Township Mayor Won't Sign Intersection Agreement Without Cost Estimate

Washington Township Mayor Janet Sobkowicz said Monday night that she would not sign a council approved resolution agreeing to a plan with the county that would make changes at the intersection of Pascack Road and Washington Avenue because she did not know how much it would cost the township.

Township councilmen approved the resolution April 25, though Councilmen Glenn Beckmeyer and Joseph D'Urso were not in attendance, and the county freeholders approved it July 13, with Chairman John Driscoll, Jr. and Bernadette P. McPherson absent.

In the approved agreement, the township would be responsible for many parts of the project, including acquiring necessary property, performing survey and field work to be submitted to the county engineer, providing uniformed police officers at the site when necessary and conducting counts of vehicle and pedestrian traffic at the site.

Sobkowicz said that she wants to talk more about the specifics in the resolution.

"I am not going to sign the agreement until somebody tells me how much it's going to cost the community," she said. "I want to open discussions about how that plan is going to be implemented."

Council President Fred Goetz said it was impossible to project the cost because officials don't know the outcome of the two applications before the Zoning Board and whether or not the township will have to acquire that land. He added that the county would be investing between $1.5 million and $2 million into the township.

Goetz asked Township Attorney Kenneth Poller if the mayor had the authority to refuse a signature on the resolution.

Poller said that while veto power doesn't exist for resolutions, he believed the nature of the agreement required both the mayor and the council's approval because the items fall under the purview of both in the township's form of government. For example, he said adopting an ordinance for traffic and allocating funding can only be done by the council while directing departments and employees can only be done by the mayor.

"This form of government is a shared form of government and things have to be done in unison if it's going to be done at all," Poller said. "It may be that this agreement doesn't necessarily get adopted, executed, implemented without the consent of the mayor and council."

Councilmen D'Urso and Richard Hrbek both said action has to be taken at the intersection, citing major backups during rush hours.

"Something at this corner has to be done," D'Urso said, adding he would have voted to approve the resolution had he been present.

But Councilman Glenn Beckmeyer said he would have voted against the agreement because of a lack of information. He also pointed out that the county rejected another plan from the township and said it seemed like county officials didn't want to modify the plan.

"I'm not saying we don't need something at that intersection and we probably needed it done yesterday," Beckmeyer said. "I don't think it's the right time to do it."

Officials couldn't come to a conclusion during the meeting Monday night. Hrbek suggested that the mayor find out if there is any flexibility in the agreement with regard to sharing the costs.

Sobkowicz said she would meet with the township and the county engineer to go over the plan and see what can be done.

The next township council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 26.