The County Board of Freeholders postponed a vote last week on seven nominations that were made to their Open Space Advisory Board, after some questioned details of their selection.
Although the freeholders had the power to vote on each candidate independently, the board chose to hold up all the nominations until Secaucus and Hoboken could respond. To fill the board, the county had asked the mayors of each municipality to make an appointment.Hoboken/Jersey City Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons raised objections because the nomination submitted from Hoboken appeared not to meet the specializations of the last two niches, and he felt that Hoboken would be left off the committee.
“Because Secaucus and Hoboken [gave their nominations] last, those seats had to be either a businessperson or a conservationist,” said County Executive Tom DeGise.
County Administrator Abe Antun said the county is reviewing the candidate proposed by Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts to see if the person meets the criteria.
Bayonne Freeholder Barry Dugan supported some of Fitzgibbons’ concerns, saying that while Bayonne was well represented on this committee with two appointees, Bayonne has been left out of many other key boards such as the Schools of Technology and the County’s Planning Board. Looking for open space
Mayor Roberts had nominated Hidie Conlin, a member of the Hoboken Family Alliance.
“I’m very impressed with her,” DeGise said. “She has very good credentials. But this means that [since she fills the conservationist spot], the person from Secaucus will have to be a businessperson.”
Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell said he had originally proposed Tom Calvanico for the position, but Calvanico – former executive director of the Hudson County Improvement Authority – has recently taken up a new post with the county that would not allow him to also serve on the committee.
“I spoke with Capt. Bill Sheehan [the Hackensack Riverkeeper] and he would like to sit on the committee, but since we need a businessperson, I have to select someone else,” Elwell said during a telephone interview.
During the meeting, Freeholder Bill O’Dea questioned the Parks and Recreation slot, which has been designated for Bobbie Morgan of Jersey City, asking if Morgan met the criteria.
“We have not seen the qualifications, so we do not know if this person meets them,” O’Dea said. “There are a number of people in Jersey City that could be appointed, and I believe [Freeholders Radames Velasquez and Jeff] Dublin and I could sit down and come up with some names.”
This may have been a political jab at Morgan – since Morgan ran against Dublin (an O’Dea ally) for the Freeholder seat.
DeGise, chuckling over the question, suggested that Dublin got the more influential seats when being selected as freeholder.
“Maybe Jeff would like to switch places with Bobbie,” DeGise suggested humorously. Not enough seats to go around
Dugan said it was difficult being fair to all the municipalities because there are 12 towns and only nine seats on the committee, four of which must be filled by county officials.
Nominated for the latter are Thomas McCann of Jersey City, Stephen Marks of Kearny, Jacob De Lemos of Union City and William LaRosa of Bayonne.
Henry Sanchez of Bayonne is nominated to fill the seat dedicated for someone with experience in historic preservation.
Last year, the voters approved a referendum that would allow the county to impose a tax for the purchase of land and upgrade of open space throughout the county. Earlier this year, the freeholders voted to approve a one cent per $100 of assessed value tax on a home, a measure that is expected to generate about $2.9 million in revenue. The state Green Acres program would match the county three to one.
DeGise said he wants to double the amount of park space in the county’s municipalities, excluding Liberty State Park in Jersey City, and to create walkways along the Hackensack and Passaic rivers in the western part of the county that would be similar to the one being built along the Hudson River.
The nine-member committee will oversee the implementation of the programs.
Roberts said the nomination of Conlin fit in with these plans since the Hoboken Family Alliance has taken an active role in seeking to implement aspects of the city’s master plan for open space.
“The Alliance members met with city planners and public officials to look how we can do that,” Roberts said, noting in particular two possible parks, one at 800 Jackson St. and another at 1600 Park Ave. in Hoboken. Those properties are presently owned by private developers with whom Roberts has met.