Montclair Township Council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, August 1, at 7 p.m. to appoint a new interim town manager.
The meeting agenda is short with public comment, followed by an executive session and then a resolution appointing an interim township manager.
At the July 18th meeting, where former Montclair township manager and current interim manager Joseph Hartnett was hired, taking over for acting manager Brian Scantlebury, it was discussed that Hartnett would be in the position for only a short period of time. Hartnett would then provide someone for the council to interview and ultimately replace him in the interim manager position.
Multiple unconfirmed reports indicate that person is former Union County manager Michael Lapolla, who served as New Jersey Turnpike executive director under Gov. Corzine.
in 2008, Lapolla then went to Global Via (GVI), an infrastructure group that designs, builds, maintains and operates transportation projects in the United States and around the world. Lapolla is also an attorney.
At that meeting, Third Ward Councilor Lori Price Abrams said any and all of the councilors who wanted to meet a new interim candidate would have the opportunity, in small meetings, if the council didn’t hold a special meeting.
Councilor at Large Robert Russo, who just learned of Tuesday’s special meeting on Friday evening, said no one consulted him and he is out of town.
Councilor at Large Peter Yacobellis shared a mention of the special meeting in an email newsletter to constituents Friday night. A calendar notice, notifying the public of the meeting, was posted to the Township’s website Saturday morning.