After five years on the drawing board, a linear park finally may get built at the Modera apartment complex on Speedwell Avenue.
On Tuesday the Morristown council unanimously approved an $818,000 bid by Ralph Checchio Inc. of Scotch Plains to construct the park, with completion targeted for spring 2021.
The governing body also heard a pair of pandemic pleas–from a restaurateur seeking support for a proposed state law to allow sales of wine and beer, and from a proponent of backyard chicken coops, on behalf of a resident who claims egg-laying hens will feed his family if he’s laid off.
Council members also voted to accept a $480,000 Morris County historic preservation grant to help buy the Morristown Post Office; the grant gives the town two years to close the deal.
A pay-by-phone parking app was announced, too. Look for the Morristown Parking Authority to roll it out in mid-November.
And Mayor Tim Dougherty, who canceled a weekend Trunk-or-Treat event amid rising coronavirus cases, prescribed caution and cleverness for Halloween. He cited an unnamed person who planned to maintain social distancing by shooting candy into kids’ bags from a long PVC pipe.
PASSIVE PARK, AGGRESSIVE OPPOSITION
Council members praised town Administrator Jillian Barrick after her virtual presentation about the linear park, a 0.7-acre sliver bounded by Speedwell, Prospect Street and Clinton Place that will include benches, picnic tables, a kiddie slide and a grassy hillside.
But the project drew fire from attorney Linda Cahn, a developer who is suing the town over a disputed easement to the park. She claimed the plan violates four prior redevelopment approvals, increasing the town’s liability with a park entrance inferior to the one her husband, Paul Marshall, had proposed.
Cahn listed other grievances in a letter to town officials earlier in the day. Marshall logged into Tuesday’s Zoom session to accuse the town of stonewalling his request for public documents. The couple contended residents were not given time to review the park plan before the council vote.
But the plan was posted on the town website for weeks, and residents gave input at a virtual presentation in June, countered Barrick. Town Attorney Vij Pawar reiterated his contention that the “frivolous” lawsuit will be dismissed in federal court.
After seeking clarification about the park’s funding, Councilman Robert Iannaccone, a lawyer, said he was eager for the project to proceed. Regarding the disputed easement, he added: “That’s why we have courts.”
The park initially was pitched as a $1 million amenity of the Modera 44 and Modera 55 apartments, pieces of a multi-phase redevelopment of Speedwell Avenue.
Morristown and Modera developer Mill Creek Residential agreed to split the park’s cost, with Mill Creek adding $50,000 for on-site art.
Public workshops were led by landscape architect Ken Smith of Ken Smith Workshop in 2016, and Smith’s design went out for bids last year. When contractors responded with bids exceeding $1 million, the town asked Smith SALT Design Studios to scale down the design.
Checchio’s bid bested one by V & K Construction Inc. by about $75,000.
Mill Creek had been scheduled to defer half of its $500,000 obligation for a few years. In lieu of that payment, the developer has performed grading and seeding of the tract as an in-kind contribution, and added $100,000 toward maintenance of the park, Barrick said,.
This adds up to more than $500,000 from Mill Creek, by her calculations.
“It should be a great park when it’s completed,” Barrick said.
“I’m looking forward to another amazing park,” echoed Mayor Dougherty.
IN OTHER BUSINESS
Leia Gaccione, owner of the south + pine american eatery, said New Jersey’s “antiquated, anti-competitive” liquor license laws are harming restaurants already reeling from COVID shutdowns.
“Thirty-five percent of restaurants in New Jersey already are closed permanently during the pandemic,” said Gaccione, urging the council to support legislation to enable restaurants to serve beer, wine and cider without costly licenses.
Otherwise, she warned, Morristown’s downtown could become a sea of “for lease signs.”
Gwen Baile of Camden County Chickens and Therapy Hens extolled the benefits of backyard coops, saying they have posed no problems elsewhere in Jersey. Nine towns have established “backyard chicken advisory boards,” similar to shade tree commissions, to regulate hen-raising, she said.
Her pitch was for Peter Sudol, who is fighting to update a 1980 ordinance so he can keep four hens in his small yard on Catherine Lane.
“If I lose my job a second time this year, I know my family won’t starve,” Sudol told the council.
Masks also prompted animated discussion. The mayor said he walked out of an establishment because a patron was mask-less, prompting council Vice President Toshiba Foster to ask whether residents should confront people who refuse to mask up.
Better to raise concerns with restaurant management, Dougherty said.
“You can always contact the police department,” added Pawar, the town attorney, reminding the public that restaurant capacity and indoor masks are mandated by executive orders from Gov. Phil Murphy.
Sandi Mayer, meanwhile, beseeched residents to stop stealing campaign signs from each other’s lawns.
The mayor predicted a quieter Halloween.
“Kids can get COVID, too. Young kids,” Dougherty said. “Be careful and be safe.”
The cost is probably $175k to do that at prevailing wage rates with general site conditions. But this doesn’t include me knowing those specific site conditions, rock removal, depth of grading, traffic containment, silt fence requirements, etc. I don’t know these details of the job and neither do you. This is why your question was impossible to answer, so you’re “answer a question with a question, classic” line doesn’t make you right at all here. My main point was you minimizing “pushing around dirt” with you having seemingly no knowledge of the costs of labor, equipment, and scope of work required.
I mostly agree with your view toward restaurants – but there was no way this money was going to be used as a town wide PPP program, as it wouldn’t only be able to cater to just the restaurant industry. This is also why I view your remarks on this as independent of the money allocated to the park and an unrealistic criticism of the park.
Answer a question with a question, classic. Half a million dollars to grade less than an acre. Even if it took 2 weeks, thats $45,000 a day. I would guess even at prevailing wage, a few guys on machines doesn’t cost that. Did the Town get bills to justify that relief in what they owe? Not to mention, they probably already had equipment on site. Since you seem to be more familiar with this than I am (4″ of topsoil) tell me the real numbers.
I think the shut down should end, follow the Swedish model. Let people at least have a chance to survive and those with conditions or are afraid, they can protect themselves. I think $800k in relief would most definitely help the business owners. They would use the money to pay their rent, their landlord would use the rent money to pay the taxes, the employees still at work would buy food and pay sales tax, and eventually income tax vs. a void created by a closed business.
LOL as usual. Right.
There was nothing personal at all in my comments. Why don’t you respond to my actual points? Are you even familiar with prevailing wages which make these projects cost 3x what they should?
And that’s a ridiculous question about dirt – not possible to answer. I’ll reverse it on you and ask how much dirt should be “pushed around” in order to justify 400k. Your comments were meant to minimize the work by saying “pushed around” but that is not what actually happened is it? It was likely graded, with 4″ top soil laid down (standard), and with seed/fertilizer/hay installation as all turf restorations are done.
In addition, you bring up helping the restaurants as if this money would have went to them. Am I wrong in saying you support the shutdowns, or are against them?
Thanks for the attack and non response as usual Connor. You completely missed the point while trying to focus on slinging insults vs an intelligent response.
Please justify how much dirt they pushed around in a 0.7 acre SLIVER (per the article) to equate to $450k worth of work?
lol – mtowngrl sure isn’t in the contracting business. If the costs are outrageous, why don’t you go and start a landscape construction business and make all the profits? And BTW you can thank NJ prevailing wage laws for that kind of costs involved in these projects.
In addition, I’m sure you vote for (in addition to prevailing wage supporters) the kind of restrictions the state put in place on these restaurants to make them suffer, while you then claim the $818k should be used to what…handout to the various restaurants to keep them alive?
Does anyone in Morristown politics live in today’s world? $818k for a park, funded by the tax payers of the Town. It isn’t 2016 anymore, people are losing their jobs, their homes, their businesses. I would think there is a better way to utilize almost a MILLION DOLLARS. And they just let the developer off the hook for their $550,000 contribution because they pushed some dirt around and will provide $100k for future maintenance? Maybe save the $ for more police when they have to run security at the new office building which will be empty…like headquarters was in the 80s, crime ridden.
I feel bad for the owner of South & Pine, trying to fight for her business after they just hand over that kind of $ for a few benches and a slide.