The Alternative Press

FAIRFIELD, NJ - Lowering the Passaic River level to lessen residential flooding topped the agenda, along with a discussion over the redesign of Hollywood Park, when the the Fairfield Mayor and Council met on Wednesday. Both projects are not expected to increase taxes to Borough residents and business properties.

Mayor James Gasparini opened a discussion on the Passaic River by referencing the long delay in the Army Corps of Engineers forthcoming study on the river. The town has received the latest river modeling program from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the mayor would like to hire a consulting firm to work with Township Engineer Lawrence Gonnello, to see if scenarios based on the model could be developed all in an effort to lower the river level in Fairfield.


Passaic River encroaching upon the river bank.  
Credit: Carolyne Curley

“I feel that this is the number one issue affecting our community,” commented Gasparini to TAP. “And as I have been saying all along I will not and have not stopped seeking solutions for this quality of life issue. This next step, in my opinion, could open the door to various scenarios for lowering the level of the river. Any amount that the river can be lowered will have a dramatic effect on people's lives and property.”


Passaic River taken from the Lincoln Park perspective at Two Bridges Road looking into Fairfield.  Credit: Carolyne Curley

Storm Water Management Consulting is highly regarded as an expert by the NJ DEP as a professional resource for water engineering services including drainage engineering. The mayor is recommending that the council approve a contract with SWM Consultants not to exceed $9800; the contract would require up to 60 hours of work. The mayor believes this study will speed up the process with the Army Corps of Engineers by pointing out areas of improvement that would have a positive impact on the residents of Fairfield.

“You lower the river in Fairfield by a foot or two and that’s major; that’s a major, major thing probably affecting 95 percent of the people,” expressed Gasparini.


Bridge gate always at the ready in order to close the bridge at
times of flooding.  Credit: Carolyne Curley


In other business, Gasparini discussed his hopes for securing an architect to redesign the Hollywood Avenue Park. “I’ll make the same promise I made as when we built the turf field, they’ll be no increase in taxes to the community, to the township residents, or the commercial side,” promised the mayor. “We’ll do it with money that we have and grants that we can get. I want to put everybody at ease that it’s not going to hit their pocketbooks, but they are going to be able to reap the benefits.”

Many improvements have already been made at the park:


Turf  Credit: Carolyne Curley


Batting Cage  Credit: Carolyne Curley


But throughout the park, however, there are clear signs of decay:


Busy Hands Building  Credit: Carolyne Curley


Busy Hands Building  Credit: Carolyne Curley


Busy Hands Building  Credit: Carolyne Curley


Restrooms Building  Credit: Carolyne Curley


Restrooms Building  Credit: Carolyne Curley


Restrooms Building  Credit: Carolyne Curley


Recreation house appears sound at first look but inside there are clear signs of rotting. Credit: Carolyne Curley


Flooring inside Recreation House  Credit: Carolyne Curley


Van Dessel House  Credit: Carolyne Curley


Van Dessel House  Credit: Carolyne Curley

Gasparini will seek to improve the areas of the park that are most in need of repair through available government grants and other sources of funding.


Councilman Joseph Cifelli was not able to attend the meeting, Mayor James Gasparini said, because of a previous scheduling conflict: “I moved the meeting back to 6pm, not his fault.”

Earlier in the meeting, the following issues were discussed:

Police

• The mayor commented that the Fairfield Police Department is currently advertising to hire two Certified Patrolmen; (all information found here); the application process will be completed by March 8.
   
• The police department is also looking into purchasing two new fleet vehicles.

Municipal Alliance

• The mayor reported that the township received a letter from Essex County reporting that the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse awarded the township $56,000 for their Municipal Alliance Program.
   
• Later, Councilman Thomas J. Morgan discussed two upcoming events which will be hosted by the Municipal Alliance Committee:
  March 14, St. Patrick’s Day Dance
  As well as the Devil’s Night, open to all residents, “if you’re interested in hockey this is your golden opportunity,” said Morgan and instructed interested parties to see Denise.

Fire Department

• Michael Boettinger is seeking a volunteer position with the Fairfield Fire Department. In this regards, Council President Michael McGlynn commented “I want to thank him for stepping forward and serving the community; without people like Michael we wouldn’t have a department. I wish him well. I would like to encourage young people in our community to come forward and serve also.”
   
• Later, Morgan remarked on the department, “I think it’s very important in this township. We use volunteers to the best of our ability to reduce the costs. New members don’t seem to be coming in like they used to years ago; we need to advertise the fact that young people are welcome.”

Recreation Department
Councilman John LaForgia reported on upcoming events with the Recreation Department:

• March 1
  Deadline for 2013 Baseball / Softball Registration (full information found here)
   
• March 14 
  Mandatory Concussion Testing 
  Stevenson School
   
• March 20, 7pm
  Open House to meet with parents, seniors, and any residents interested in knowing more about the policies and functions of the department.
   
• March 30
  Easter Egg Hunt
   
• Morgan also added that residents should save money by signing up early for the township pool. All pool information can be found here.

Department of Public Works

• Ronald Karl, CPWM, Director of Public Works for the Township will be retiring and Robert Payne, currently the DPW’s head of the Road Division, will be new director
   
• “I wish Karl much health and happiness; he’s been a tremendous asset,” commented Gasparini. “Bobby’s been with the town for 18 plus years, started in the parks department. I gotta say he’s a very dedicated, loyal employee; his work ethic is beyond reproach. He’s knowledgeable and he’ll do a fine job. I’m happy to see him get to this position.”

Annual Audit

• Business Administrator Joseph Catenero reflected on the completed audit, “Having presided over this audit, along with our auditors, I want to commend the staff and everyone involved in ensuring that this past year was another very, very successful one.
  
  “For those not familiar with the process,” continued Catenaro, “every check, every transaction every bid spec that’s put out, every contract that’s let, at the end of the year we have an audit to make sure we’re in compliance, and with the thousands and thousands of transactions that have taken place, with rare exception they are done perfectly and the audit reflected that.”  
  
  “So I want to commend all the employees on making sure this township is in very, very good stead with respect to this audit,” he added.

Sewer Rate Increase

• Due to mandatory requirements from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection requiring that the Two Bridges Sewerage Authority performs upgrades, the Borough found it necessary to increase the sewer rate for the coming year.
   
• Several members of the governing body spoke to explain the process:
  “I know that it’s a pass-along, and I just don’t want it to be viewed upon as something that we don’t look at, or we don’t consider, or we don’t question,” commented McGlynn. ”We do question, we do look at, and we are being prudent in seeing what the sewer department is doing, why and how, and we have them come here from time to time to speak on what’s going on in within the agency itself.”  He added, “I don’t want it to look like we just accept the pass-along, and we just pass it on to everybody and that’s it; that’s not the case.”
  
  “Absolutely,” agreed Gasparini. “As a matter of fact we appoint two members to that board; we are all partners in that sewage authority and they do an excellent job and are very efficient.” He continued, “When we take tours of the plant itself, there are very few employees there. So it’s really not the cost of personnel that drives up these rates, it’s the mandates and all the standards that have to be met.”
  
  Business Administrator Joe Catenaro “This Sewer Authority is a not-for-profit organization, it’s not like it’s a business entity. We are part owners of the authority and the only monies that are ever collected or charged are monies necessary to operate,” explained Catenaro  “So there’s no profit incentive and no benefit to the authority to charge anything more than they absolutely need to run the place.“

Golden Agers

• Catenaro reported on the Golden Agers, commenting that they are looking into information on buying a new bus to minimizing the costs of their trips and they are also seeking ways for seniors to receive income tax preparation at no cost.

The next meeting of the governing body will be at the same earlier time, 6pm, on Monday March 11.

For further information:
Township of Fairfield
Mayor: James Gasparini
230 Fairfield Road
Fairfield, NJ  07004
973-882-2700
Website