Bloomfield Council Fails to Move Hartz Mountain Developer’s Agreement Forward

The Bloomfield council failed to approve the developer’s agreement for the Hartz Mountain site on first reading at last night’s council meeting.

The agreement with 192 Bloomfield Avenue LLC, the developer that had been designated for the property in October 2012, was approved in conference last week without incident in the absence of Mayor McCarthy. However, when the ordinance was moved for approval on first reading at last night’s meeting, McCarthy spoke forcefully against the development, saying he disagreed with putting over 300 residential units in that area.

He said that originally the developer had planned to put in a commercial development, which he said would have been preferable. He then said that the development only changed after Councilman Michael Venezia met with Christian Strumulo, the son of Democratic Party County Committee Chairman Pete Strumulo, and the developer. Venezia recently announced he is running for mayor.

Venezia countered that McCarthy was not providing the full information, and said the mayor had “promised them a Walmart” at that location. He said it would have been a Walmart Supercenter. Councilwoman Peggy Dunigan denied this, saying that the Walmart would have been a “boutique” Walmart, not a Supercenter. Supercenters include a full service grocery store. Venezia then said that the store would have been 75,000 square feet. McCarthy said the development would have included stores such as Modell’s and Home Goods.

The current plan for a mixed-use residential and retail development dates to April of 2012, when the council voted unanimously to rezone the Hartz Mountain property as mixed-use residential. At that time, the property owner cited “sensitivity” to the planned redevelopment of Bloomfield Center, which includes a supermarket, as one of the reasons they were not planning to go forward with a “big box” supermarket at the site.

Councilman Nick Joanow discussed the effect 300 more residential apartments would have, both on the township’s infrastructure and the school system, as well as on the residential units planned for the Bloomfield Center redevelopment, calling it a “competing entity” with the downtown site. He also emphasized that he had called for a full impact study to be conducted on all of the town’s developments, which had not yet gone out for bid. Councilman Carlos Bernard also said he supported an impact study.

The final vote was 4 to 3 against passage of the ordinance, with Mayor McCarthy and council representatives Dunigan, Hamilton and Joanow voting no.

Mayor McCarthy asked Township Administrator Ted Ehrenburg to put discussion of an impact study on the agenda for next week’s conference meeting. Later in the meeting Councilman Hamilton said that the developer’s agreement should be discussed further at the next meeting as well.

During the public comment period, Richard Galioto, Sr., who recently announced he will be running in the Republican primary against fellow Republican Russell Mollica, questioned the mayor and council regarding healthcare benefits, something he had raised at the last regular council meeting. He said he had not been able to get a clear answer on whether Councilman Venezia was receiving benefits from his work with Senator Frank Lautenberg as well as from the township, which Venezia responded to with a flippant remark, which led to raised voices between him and Galioto until Mayor McCarthy rapped his gavel and ended the conversation. Galioto then urged the mayor and council members to eliminate healthcare benefits and save taxpayer dollars. “You’ve got to start thinking outside the box,” he said. McCarthy has not yet announced whether he will seek re-election as mayor.

Details of the ordinance pertaining to camera, recording and cellphone use during meetings, which passed on first reading last night, were clarified prior to the meeting when two members of the public questioned some of the provisions of the ordinance. It was confirmed that the requirement to notify the Municipal Clerk of the intent to photograph or record a meeting 30 minutes before the meeting only pertained to those setting up equipment to photograph or record meetings, and that notification could be by email.

Among the ordinances passing on second reading was the amendment to the sidewalk cafe ordinance that will allow businesses to put out one to two tables for their customers for a fee of only $50, rather than the customary $200 for larger sidewalk cafes.

At the beginning of the meeting, the mood was celebratory as two firemen, Michael Bevins and David Duda, were promoted to Fire Captain, and five members of the police force were also promoted (James Behre to Police Captain; Eugene Motsch to Lieutenant; and Thomas Fano, Michael Moleski and Michael Petronaci, to Sergeant.) The Fire Department unit headed by Captain Duda was also given a commendation.

The next meeting will be a conference meeting to be held on Monday, April 8, 2013, at 7 p.m. in the Mayor’s conference room on the second floor of the Law Enforcement Building.