As befits the small town atmosphere that West Windsor has always tried to embrace, many arrangements and agreements are informal — often sealed with a smile and a handshake. As recent events at Grover Farm have shown, however, in a rapidly expanding community such as West Windsor it helps to have written, formalized agreements and procedures.
That is where Township Business Administrator Marlena Schmid comes in. Schmid, who was sworn in last July 9, has a wealth of government experience behind her (WW-P News, July 20, 2012). Most recently, she worked as the administrator in Cranford, where she still lives. Schmid is a qualified purchasing agent and a qualified CFO.
“Although I don’t perform CFO duties in my current position, I sought certification to be a more proficient business administrator, by learning how to understand budgets, bonding, and auditing requirements. I am also well versed in the ‘pay to play’ process.
“I work with the department heads and other Township employees to ensure we are getting goods and services at the best and lowest price possible; I am well versed in insurance and state contract law, and work on those issues as well as the budget. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work.”
Schmid considers her biggest responsibility to be the Township’s real estate “We are the largest real estate owner in West Windsor, and it is my responsibility to see that we uphold the state laws. It is important that the town have agreements in place for the use of its property, for insurance purposes as well as to make sure we are in compliance with state laws and regulations.
To that end, Schmid is working to formalize agreements for leases, services, and processes that have lapsed or aways been informal. “This is a ‘best practice’ and needs to be done,” Schmid says. “[Former business administrator] Bob Hary had already begun doing this. He started with the post office lease, which was about to expire. I am continuing it. I am making sure all of our leases stay current. Where I see that a lease has lapsed, or there is no formal record of an agreement, I am changing that.”
One recent example is the lease between the Township and the PBA, which was removed from the agenda at the last Council meeting. The existing 20-year lease for the PBA’s trailer on North Post Road expired in 2010. “It is incumbent upon us to renew the lease,” Schmid explained. “There are state regulations that need to be followed when leasing space to non-profit organizations, and by renewing the leases we can ensure we are in compliance.”
“The trailer that is being used by the PBA was donated by the Canal Pointe developer to the PBA, and they needed a parcel on which to place it. The PBA has spent some money making necessary repairs to it,” Schmid added. “It is not being used by the police department, but rather the PBA, which is a non-profit organization. It was taken off the agenda only because some council members had additional questions, and I wanted to make sure they were answered.” (See letter to the editor, page 5.)
The lease agreement with the PBA is not the first time an issue like this has been brought before the council. At the January 7 council meeting, Schmid had asked the Council to approve a service agreement between West Windsor and Mercer County Community College regarding nursing services. Council member Linda Geevers had objected to the agreement because of the college’s reluctance to cooperate with the Township on the solar farm issue.
However, Schmid explained that this was not a new arrangement with the college, but was rather a formalization of an informal arrangement that had existed between the college and the Township for several years.
Another informal arrangement that was recently formalized involved the WWP Soccer Association. “There is a valid lease agreement in place for them for their use of Community and Conover parks, but nothing for their use of the Censoni house, where they store their equipment,” says Schmid. “So I put together a memorandum of understanding relating to their use of the Censoni house. It was approved by the council at the December 12 meeting.” Though non-profits typically do not pay rent, Schmid explained, a formal agreement is needed to keep track of who uses the property and to ensure the group has adequate insurance.
Boy Scout Troop 40’s use of the Schenk House is another long-standing agreement in line to be formalized. “That will be coming before the council soon as well,” says Schmid.
“We learned a lot from the Grover Farm situation. The Historical Society was always permitted to use the Schenk House; it was an informal agreement and it was understood. But there should have been a formalized agreement, showing what the properties were being used for, whether the group had adequate insurance, and who was using the space. Annual reports should have been filed as well. We will be formalizing these agreements as well.”
Schmid points to several lessons learned: “The Township has to do a better job of documenting its property, and the contents of that property. If the property is rented, there should be a lease. We need to ensure that the groups using the space are non-profit organizations that we are in fact allowed to provide access to. I believe my primary mission is to make sure all of this is done going forward,” says Schmid.
“It is a challenging job, but I really like it. In the 10 months I have been here, I am always learning something new. What I really like about this community, is that when decisions get made to do something, things get done — like open space preservation, or the bike and pedestrian-friendly streets. There is so much to learn here; I am really enjoying my job.”
