The Alternative Press

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Barry Lewis Jr. will begin work on Jan. 30 as the South Orange village administrator after his appointment was approved 6-0 by the Board of Trustees at its meeting Monday night.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the trustees honored the outgoing South Orange Rescue Squad president and chief, and they indicated that an ordinance to create a downtown Special Improvement District would be introduced for first reading at their next meeting.

Trustee Deborah Davis Ford noted that Lewis was the unanimous choice of the trustees after a “transparent and arduous” search process. “We did a thorough, thorough process,” she said. Trustee Michael Goldberg thanked the search committee for its efforts. “I think he’s going to do a fantastic job and look forward to working with him,” Goldberg said.

Lewis previously has been an administrator in Mine Hill, Spring Lake and Mountain Lakes, according to the announcement from village President Alex Torpey. Lewis will replace interim Administrator Reagan Burkholder, who was appointed Sept. 15 after then-Administrator John Gross accepted a similar position in West Orange. Gross continues to serve as the village’s chief financial officer. According to Torpey, Lewis will be paid an annual salary of $147,500.

The trustees recognized Don Boyle, outgoing SORS president, and Kurt Gibson, outgoing SORS captain, for their service. Torpey, who also is a member of the squad, noted that Boyle has served on the squad since 2003 and was directly responsible for saving the life of four individuals. Gibson, who joined the squad in 2005, has directly saved two peoples’ lives. Torpey said that Boyle and Gibson have participated in more than 2,500 emergency calls each.

Although several people spoke against the plan for a Special Improvement District during the public comment period, the trustees decided to move ahead with an ordinance to establish the district. A Special Improvement District oversees downtown development and is funded through a special assessment on businesses in the district.

Elaine Harris, an attorney with a practice in South Orange, told the trustees she believed that they violated state statutes regarding the membership of the SID Advisory Committee. “It is not legally permissible for you to continue on this course of action,” she said. The regulations specify that the majority of members on the committee must be business owners. However, as trustees acknowledged, one business owner appointed to the committee ceased to participate.

Village Counsel Stephen Rother, when asked to weigh in on the issues, said, “I believe that factually and legally … (her statement) is wrong.”

In other action, the board:

• Approved on first reading an ordinance that specifies how much and what kind of bicycle storage multi-family units must provide. The vote was 5-1, with Goldberg voting against the ordinance.
• Referred two vendor bids on installing red-light cameras back to the Public Safety Committee.
• Approved the concept of a “customer service center” for the design of the renovated Village Hall, which would allow residents to receive a number of services at a central location.
• Appointed Stan Wilkinson to information technology manager in the Department of Administration, Revenue and Finance. He had been serving in an interim capacity.