public areas throughout town. The mayor and council approved a resolution to apply for a grant from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions in the amount of $9,375 to update the recreation and open space plan.
“This would be a grant to offset the engineering fee to upgrade and formalize our parks plan,” said Town Administrator David Drumeler before the meeting. He said engineers will conduct an assessment of all of the town’s parks to ensure that they are included in the plan and that the age and size of each park is accurately reflected.
Among the park improvements, the town plans to build a new playground at Trolley Park after PSE&G completes work in the area. The mayor and council unanimously approved a resolution to enter into a lease of the park property with PSE&G for their construction work to bring power from Bergen County to Secaucus. The company is tunneling under the Hackensack River at the end of Paterson Plank Road, which separates the two counties. The town expects the company to fully restore the area after work has been completed and to provide up to $25,000 for a new playground.
Other parks projects include the completion of a new playground at Mill Creek Point, which also has a dog park, a meditation garden behind the Recreation Center is in progress, and plans to plant new willow trees. New fencing is also going up around the swimming pool.
Residents can also have trees planted at curbside for $200 by calling Town Hall.
Landscaping islands
“We are focusing our efforts on trying to make the downtown more aesthetically pleasing,” said Gonnelli. The town has made strides to upgrade the town center by adding a clock and a gazebo, planted tulips for the spring as well as adding landscaped islands. He said the efforts to beautify the town have led to new businesses that have filled in vacant storefronts.
Councilman James Clancy said that the town and Assemblyman Vincent Prieto planned to meet with the state Department of Transportation last Friday to request that the town take over the upkeep of island areas that have been neglected.
The effort is to keep entrance points into Secaucus clean, especially near Route 3 and Paterson Plank Road. Clancy said the town also intends to ask for 100 trees to be planted on the islands to act as buffers.
“We are focusing our efforts on trying to make the downtown more aesthetically pleasing.” – Mayor Michael Gonnelli
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Presentations and Awards
The mayor and council recognized Tony Ann Fajardo, a high school senior, for being named one of the Comcast Foundation 2012 Leaders and Achievers scholarship winners. She received the award for her academic excellence as well as civic engagement.
They also presented Victor Paparrazo, CEO of Toscana Cheese Company, with a plaque for the company’s contributions to the Secaucus food pantry. The company makes close to 50,000 pounds of cheese a day and donates 500 pounds a month to the town. Gonnelli said that last week the company had an overrun of 1,200 pounds of little mozzarella balls and the town distributed the balls to seven shelters throughout Bergen and Hudson Counties.
SIDEBAR: Awareness of car jacking
Resident Safety Measures
Councilman Gary Jeffas advised residents to stay alert given the recent increase in car jackings throughout Hudson County. A woman and her children had their car stolen last month at gunpoint in an isolated area of Secaucus. Jeffas told residents to avoid high crime areas, lesser-traveled roads, intersections with required stops, and isolated parking lots. He said car jackers often bump a car from behind or simulate an accident and then attempt to steal the vehicle when the passenger gets out. Residents should stay in their car and call the police if they see someone stranded on the side of the road or if bumped from behind and to be conscious of their surroundings at all times.
Adriana Rambay Fernández can be reached at afernandez@hudsonreporter.com.