DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Lackawanna Plaza was back on the Township Council agenda Tuesday night, so it is hereby renamed…
Sincerely,
Site Again in Sight
…Backawanna Plaza.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Whatever. Why did the Council again vote on the Lackawanna redevelopment March 26 after it had already approved the redo 4-2-1 last October?
Sincerely,
Past as Prologue
The 2023 approval sparked two lawsuits after complaints about the project’s too-big size, the Council not heeding the Planning Board’s misgivings, and “yes” voter Peter Yacobellis’ alleged indirect conflict of interest with the developer. For more info, I refer you to Jackson Browne’s song “Lawyers in Love.”
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Is it true that a Council majority doesn’t have a problem with its October vote but wanted to “resolve” the conflict-of-interest allegation now that Yacobellis is no longer a councilor?
Sincerely,
From Out Montclair to Out of Montclair
Seems to at least partly explain the re-vote, which supersedes the previous vote. Yacobellis resigned from the Council soon after last fall’s Lackawanna decision and packed his bags for Washington State, almost causing the Montclair site to be renamed Packawanna.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Even though Yacobellis is now gone, he did have a hand in shaping a Lackawanna plan that was the same this week as it was in October. So, isn’t his alleged indirect conflict of interest still relevant in a way?
Sincerely,
Awana Is Asking
Your question could draw flak, Awana.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Robert Russo also had an indirect possible conflict of interest with the Lackawanna developer, albeit a much more minor one, and remains on the Council. So, was Tuesday’s “problem solving” re-vote in vain?
Sincerely,
Or Was the Re-vote in Montclair?
I’ll reply in two parts. Firstly, Russo abstained on the 4-2-1 Lackawanna vote back in October, while Yacobellis voted “yes.” Not on the agenda was the redevelopment of Halloween, aka Orange-and-Black-awanna.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Last fall’s other Lackawanna “yes” voters were Mayor Spiller, Lori Price Abrams, and Robin Schlager; and the “no” voters were David Cummings and William Hurlock. The second part of your answer?
Sincerely,
Two, Too
Russo recused himself from Tuesday’s 5-1 re-vote on the advice of the township attorney, even though the councilor might’ve voted “no” on Lackawanna — meaning he wouldn’t have been helping the developer with whom he had an indirect possible minor conflict of interest. “It’s Complicated,” to quote the 2009 movie with Meryl Streep, who surprisingly also didn’t vote on Lackawanna.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
A missed opportunity to earn another Oscar. Who voted for what on Tuesday?
Sincerely,
Tally Without Sally
Cummings said “no” again; Spiller, Price Abrams, and Schlager said “yes” again; Yacobellis successor Roger Terry also said “yes”; and Hurlock switched from “no” in October to “yes” this time. At least I think he switched; his voice when voting was so low I also switched…from drinking lemonade to hearingade.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
The Planning Board will now study the Lackawanna plan again. But should Tuesday’s re-vote have been delayed until a more credible new Council is sworn in this July following the May 14 election?
Sincerely,
Waiting for Godot, Who’s Not Running
Yes! After all, only one of the seven Council members (Russo) is seeking reelection, so it will be “A Whole New World” — as in the “Aladdin” song about a flying carpet replacing DeCamp bus service.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
In other municipal news, Montclair made three hires totaling $383,000 in annual salary. Is that taxpayer-funded sum excessive?
Sincerely,
Semper Finances
It is, plus there are questions about the qualifications for their new jobs of at least two of the hires. Maybe all that money is our liberal (?) leaders’ way of remembering Lefty O’Doul’s .383 batting average in 1930; his nickname sounds progressive.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Also, Laura Torchio made an impressive presentation at Tuesday’s Council meeting about the very important local Vision Zero initiative to reduce traffic deaths and increase street safety. Thoughts?
Sincerely,
Mo Torists, Walker Peeps, and Cy Clists
Vision Zero has nothing to do with photos of Zero Mostel.
DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
You don’t say. Re the future new Council, at least three candidate forums have been scheduled. One was yesterday, March 27, for Fourth Ward hopefuls — hosted by that ward’s current councilor Cummings. The other two are for all the candidates, and will include…
Sincerely,
Thrice Pilaf
…an April 7 Montclair Public Library/Montclair Local forum led by library director Janet Torsney, and an April 25 forum hosted by the League of Women Voters in collaboration with the Local, Aging in Montclair, the Montclair NAACP, and AAPI Montclair, but not the dental group Plaque-a-wanna.
Dave Astor, author, is the MontClairVoyant. His opinions about politics and local events are strictly his own and do not represent or reflect the views of Montclair Local.
Dave,
I can’t wait for Peter Yacobellis to fire off another email to us about the criticism he faced when he recklessly shared client-attorney privilege and he now sees Councilor Cummings doing what sounds like the same.
Maybe it is one of the exceptions to privilege where the Ends Justifies The Means? If you’re doing God’s work, then will God really quibble about how?
Thank you for the comment, Frank! There’s room on my 2024 bingo card for one more Peter Yacobellis email. 🙂
The Council tabled during its Jan 30th mtg its approval of the new Employee Handbook until its March 12 mtg. March has come and is about to be gone, but no new Handbook. Maybe they are struggling with the required signed acknowledgements the employees have read the harassment, discrimination, etc policies within. Maybe they needed to revise it to exempt Non-Union Management Salaried positions? Maybe the required training materials haven’t arrived? Let us leave this to the next Council, too.
Frank, the majority of the current Council is too slow on some things and too fast on other things (such as approving possibly “pay to play” contracts with “connected” firms). Just the right speed? Doesn’t happen often enough.
Or, or – maybe the HR Director doesn’t know what the hell she is doing. That’s the same person who told you the Township had no org-chart, right? I have very low expectation of this person.
Thank you for the comment, Wilhelm Keith. There are many appointed municipal officials out there who are skillful, dedicated, and hardworking. Wish Montclair had more of them.
Wilhelm,
HR Director’s absurd claim about the non-existence of the org-chart is galling, but there is a more serious issue with her, I believe. It is the one stemming from the unfortunate and improper hiring of Norma Tassy for the position of Administration Director (de facto second Deputy Manager).
My understanding is that HR Director in such situation has a professional obligation to alert Affirmative Action Officer and/or Council that improper hiring is taking place. I assume she did no such thing, given that the hiring was effectuated. I assume the Council would have raised the issue with Mr. Lapolla had they known about the chasmic discrepancy between the job requirements and Mr. Tassy’s qualifications.
As such, the way I see it, this botched hiring should be lain at the feet of both Mr. Lapolla and Ms. Dawkins. The argument that there were no better candidates cannot be used in defense. Fortunately, one of the residents had the sense to OPRA resumes of other candidates and, as it turns out, there were numerous candidates with ample relevant experience, as in having worked for several years for other municipalities in a similar capacity as the one at hand.
Our government needs directors who have integrity and demonstrated ability. Not those who operate on a CYA basis. I agree with the comentator who said that it is a massive discredit to her that that the employee manual dates back to 2024. She has been at 205 for over six months now, no? That is plenty of time to update the handbook. The idea would be to spell it out in writing to someone like Mr. Lapolla: “no, no, Michael, you are not allowed to treat employees this way.” But, you know, in the absence of employee handbook, perhaps Judge Petrillo will drive the message home. He’s good for that, and thank God he is.
Dave,
I agree 100% with you that there are many directors at 205 who are incredibly skilled and dedicated. Chief Conforti comes to mind. Also Water Bureau Director (name escapes me), the CFO, Carmine DaVino from Code Enforcement, and a few others. Unfortunately, HR Director is not in that category and, based on what I’ve observed and read, I do not see prospects for meaningful improvement. In addition to aforementioned issues, I hear that employee confidentiality has been an ongoing issue and that is completely inexcusable for an HR supervisor. It is little wonder that employees are leaving.
Thank you for the comment, Calvin. Yes, the abilities of appointed municipal officials run the gamut. Unfortunately, some have been chosen — and/or keep their jobs — because of who they know, who they’re willing to do the bidding of, etc.
Correction: Employee handbook dates back to 2004.