Council rejects $200K for land near firehouse
Two vote against party mates due to unknown costs
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer
Asplit Sayreville Borough Council voted this week against a $200,000 bond that would allow it to acquire land for parking and congestion relief around a borough firehouse.

Monday's vote marked the first time since the Democrats took control of all six seats on the council last January that the council did not vote unanimously on an ordinance.

The council did not have enough votes in favor of the bond ordinance for the acquisition of the property adjacent to Melrose Hose Company No. 1, which had sought the extra land for parking. It remains possible that the council will move forward with the project next year.

The vote was 3-2 in favor of the bond, but approval would have required two-thirds of the council members present to vote in favor of it.

The proposal was to buy the land, demolish the house currently located there, and construct a parking lot for first responders and visiting organizations that hold meetings in the building, Borough Business Administrator Jeffry Bertrand said. The project was pursued in an effort to alleviate congestion, which is a frequent complaint of residents who live in that neighborhood, he added.

The bonding was strictly for the cost of acquisition, according to Bertrand. He said it would cost an estimated $15,000 to tear down the house. The cost of building the parking lot and adding lighting and fencing is still being estimated, he added.

Borough Attorney Brian Hak said his office is in the process of conducting a title search to ensure that the borough would get clear title to the property upon purchasing it.

At the Nov. 19 council meeting, George Gawron, president of Melrose Hose Company No. 1, said that the fire company's building sits in the middle of a residential neighborhood and hosts several outside organizations

"There is no place for the membership to park," Gawron said. "It delays our response time."

At that meeting, Bertrand said the property at 255 Oak St. has a myriad of code violations and zoning issues to be dealt with.

"We're in very good shape to take ownership," Bertrand said at the meeting in November.

Democratic Councilman Daniel Buchanan said at the Dec. 10 meeting that council members should not bond for the acquisition of the property until they are sure that lighting anticipated for the parking lot is not going to become a nuisance to neighbors.

Democratic Councilman Dennis Grobelny said the majority of residents who live in the area of the firehouse are in favor of building a parking lot there.

"If we don't move forward, someone else could move on this property," Grobelny said.

Grobelny voted in favor of the ordinance, along with councilmen Stanley Drwal and Rory Zach.

Buchanan and Council President Thomas Pollando voted against it. Pollando said he would like to know the additional costs involved in the project before voting in favor of it.

Zach said that now would be the opportune time to move on this.

"I think this is a good investment for the future of the neighborhood. Even if down the road it is no longer a firehouse, it is a worthwhile project," Zach said.

Hak said the borough can still potentially purchase the property, but it can no longer bond for it in light of Monday's vote.

Republican Mayor Kennedy O'Brien asked Buchanan and Pollando if their votes against the bond were affected by the fact that the house that would be knocked down is the former home of state Assemblyman and Sayreville Democratic Party Chairman John Wisniewski's grandparents.

Buchanan said the former owners had no impact on his vote.

He said that while he sees a need for the parking lot, he did not want to vote on the bond until the financial impact and the effect on surrounding residents was better understood.

Wisniewski told the Suburban that his grandparents owned the house 25 years ago. He added that he shares the concerns of Buchanan and Pollando regarding the final cost of the project.

"I have an opinion about the acquisition of the property, because I think it is an extravagant waste of taxpayer dollars," Wisniewski said.

Pollando said the question of the eventual costs is the reason for his vote against bonding for the land acquisition.

"This could run over $300,000," Pollando said.

The borough would incur additional costs even if its own employees built the parking lot, he said. The borough employees would be paid on an hourly basis for their labor, and the cost of materials would still have an impact.

"I'm not saying that I wouldn't do it," Pollando said. "I'm saying that before we do it, I want to know what the cost is. It wasn't until the night that the firemen came that we knew that we [could] do this. Does the mayor know what the cost is? No. Does the business administrator know what the cost is? No."

O'Brien, who supports the acquisition, expressed frustration with Monday's vote, and said the councilmen who voted against the ordinance should have voiced their concerns earlier in the process.

"Everybody voted unanimously when all the firemen were present, but in a sparsely attended meeting and a lame-duck session, the two outgoing officials voted against it," O'Brien said. "I find it unacceptable and shameful, and they owe every fireman an apology."

O'Brien said the home that would be demolished is in poor condition.

"The house was in a state of complete disrepair," O'Brien said. "It was uninhabitable by human beings. It was in foreclosure, and we were buying it in foreclosure."

Pollando responded to O'Brien's comments later.

"It's shameful if we're willing to spend money without knowing what our bottom line is, and when we do things like that, we have to consider all of Sayreville and not just one part," Pollando said.

All members of the council support the fire department, he said.

"When it comes to the safety of residents in Sayreville, we do it in a heartbeat," Pollando said.

"If the mayor is saying we have been talking about this for six months, he is our fearless leader," Pollando added. "Why didn't he ask what the cost would be?"

Buchanan raised similar concerns.

"My personal feeling is we should not be governing based on who owns property and who doesn't," Buchanan said. "The mayor didn't want to preserve open space [elsewhere in the borough], because the Karcher family owned it. The mayor does want to build an extravagant parking lot, and that is not how we should be governing."

Buchanan noted that the $15,000 cost of knocking down the structure is only an estimate. The cost of manpower, leveling the grade, lighting, paving, stripping and maintenance are not yet known.

Buchanan said that the borough has other more pressing needs to address. He added that the borough's selected developer for the former National Lead site agreed to contribute to first-responders in the area.

"We don't know what, if anything, will be built," Buchanan said. "A guarantee was made by the developer that they will look at the needs of emergency services when they're developing the area."

Pollando also said that the council should set priorities with its expenditures in light of the need for an additional employee in the public works department and the county's elimination of its salt dome in Sayreville.

"We need to find a new one," Pollando said of the salt dome.

Drwal said the parking lot would help ensure that firefighters who are on call find parking promptly. He added that the firehouse is located in a neighborhood with tight streets.

"I voted yes [to approve bonding] because I have been out there, and there has been a parking problem, for example, even for voting," Drwal said.

Drwal said he does not want the borough to miss another opportunity to buy property at an advantageous time.

"Many times this town bypassed the opportunity to buy properties," Drwal said. "I was on the borderline at first, but it is a necessity to have parking available. I did understand the other side. The cost is always a problem. Again, it's one of those things, when you're in that position, you have to balance the pros and cons. It is close."