Council approved a recommendation to officially appoint Michael W. Herbert as township attorney and director of West Windsor’s law department for the full length of 2012. As reported in the WW-P News on January 20, Herbert’s law firm — Herbert, Van Ness, Cayci & Goodell — has a contract with the township expiring at the end of June. With his father’s untimely death last September, there was not an official appointment made by Mayor Hsueh by the end of the year.
At the January 30 meeting Councilwoman Linda Geevers asked that the item be pulled for a separate vote as it was an appointment. Geevers, who congratulated Herbert on the dais, said she had urged Hary to have the situation clarified as the year began. But at Charles Morgan’s final meeting as a member of council (on December 19) he initiated the issue.
Morgan saw the latest council agenda and made sure his presence was felt. During public comments at the January 30 meeting, James Solloway of 5 Monroe Drive in West Windsor delivered a statement from Morgan, who is currently living in Florida. (Also see Letters to the Editor, page 5.)
“Council should withhold its consent if the administration has not shown that the appointment is prudent and in the best interests of West Windsor residents. If the administration has not provided council fee quotes from other attorneys, council does not have a record establishing that its consent to this appointment is prudent,” Morgan’s statement read.
Morgan’s message also asked a series of questions about the process the mayor and administration went through to ultimately recommend Michael W. Herbert, although Morgan’s comments did refer to Herbert junior as “a fine man and a good attorney.”
Geevers’ only question on the appointment was what contract Herbert and his law firm would be operating on. Herbert said despite his personal appointment “according to certain supreme courts, corporations are people too” meaning that the firm’s contract covered him as well.
Hary explained that the contract was on the cycle of the old mayoral term (July to July) and he said a new contract for all of 2012 would not be drawn up at this time. In June a six-month contract will be extended to Herbert and his firm.
In other West Windsor Council news:
— Several “placeholder” agreements for engineering services were approved for the year at Tuesday’s meeting. Hary said the agreements secure the services of each firm will be available, and having multiple firms under contract allows them to compete with each other and present the township with lower bids.
Each contract was for $475, which Hary explained was part of the standard five percent reductions adopted by the township in 2010, as in previous years the agreements were for $500. All project work that the firms do for the township is paid through escrow accounts, Hary said.
The engineering services contracts are with Van Cleef Engineering; ACT Engineers of Robbinsville; Remington, Vernick & Arango of Bordentown, and James F. Parvesse for consulting engineering services.
Parvesse is Lawrence Township’s municipal engineer and last year he only worked 10 billable hours for the township. Hary said that Parvesse, a retired West Windsor Township engineer, was mainly retained for his involvement in the Duck Pond interceptor project.
Other recommendations approved include the following:
– John W. Hartmann will remain the township’s public defender. His contract amount for 2012 is $19,200.
– Springfield-based firm Ruderman and Glickman, PC was hired as the township’s labor attorney for 2012 for $30,000.
– A one-year extension of West Windsor’s contract with Waste Management of New Jersey, Inc. was approved for solid waste collection. The contract will be for $475,516.90 for the period of February 1, 2012 through January 31, 2013. Hary said the contract reflects a two percent increase from last year, as two percent increases were agreed to for every year of the current five-year agreement. He said the initial deal with Waste Management in 2010 was 20 percent less than the amount of the township’s previous contract for trash collection, which was with Central Jersey Waste.
Councilman Maher commented on the deal, quoting data from Hary’s report to council indicating that the average single-family home in West Windsor pays $5.34 per month in trash collection fees.
“I find it concerning that I’ve heard of the town being a full-service community and there are needs to cut back, and trash pickup was one item mentioned. It’s sixty to seventy dollars per home each year, so let’s focus on other more important things. Let’s please take this out of our dialogue going forward,” Maher said.
Three change orders for final quantities adjustments and project closeouts were also approved on January 30.
– With the South Post Road bikeway improvements in place, council voted in favor of a change order with Jonico Inc. of Lambertville for $7,653.60 for the pathway down to the lake.
– $56,021.69 with Arawak Paving Company Inc. for annual road improvements. Township Engineer Francis Guzik said this was for the Southfield Road project, where additional sidewalk was also added. Arawak’s recent work has helped make the West Windsor more accessible for the disabled.
“Last year they did the handicapped sidewalk repairs at the municipal building, as well as the additional handicapped stall by the senior center. Now, over on Southfield we added a couple of ADA crosswalks,” Guzik said.
– A change order of $23,012.70 was enacted with Arnolds Roads Inc. the sidewalk extensions along North Post Road and Alexander Road. Guzik said there was an additional guide rail installed plus additional sidewalk work that had to be paid for. But Councilman Maher reviewed the full report and $31,000 came from paying uniformed police traffic safety directors to manage the situation at a rate of $75 per hour.
At the January 30 meeting Maher spoke at length about his concern over an escalated cost for this police presence, questioning the “effective result.”
“It seems like an awful lot of money for this town to spend to have one of our officers sitting in a patrol car, flashing the lights while work is being done. Can’t this be done some other way? I want to make sure there’s really a need to have the officers there, especially during daytime hours,” Maher said.
Hary replied that construction projects involve balancing cost versus public safety on a case-by-case basis.
“It got our attention as it’s a big amount of money, but doing a project like that we do have to have the public constantly protected. Sometimes that can seem like an exorbitant cost, and I can agree with you on that,” Hary said.
Hary told council the $75 per hour cost was negotiated as part of the township’s police contract, coming from a basis of $65 per hour plus a 10 percent administrative fee.
Township Attorney Michael W. Herbert said that in the course of representing many municipalities he’s learned to advise townships to keep a police presence on site. Herbert contended that police on the site give the public a more concrete level of safety. Should there be an accident on the roadway and a person’s lawyer argues that the township did not provide a police presence, that would cost the township in court.
In other moves, council approved contracts with several consultants and firms for 2012. McManimon & Scotland LLC of Newark will continue as the township’s bond counsel and redevelopment attorney with a year-long contract not to exceed $50,000. Meanwhile Phoenix Advisors LLC of Bordentown will continue to serve as the township’s financial advisor for a cost not to exceed $3,800.
The contract with Phoenix Advisors came into question by Linda Geevers, who asked if it was necessary to have them. Hary said that it was Phoenix Advisors’ role to monitor the bond market, saying that the township has relied on the firm’s expertise several times.
Geevers noted that the $3,800 amount was incorrectly recorded as coming from the township’s traffic safety improvements account, and Hary said he will have township CFO Joanne Louth clarify the source of funding.
– Council approved a renewal of the township’s professional services agreement with Vital Service Communications Inc. of Trenton for support and maintenance of the township’s tax and accounting software and programs used by the tax assessor and other staff. The contract amount is for $17,220 for the year. Before voting Councilwoman Kristina Samonte said she would like the administration to provide more information on the IT the township is using as well as the costs and services associated with it.
