Separating the wheat from the chaff.
Amazon Warehouses on Route 31
No applications are before the Land Use Board. No applications have been filed. No inquiries have been made of the zoning office. The probable source of misinformation on this comes from the Route 31 Redevelopment Plan which allows for greater height in commercial structures to accommodate the clear span requirements for large warehousing. This only makes a large warehouse more feasible – any application would still have to go through the entire land use process including public hearings. The bottom line: False
Green Medicine Collusion
See the page Cannabis Commerce for more detail – but suffice it to say that the actions of the Township Committee, Land Use Board, and associated professionals has been judged to be above reproach.
We don’t do the right thing out of fear of punishment – rather we do it because it is the right thing to do.
In terms of their startup, they have had a difficult time obtaining equipment and some of the equipment proved to be inadequate. Have there been odors? YES – in spite of their expert saying “Trust me you won’t smell it.” Are we doing anything about it? Yes – everything that we are entitled to do we are doing. Some things, like odor reporting, are handled by the Hunterdon County Health Department. We are holding their feet to the fire to comply with all the conditions of the resolution of approval – which can seen by clicking here.
Why are we extending their Temporary Certificate of Occupancy? So that they can complete their startup items and get to work.
Bottom line: False
We are suing the School District
At this time there are no suits pending. West Amwell challenged the referendum for several reasons including inappropriate behavior of board members, obviously invalid votes, et cetera. There remains ethical charges filed by a private citizen. Bottom line: False
Too many secret meetings
The Township Committee does go into closed session often – but always with a valid reason and with the consent of our attorney. The simple fact of the matter is that the committee sometimes has to deal with confidential matters. Too many? probably not. Would it be nice to be able to conduct our business without them Yes! Bottom line: False
Censure of Mrs. Hudson for political reasons
Committeewoman Hudson was censured for violating the confidentiality of a closed session. When presented with the incriminating evidence, she was afforded the chance to admit her wrong doing in private, apologize, and pledge to maintain the confidentiality of future sessions. She chose to spurn the offer and face the censure. In the 178 years of West Amwell governance this is the first example that we can find of a censure. Was it political? No. Was it necessary? Yes since there is no other recourse to admonish misbehavior of this type. Bottom line: False.
Shutting down public comments
There are two public input agenda items at every Township Committee meeting and one at every Land Use Board meeting. By and large the bodies offer wide latitude to the public, however certain topics are off limits. For example: At a Land Use Board you cannot comment on another application under consideration. We must respect the rights of applicants, public employees, elected and appointed officials, and others. The Mayor, or Chairman of a particular board is responsible for conducting the meeting according to “Parliamentary procedures” or “Robert’s Rules of Order.” Bottom line: True – under certain circumstances.
Poor Communications
West Amwell is a small organization and we want to remain small. We do not have a Municipal Manager and the associated staff. At the very least we communicate all the information required by State and Federal law – in the manner prescribed (the newspaper). Yes – we are still required to post notices in the newspaper. We do have a website maintained by the Technical Committee and select members of the staff. We do our best to keep it updated and post news items as soon as possible. Recently we put together a Facebook page called “West Amwell Bulletin Board” on which we also post the news items. You can sign up for notifications here. A recent candidate suggested to record the public meetings and upload them to YouTube. At this time there is no desire to spend the money to secure the necessary equipment and train the personnel to operate it. Insofar as recording meetings, all public hearings must be recorded by electronic means or a court reporter. Electronic means is certainly less expensive. All recordings are available for public inspection. Bottom line: False.