2017 Municipal Reorganization Meeting

The 117th governing body of Roselle Park had two new councilmembers join the dais – Fourth Ward Councilman Michael Connelly and Third Ward Councilman William Fahoury. What started out as a council that maintained a 4-2 Democratic majority ended with First Ward Councilman Eugene Meola declaring himself a registered Independent, changing council’s make-up to 3-2-1. Mayor Carl Hokanson is a registered Democrat.

The meeting started with Deacon Dave Farrell from the Church of the Assumption giving the invocation with Mr. James Vigliotti once again singing the National Anthem. Outgoing Councilman Ryan Kelly was not in attendance due to the responsibilities associated with his newborn son but Mayor Hokanson read his final remarks on the record. Councilman Mohamed ‘Gino’ Elmarassy gave his short farewell address in person. The oaths of office were given to both new councilmembers and the roll call for the 2017 governing body was conducted.

Mayor Hokanson gave his annual address (link). Despite the mayor’s speech which included the need for unity, the very first appointment – that of council president – showed a rift in the governing body that became apparent as the meeting progressed. For the past two years, Councilwoman-At-Large Charlene Storey was appointed council president. Due to issues that had the mayor and councilwoman at odds, most notably the Kneeling Solider At Cross memorial, Mayor Hokanson recommended that Second Ward Councilman Joseph Petrosky be selected as the council president. Councilman Meola amended the motion, seconded by Councilwoman Storey, to have Fifth Ward Councilman Thomas ‘Thos’ Shipley elected into that position. By a 4-2 vote with only Councilmen Connelly and Petrosky voting ‘no’, Councilman Shipley was made council president.

A major protocol that was not followed in this first meeting of the year was that the first public comment portion of the meeting was absent from the agenda.

After remarks from council, the appointments of committees for the governing body were read by Borough Clerk Doreen Cali for the four (4) components of local government: public safety, municipal services, finance, and public services. The first change was when Mayor Hokanson stated that First Aid, even though it was listed as being appointed to Councilman Connelly, was to be given to Councilman Shipley. The appointments gave chair positions to senior members of the governing body except Councilman Meola. Additionally, first-year Councilman Fahoury was appointed to three (3) committees – the most of any member of the governing body – while new Councilman Connelly only had one appointment to a committee.

2017 Appointments (Council Committees)

The next order of business was the unanimous approval of the municipal by-laws by council.

Then came the nomination and confirmation of the 2017 borough board & committee appointments for nine (9) committees. Usually voted on with one vote, Councilwoman Storey made a motion to confirm appointments individually, seconded by Councilman Meola.

2017 Appointments (Emergency Management)

2017 Appointments (Fire Department Officers)

2017 Appointments (Fire Prevention Bureau)

The appointments were to be read by groups but Mayor Hokanson stated as he looked around the dais, “Do you just want to cut to the chase and go to the meat of the bone? Who do you want to pull? Instead of wasting time.”

With that, Councilwoman Storey stated she wanted to pull the Board Of Health, a committee in which she was appointed as the council representative. She said, “I had no knowledge of being . . . there was no discussion of my being appointed to that. I don’t have the expertise or the knowledge to be in that position. I think somebody who had that knowledge and expertise should take it.”

Mayor Hokanson stated there was a conflict of interest for him. With no one else on council volunteering, the councilwoman stated, “I will accept it for now but I think we need to discuss more qualified candidates for the future.”

2017 Appointments (Board Of Health)

The very next appointment, the Community Center Committee, had Councilwoman Storey amending the appointment of Councilman Petrosky as the council representative to have Councilman Fahoury appointed to the position.

It was then that Borough Attorney Richard Huxford commented, “Mayor if I could intervene for a second. It’s a mayoral appointment so only the mayor has the power to appoint this position . . . [The] mayor nominates. Council confirms. They don’t need to confirm someone but they don’t have the power, at this point and time, to change a name. The mayor can change the name but council, as of right now, presently, doesn’t have that power.”

Councilwoman Storey then asked, “We have the power to vote it down?”

“Absolutely,” responded Mr. Huxford.

The councilwoman remarked, “Okay. My misunderstanding.”

The mayor, clearly confused and frustrated, added, “So where we going?”

Mr. Huxford responded, “It’s my understanding that the council representatives request that Councilman Petrosky not be approved so I would recommend that the first five people be voted on and then the council representative be voted on separately.”

The other members of the committee were voted on and approved unanimously. The vote was then taken for the council representative and it was defeated, again, with the same 4-2 vote count as before. With an open appointment, Mayor Hokanson – as is his legal right – was left to make another appointment. He appointed Councilman Fahoury who was, surprisingly, approved unanimously by council.

2017 Appointments (Community Center Committee)

“Now the biggie,” remarked Mayor Hokanson, “Joint Sewer.”

The appointment had Mayor Hokanson on the Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties (JMEUC) for a third year along with Councilman Petrosky acting as the alternate. This was defeated by the 4-2 vote. Mayor Hokanson then recommended Councilman Shipley who responded with no reason or explanation, “I have to decline.”

Mayor Hokanson then conceded in exasperation, “All right, let’s just get to [it]. I recommend Eugene Meola!”

With the now familiar 4-2 vote, Councilman Meola was appointed to the JMEUC. Councilman Fahoury was unanimously appointed as the alternate.

(NOTE: A separate article will be forthcoming providing details on the significance of this appointment that has been given to elected officials along with the accompanying $6,400+ annual stipend.)

2017 Appointments (Joint Sewer Representative)

The remaining three appointments were approved with no changes even though no one on council asked if Councilwoman Storey serving on the Library Board of Trustees is a conflict of interest due to her litigation against the borough regarding the Kneeling Soldier At Cross memorial that was installed – then removed – from the front of the library. Even though the library was not specifically named, the possibility that members of the Library Board might be called to testify where Mrs. Storey would be the plaintiff was never addressed.

2017 Appointments (Library Board)

2017 Appointments (Morses Creek Flood Control)

2017 Appointments (Police Doctor / Panel Physician)

One appointment that was missing was that of a representative to the Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority (RVSA). Councilman Connelly was appointed last year after Roselle Park News revealed that the appointment of Councilwoman Storey had a conflict in the meetings of the RVSA and Mayor & Council meetings. Now that he himself is a councilman, another person should have been appointed to fulfill the unexpired term. The major differences between the appointment to the RVSA and the JMEUC is that the RVSA representative receives a smaller stipend of $600 a year and has almost always been given to a resident.

The following mayoral appointments of 19 committees were approved with no changes since they do not require council approval. The only omission is that the Diversity Committee* has no council liaison.

2017 Appointments (Arts Council)

2017 Appointments (Animal Control Bureau)

2017 Appointments (BOE Council Liaison)

2017 Appointments (Clean Communities)

2017 Appointments (Community Development Committee)

2017 Appointments (Diversity Committee)

2017 Appointments (Environmental Commission)

2017 Appointments (Events Liaisons)

2017 Appointments (Borough Historian)

2017 Appointments (Keeper of Kelly-Kaulfers ad hoc Committee)

2017 Appointments (Matron)

2017 Appointments (Municipal Land Use Board)

2017 Appointments (Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority)

2017 Appointments (Solid Waste Advisory Council)

2017 Appointments (Street Lighting Committee)

2017 Appointments (Town Crier)

2017 Appointments (County Transportation Advisory Committee)

2017 Appointments (Youth Center Council Liaison)

2017 Appointments (Youth Center ad hoc Advisory Committee)

The final order of official business from the governing body for the reorganization meeting was the voting on 37 resolutions. These include the appointments of professional service providers and the authorizing of required responsibilities from the municipality. The only three (3) resolutions that were pulled were for the appointments of Labor Attorney (2-17), Municipal Prosecutor (3-17), and Clean Communities Coordinator (6-17).

(NOTE: Separate upcoming articles will detail issues with the appointments of each of the pulled resolutions.)

The first resolution pulled had council appoint Ken Davie from the law firm of Cifelli & Davie as the Municipal Labor Attorney. This was done by the same 4-2 vote as previously contested appointments upon the recommendation of Councilman Shipley for the same $135/hour rate charged by the firm listed on the agenda – Garrubbo & Capece. The appointment was made against the advice of the Borough Attorney who stated that along with proper protocol and law not being followed, Cifelli & Davie did not submit a Request For Proposal (RFP) bid. Another point of interest is that this firm was used by Borough Clerk Doreen Cali in her grievance against the municipality regarding her claim to lower health benefit contributions last year (link).

The next resolution had council appoint Richard Huxford as the municipal prosecutor as well as the borough attorney. Mr. Huxford had served in both capacities up until 2015 when council voted to appoint Mr. Huegel. Mr. Huxford performed the duties of prosecutor for $0 as part of the $50,000 fee for borough attorney. Mr. Huegel was paid $15,000 each year since 2015 as municipal prosecutor. This year, Mayor Hokanson stated that even though there was nothing illegal or prohibitive in appointing one person to both positions, he gave an ambiguous reason of an unnamed lawyer who told him as well as other councilmembers that it could cause a conflict of interest. Additionally, Mayor Hokanson stated that it might cost the borough money if there was an incident where Mr. Huxford could not prosecute someone due to a conflict of interest. The mayor did not note nor state that an alternate municipal prosecutor was appointed that evening who would cover for Mr. Huxford in such an instances and that there would be no charge to the borough for that service. (link 1) (link 2) (link 3)

The final resolution had the Clean Communities Coordinator position given to Michele McGlynn, a member of a volunteer group that has gone around town cleaning up the borough since fall of last year at no cost to taxpayers. The position was listed as going to Roselle Park Democratic Committee (RPDC) Chair Dan Petrosky even though Mr. Petrosky – among other things – was so delinquent in properly filing required paperwork for the state program that it jeopardized funding.

One noticeable decrease came from the Borough Auditor, Samuel Klein & Company. The firm charged less this year than it did in 2016 for almost all of its services.

The meeting ended with a closing prayer by Pastor Manuel Cruz, Jr. from the Community United Methodist Church. Mr. Vigliotti, who usually leads those in attendance with a rendition of “God Bless America”, was feeling a little under the weather and left earlier in the meeting.

The next Mayor & Council meeting is scheduled to be January 19, 2017 at 7 p.m.

2017 Appointments (Professional Services)

(*NOTE: Saul Qersdyn, publisher of Roselle Park News, is a member of the Roselle Park Diversity Committee)