Proposals sought for borough attorney post Council makes annual appointments to boards, commissions BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer SAYREVILLE - Democrats and Republicans on the governing body were able to agree on most appointments to borough boards, commissions and services this year, but disagreed on others. The Democrats, who have a 4-2 majority on the Borough Council, recently made their own appointments to those positions, having disagreed with Republican Mayor Kennedy O'Brien's choices. Notably, O'Brien did not reappoint Borough Attorney Brian Hak, of Weiner Lesniak, LLP, due to concerns about the cost of legal services, which were as high as $62,000 for one month last year. Democrats attribute the high legal bills from Hak's firm to the high number of litigation files that it handles for the borough. Borough Business Administrator Jeffry Bertrand said the borough would issue a request for proposals for law firms, including Weiner Lesniak, to express an interest in providing legal services to the borough. On Feb. 4, Democratic Council President Dennis Grobelny made a motion, calling for the appointment of McCarter & English, LLP, to serve as bond counsel; Republican Councilman David Kaiserman to serve on the Planning Board; Dexter Thomas as member of the Emergency Management Council; and former Councilman Thomas Pollando to sit on the Zoning Board of Adjustment and serve as liaison to the Board of Education. The council voted unanimously to approve Grobelny's appointments, with the exception of Pollando's appointments, which were approved by a majority vote of 3-2 along party lines. Democratic Councilman Rory Zach was absent from that meeting. Republican Councilwoman Paula Siarkiewicz said Pollando told her that he did not want to serve on any boards, but Grobelny responded that Pollando applied for the positions. Siarkiewicz and Kaiserman voted against the appointment of Pollando to the two positions. Resident Nellie Malet expressed frustration at the Democrats' decision to appoint Pollando to the Zoning Board, rather than O'Brien's suggested appointee, Rosetta Fisher. "Rosetta took classes. She is qualified for the Zoning Board," Malet said. "She was doing a good job." Pollando told the Suburban that the Zoning Board has at times struggled to have enough members attend meetings to reach a quorum. "Out of the 12 months, Rosetta missed seven meetings," Pollando said. "That's the real reason she was not appointed. I'm sure that when she was there, she did her job." "[Former Democratic council candidate] Al Cox couldn't commit to it, so I said that I would do that," Pollando added. "I never said to Paula that I didn't want to be on any boards. My comments were that I was not going to run [for council] again." Fisher told the Suburban that she has volunteered for the board, first as an alternate and later as a full-time member, since 2000. She said that before last year, she only missed meetings due to her responsibilities with the National Guard. "I was an alternate for two years and a full member for the last six years, and I only missed time this last year," Fisher said. "The only other time that I missed time from the board was [when I was] doing military maneuvers." Many boards and commissions cancel meetings due to the fact that there are not enough members for a quorum, Fisher said. She said she thinks that the criticism was unfair and politically motivated, as she is a Republican and a supporter of O'Brien. "Politics is rearing its ugly head again," Fisher said. O'Brien said Fisher is not the issue, and he focused his comments on the importance of volunteerism. He said he made his appointments in January in an attempt to bring new blood to some of the boards and commissions. "I'm grateful for anybody who volunteers to serve on a board or commission," O'Brien said. The Democrats appointed Pollando as a full member of the Zoning Board rather than an alternate, O'Brien noted, adding that he originally attempted to appoint Pollando as an alternate member of the board. "The key thing is that Mr. Pollando requested an appointment to the Zoning Board, and I respected his request."