Mayor, council disagree on several appointments BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer SAYREVILLE - Borough officials rang in the new year with a contentious round of appointments at the reorganization meeting New Year's Day. Democrats, who held all six Borough Council seats last year, still have a 4-2 majority on the council, and they made their presence felt Tuesday, voting against a number of Republican Mayor Kennedy O'Brien's appointments. Most significant was the mayor's attempted appointment of a borough attorney. O'Brien sought to appoint Christopher Hanlon, of Hanlon & Niemann, Freehold, who is the former attorney of the Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA). O'Brien has raised concerns about the cost of legal services rendered by the borough's current attorney, Brian Hak, of the Parsippanny-based law firm Weiner Lesniak LLP. Democrats attributed the firm's charges to the increased amount of litigation the attorney is handling for the town. The roll call vote on Hanlon's appointment was divided along party lines, similar to other votes on O'Brien's appointments. The four Democrats voted against Hanlon's appointment, and the two new Republican council members voted in favor, resulting in the defeat of the appointment. Democratic Councilman Stanley Drwal later told Greater Media Newspapers that the opposition to the mayor's appointments for legal counsel was in the best interest of the borough's ongoing legal matters. "The borough is in the middle of litigation," Drwal said. "I don't believe it is wise, with as many litigation cases as we currently have [to change firms]." The Democratic majority also overrode the mayor's appointment of the legal firm of McLauglin & Gelson to bond counsel; Frank Bella to the Board of Health; Joseph Bella to representative to the Board of Education; James Russo to the Emergency Management Council; and the appointment of Rosetta Fisher to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Rent Leveling Board. Drwal noted that the Democrats still approved the majority of O'Brien's appointments. "The mayor made in excess of 100 appointments," Drwal said. "The number might be around 110. We only voted no on seven of the approximately 110." Drwal said he preferred not to name specific individuals, but said the Democrats had more qualified candidates in mind for certain roles. "One of those [appointments] was not attending many of the meetings, and in the other case, I and other people received complaints about one of the people not doing a good job. … With the other ones, we simply thought that we had people who are better qualified." Democrats voted to table the appointment of members to the Boat Launch Committee. Democratic Council President Dennis Grobelny made the motion, so that the council can look into consolidating the group with the recreation commission. Drwal voted to table appointments for that committee, saying that the people on it did an excellent job while the ramp was being constructed. "I think it is just time to consolidate it with the recreation committee," Drwal said. Kaiserman voted against tabling the appointments. "The volunteers did a very good job and I would appreciate having them come back on," Kaiserman said. One of the members of the committee, Planning Board Chairman Dr. John Misiewicz, voiced opposition to tabling the appointment later in the meeting. He said it is irresponsible to consolidate the committee and it does "a great disservice to the volunteers who do this committee." Issues related to safety and legality can occupy the committee for several meetings, Misiewicz said. He added that the boat ramp is used every day and its usage continues to increase. "It is more than just giving out permits and checking fees," Misiewicz said. "It was established years ago, because I complained." The council is waiting to hear from the boating community on their preference, Drwal said. "It is the people who are involved that we should listen to," Drwal said. "My preference is to defer to the people involved, who know and use the facility." Siarkiewicz does not think the committees should not be consolidated. "It doesn't cost the taxpayers of Sayreville to have this [committee]," Siarkiewicz said. "They have done an excellent job. I think to get rid of them … it looks to me to be just political." Siarkiewicz said she wants to work with the Democrats to address these and other issues facing the borough. "I'm disappointed that the mayor's agenda with his appointments were not overwhelmingly agreed to," Siarkiewicz said. "They were bipartisan. I was hoping this would have been the turning point and we'd all be working together."