SOD is the Cure to the Hekemian Bug
I arrived early enough to the Zoning Board meeting on Thursday to sit through the hearing of Sanzari's New Bridge Inn’s application (to expand their parking lot), and the one thing that stood out for me was their demeanor.
They were polite, respectful, and willing to compromise. When asked about the flooding with their parking lot they didn’t hem and haw and try to skirt the issue. They were considerate of their impact on the environment and the community (though I know some neighboring residents are against the expansion). With great patience, their engineer entertained a myriad of ideas on how to address concerns Zoning Board member Joe Loonam had raised about their parking design causing possible backups into the road. Members of the Zoning Board came off the dais to make suggestions while pointing at the map. WHAT I SAW WAS A COMMUNITY WORKING TOGETHER.
This is what’s lacking with Hekemian’s arrogant group. They’re inconsiderate. There is no feeling of leeway or compromise. They don’t seem to be assuming a posture of asking. It feels more like they’re telling. (This triggers feelings of powerlessness amongst some NM residents who have already accepted defeat.) They appear to be assured of success somehow, and seem willing to disregard community, environment, flooding, and even truth and facts toward that end. The whole thing is tinged with a negative power, and a disrespect for New Milford.
I’ve said this before, but I can’t help but see these overdevelopers as parasites. Something that’s not truly good and healthy for the community. The bombardment of people, cars, activity, concrete, light spillage and noise aside, how about taking away all that green that purifies our air, helps with the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, and moderates our air temperature?
If we really wanted the “urban heat island effect,” ground level ozone from tailpipe pollution, particulate matter from diesel exhaust, insufficient oxygen from poor air quality, chronically inflamed lungs, more asthma, allergies, bronchitis, increased heart problems, and all the other conditions that plague green-less cities, we would have moved to the city, no?
There is a biology to life. Functioning on every level, in every realm. Instincts. Impulses. Forces. Life and all its intelligence and energy pulsing above, beneath and around every surface. When things get out of balance in any realm, illness sets in. When illness sets in, the healthy parts rally, join forces and fight. And that’s what I see happening in our town. Nature is taking its course.
Anyone who reads my blogs pretty much knows I’m locked onto the fate of the UW property, so I try to be present at every meeting involving Hekemian and company -- their main venue currently being the New Milford Zoning Board. Before this I would attend random M&C meetings. I remember seeing Mary McElroy or Lori Barton or Ulises Cabrera on occasion, championing one cause or another. And on the Patch they would post comments. There too I would see my wonderful friend, Jimmy Drake, amongst others. Strong individuals. Blessings to our town. And though they were on different sides of issues sometimes, my underlying feeling was always admiration and respect for them.
Maybe their ancestors were abolitionists, or Vikings, or Pilgrims who broke free from the tyranny of England, who knows. To me they are modern-day warriors with the strength of spirit to take time out of their busy schedules to right wrongs and to battle evil. They are people with a sense of priority and 20/20 vision who rise from the crowd when needed.
Thanks to Miriam Pickett collecting email addresses one evening at a Zoning Board meeting, SOD was born. Just as in nature, all these strong forces have gathered together. They are mounting a defense against S. Hekemian Group, and indirectly Suez/United Water Company -- two major entities who are, in my opinion, threatening the health of New Milford.
Some people are the bone of a community, some are the muscle, and so on. These people are the antibodies, the white blood cells, the B and T lymphocytes of the community. The immune system that kicks in when health is threatened. They represent the resistance. Without them and their kind we would be at the complete mercy of the parasites of the world who feed their needs AT ANY COST.
This past Thursday night, Hekemian’s EXPERT on land evaluation, Mark Sussman, was recalled to provide additional testimony on re-direct. There were two issues they thought worthy of addressing.
First, Sussman testified that the homes used as comparables in his analysis that were listed as unusable on the SR1-A forms, were “considered appropriate” in the “professional practice of appraisal” -- as long as it “was determined…that in fact the sale can be shown to be between a willing seller and a willing buyer, and neither are under duress….”
Okay, yo, it’s already a stretch that Sussman confirmed all his comparable data since no one has seen any proof of that, but there is no way on earth you could convince me that Sussman made the effort and was able to determine whether the sellers of these unusable shoddy comparables were “willing” and not under “duress.”
And though Sussman said that he used SR1-A forms to confirm his data in his “deeper delving” “independent check,” he never reported any of the shabby details (which are known negative value elements in the “real world”). Had Austin Ashley’s attorney Marc Liebman not uncovered them, the Board and the public would have been completely unaware.
Sussman also testified that the “usable and nonusable sale categories come out of the division of taxation and property administration, and it has to do with whether or not sales should or should not be included in the sales ratio studies conducted by the state….” What he neglected to say was that “fundamental to the assessment sales ratio program is the use of market value as the basis for true value,” and the nonusable sale categories were created as exclusions because they are known to negatively INFLUENCE MARKET VALUE. (http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/guidlines33.pdf)
IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR TAX APPEAL HEARINGS
17. Some sales have a non usable code (NU) #1 thru #33. These are sales such as estates, foreclosure, bankruptcy, etc. These sales are not good indicators of true value and should not be used when presenting comparable sales. http://www.eastorange-nj.gov/PDFFiles/webInstrtxappeals.pdf
The second point that was covered during redirect was that the Cypress Street home used as one of Sussman’s Westwood comparables had an addition put on it, and that’s why Sussman didn’t use the later sale for his analysis. (Point.)
It was a surprisingly weak re-direct considering the bang-up job New Milford residents did on cross (i.e., other issues that seemed more threatening to Hekemian’s case weren’t addressed). In any case, the re-direct opened the questioning of Mark Sussman back up to the public, who took full advantage of the opportunity.
First of all, watch out folks, don’t mess with Moms, they’re fierce and focused when they have to be. The first person up was the mother of a Columbia Street resident, Betty Verdejo from Bergenfield. She was sweet, unassuming, and intelligent. This take no BS mom opened up a can of whoopass on Sussman. She asked some great questions and finished by asking him, “IN VIEW OF YOUR RESPONSES TO MY QUESTIONS, ALL HAVING TO DO WITH COMPARISONS, IN YOUR OPINION DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT THE MEMBERS OF THIS ZONING BOARD WOULD BE STUPID ENOUGH TO GO AGAINST THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE OF NEW MILFORD?"
Fortunately for Sussman, he was not required to answer that question.
On the heels of Betty’s battery of questions, came a parade of SOD executive members with more questions: Michael Gadaleta, John Rutledge, Ulises Cabrera, Anna Leone, Miriam Pickett, Lori Barton. Then Mama Betty again, John Rutledge again, followed by Zoning Board member Peter Rebsch.
The questions in large part revolved around the fact that the comparisons used in Sussman’s analysis were not true comparisons, and that market value is affected by negative elements.
Out of one side of his mouth Sussman says his opinion is based on market data. “I go to the market and I look at the sales, and I analyze the data and that’s how I derive an opinion of value.” Out of the other side he says, “If I could find in the marketplace a shopping center with a 221 unit apartment complex as part of it, I would have done an analysis of that property. I did not find in the market, so it’s not out there to do it.” ANYONE SEE THE VALUE OF WASTING THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC’S TIME WITH SUSSMAN’S (duh huh) EXPERT OPINION?
Sussman can’t find a true comparison so he used whatever he could find and we’re supposed to go with that because of the amount of work and effort and time involved in actually finding a true comparison, if one even exists.
Sussman is also expecting us to accept the fact that known negative value elements don’t impact home values, after years and years and years of market data proving otherwise. New Milford residents are not buying it and they’re pounding it home.
Lori Barton asked Sussman whether he thought the Harding Avenue, Westwood, comparable he used in his analysis was truly comparable since it is in a flood plain. When Sussman said, “Yes,” she asked “in what ways are they comparable?” DelVecchio popped out of his seat and objected, saying to the Board: “…hearing time is very valuable. I think we need to be judicious about its use.” Board Attorney Sproviero replied: “BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PUBLIC.” (What can I say? How good it was to hear those words. Balm to my soul Mr. Sproviero.)
Sussman therefore was required to answer Lori’s question, and this is what he said:
“The fact that its in 100 year flood plain, that’s just mapping from FEMA…all that means is that if u want to get a mortgage the bank is going to require you to get flood insurance because you are in that flood zone.” (If your Real Estate Agent said this to you, wouldn’t you be thinking, “Get me the hell out of here, this guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about?” Where once there was a potential home buyer, now there is a cloud of dust and a bunch of tracks…laters baby.)
Sussman told John Rutledge that appraisal is “an art.” (So Sussman is an artist…I kind of suspected that. :)
Zoning Board member Peter Rebsch told Sussman: “I’m trying to figure out what your opinion is in regards to let’s say we have homes here and nothing across from these homes and all of a sudden you have 221 units with a lot of people in there and they all run around all over the place, whether you would say the house values would still be the same.”
And Sussman said, “All I can tell you is I see apartment complexes mixed in and in close proximity to single family residential homes all over the state and don’t see a real impact on the value of the homes.”
ARE WE TO BELIEVE NOW THAT SUSSMAN HAS DONE ANALYSES ON APARTMENT COMPLEXES ALL OVER THE STATE? Smoke and mirrors, it’s a carnival act. Mr. Sussman was not a happy carny however. He looked at his attorneys with pleading eyes and motioned with his hands in helpless gestures.
In the most goofy move yet, Hekemian’s attorney, Stephen Eisdorfer, stood up during the questioning and said: “Mr. Chairman. I think the record should reflect that after each of the questions there has been applause.” Zoning Board attorney Scott Sproviero replied, “That means the people like what they’re hearing.” (Yes, they do!) Mr. Eisdorfer said, “That is correct,” and sat his butt back down. This statement of course was met with even more applause. (I was thinking, "Did that actually just happen? Or did I nod off and daydream?")
Naturally DelVecchio did not wish for any further re-direct, the appraisal -- term used loosely -- portion of the testimony was concluded. Like affordable housing witness David Kinsey before him, Sussman was visibly withered by the time he was relieved of his duty. They are not thriving in this environment, and that’s largely due to SOD.
When I went in my bag to get my SOD button to put on before the meeting, I came across my United We Stand button. So I put that one on too, right next to the SOD button.
Miriam followed an impulse. The forces are gathering. And to quote Snooky: It’s GAME ON LIKE DONKEY KONG.
The next meeting is July 30th at 7 p.m. Be there. : )
p.s. Joe Loonam, if you ever run for office, you’ve got my vote. And Peter Rebsch, I’m behind you a 100%. Your number one concern is your community and it shows. You salute the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance and I salute you my friend.
Jimmy Drake
10:00 am on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
As a former service man, Peter is quite correct in exercising his honor of saluting the flag.
Non service Americans place their hand over their heart.
Ulises
10:55 am on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Michelle, thank for your astute blog on what transpired and your kind words. All we are trying to do is educate and bring everyone together and SOD may not win it's argument against this develolment, mainly because some members of our M&C are not supporting us, however, we've won great respect from one another and I thank SOD for that. Thank you again Michelle, your friend Ulises.
Darlene
12:28 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Members of M&C are replaceable ;-)
miriam pickett
1:31 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
What we have accomplished in such a short period of time is astounding. Our membership is more than we could ever imagine and growing daily, we have distributed 160 lawn signs, made alliances with residents of Oradell, Hillsdale and Cranford and attracted the attention of our elected officials. We are a force to be reckoned with. We are united and we are determined. Support SOD! Support New Milford!
Rosemary Fuhrman
2:43 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Michelle, Thank you for your incredibly accurate account of the proceedings at the Zoning Board of Adjustment meetings. The comparison between the planner for Sanzari and Mr. Dipple and Mr. Sussman were spot on! Your blogs keep the people informed and keep the issue front and center.
mellie
6:20 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
It's shocking to me that some members of our m&c are not supportive. They must realizE they are committing political suicide in not representing those who elected them?? Thank you all for fighting so hard for all of us and keeping us informed.
Lori Barton
6:23 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Another wonderful piece, Michelle! It should be required reading for all residents of New Milford. I am still astounded when community members don't know the horror that is planned there. We have to hope that the M&C don't derail the zoning board by rezoning this property. What a slap in the face it would be to all of those board members who have given so much of their time, including extra meetings each month. How many people have commented favorably about this proposed development? 1%? Maybe less? This is BAD for New Milford, for the surrounding communities, for the environment, etc. There is nothing good about this at all...unless you are Suez/United Water or Hekemian ($$$$$$).
TommyIce
9:46 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Of course they don't know about it. There are never any articles in The Record, most folks don't read the local paper. How's the Facebook and social media campaign for SOD going?
I have yet to hear one person (outside of M&C) that are on board for this pillaging of our town.
miriam pickett
7:53 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Facebook has a decent following, but there isn't much actual involement. Very excited though, our website is ready to go public. It is amazing. We'll make a big pudh to get thecword out when it goes live.
Mark G
10:20 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Unfortunately, there are a lot of elements going against New Milford with regard to the flooding. Not only is New Milford located just south of the Oradell dam, it is also at the head of tides. This provides a one, two, punch from both directions in times of high water. Not only from the potential overflow of the dam, but tidal surges from the Altantic Ocean. This is a townwide problem, and if SOD is serious about stopping over development in the flood plain for the benefit of the whole town, you have to be concerned with the New Bridge Inn application as much as the the United Water property application. Just becuase the professionals for one applicant were procieved as polite, respectful, and willing to compromise, and the other is not procieved to be those things, does not change the real business at hand. Beware of the wolf in sheeps clothing. If SOD is for real, it will vet both applications with the same skeptical approach, if not, SOD is just another NIMBY group, looking out for its own narrow interests, and also may have a potential political agenda too. If you Love New Milford, protect it on both ends.
Martha
11:23 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Michelle,
Another excellent piece! I cannot find the proper words to thank you enough for portraying an honest and acurate picture of what transpired at the last Zoning Board meeting! Our community has united against this "proposed horror" and we are determined to continue our fight against Hekemian & United Water for as long as it will take! We will not surrender!
miriam pickett
11:55 am on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Mark, I understand your worrying that SOD is not responding to the proposed Sanzari project. I cannot speak for the group on this. Personally, however, I'm not sure what to object to. My understanding of the testimony is that the engineer has taken the flooding into account in his design and the plan he presented made sense. You are right, I am not a close neighbor of Sanzaris. But I don't think what they are proposing will dramatically alter the ambience of the neighborhood in the way the UW property will change forever the neighborhood in close proximity to the property. I don't think
this is a case of NIMBY. I need to be convinced that the immediate neighbors of the restaurant will be impacted by the construction.
Mark G
12:39 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Miriam, all you need to do is go and speak with the neighbors, (your New Milford and Teaneck neighbors). I bet they will tell you all about the flooding from over development there. If I recall, the original application approved in 2003 or 2004 needed over a dozen variances to build. Now, they are requesting more variances to pave over two residental properties for parking. How will this improve the situation? Where will the water go? As I said, if you support this application, or don't oppose it, you are supporting development in the flood plain. Plain and simple. If SOD was truly formed to protect the community from over development, you would be all over this application. Correct me if I am wrong, but the engineer for the UW property also testfied that they have taken flooding into account and mitigated it in their design. Why is one engineer testifing about a project on one end of town more credible than the other engineer testifing on the other end of town. Because one said please and thank you. You can try to justify it all you want, but if you support one and oppose the other, you are either naive, NIMBY, or pushing a poltical agenda. You pick. SOD will have no crediblity if you let this proposed paving of two residental properties for a 66 car parking lot in the flood plain go uncontested.
miriam pickett
1:13 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
I have no political agenda at all. And I said I am speaking for myself not for SOD. For all I know there are many people in our group who oppose the Sanzari project. However, SOD's focus right now is on the UW water development project. This is a multimillion dollar development that will take years of dedication to fight. The developer is rapacious. He goes after undeveloped spaces and destroys communities.
If you feel so strongly about the Sanzari application, do what we're doing. Who knows? You may get a movement started.
miriam pickett
1:51 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
A few more things. The development of the UW property will effect everyone in New Milford who has children in the public schools. It will effect anyone who needs to get to Oradell using Madison and/or New Milford Ave., and it will have a negative impact on any seniors who use thecsenior center or people with senior relatives . If you have a child at the HS that child's safety will be at risk. The cost to the Boro will be either incredibly overcrowded schools or the cost of building a new school to accomodate the extra children from the apartment portion of the plan. The cost of road upkeep, the probable installation of additional stop lights will make getting around our narrow community a nightmare. The UW development plan is not just about flooding. It is only one component in an incredibly ill conceived plan.
Ulises
2:17 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Mark G, I'm a SOD member, and I'm against the Sanzari and the Korean Church proposal to expand their parking lots. We need more sod in flood plains not asphalt and pavers. Nevertheless, Miriam is 100% correct about SOD, we have a specific mission and that is to keep the land by the high school as open space.
Mark G
3:49 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Miriam & Ulises, I can respect your position. I think the development of the UW property is a bad idea too. I am just trying to understand the thought process and rational of SOD, and the comments of the writer of this article. I think we argee there are a lot of issues with the UW application and the effect it would have on the town. That said, SOD may have been started to fight one front, but another has opened up, and it is also detrimental to the town. It will not only effect the local neighbors, it will also effect the houses along the river north of the restaurant. SOD is now formed, it has a collective voice in the town, it would be a shame not to put that energy to a broader use. SOD stands for stop over development, you can't fight one and not the other and maintain your credibility. Maybe you need to change your name from SOD to SUWA, (Stop UW Application) if your focus is solely that one location. But it appears that both applications are being heard at the same time, you don't even need to duplicate anything, you just need to add it to the list. I wish you well in your mission, however broad or norrow. I would just hope you would not let the good neighbors to the south swim with the fishes. I am far, far, away, but always a New Milford boy at heart. Once a River Rat, always a River Rat. Just think about what I said.
Lori Barton
5:28 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Mark, I went to the meeting expecting to speak against the Sanzari proposal. When I listened to the testimony of their engineer, I, personally, felt that this was not something that I could speak against. By removing these 2 homes and installing a permeable parking area, the Sanzari application will actually increase the amount of water that can be absorbed by those properties. It appears to even improve on the Blue Acres goal of restoring the natural flood plain. And, I am not a neighbor of either of these projects, just a concerned New Milford resident (for 34 years) who does not want to see this town destroyed.
miriam pickett
5:31 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Strange. I never knew how much I liked living here until this started. Thank you Mark. We have a lot in common. I want to hear the public's response to Sanzari's application. That may help me appreciate more what you are suggesting.
Michelle
9:46 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Hi Mark, Sorry for the confusion. I can see where you would get your impression by what I’ve written. To clarify my thought process, I have sat through many meetings involving Hekemian’s rude crew, and have witnessed enough to wish that this town had a public spanking machine. Though I do not condone spanking children (at all, ever), I would feel great pleasure in seeing Dipple, Sussman, Kinsey, DelVecchio and the Hekemians themselves take their turns on the contraption (only if such a thing was legal that is : ). Eisdorfer might get a pass from me because he is gentle and reminds me of Winnie the Pooh, but I’d give him a strong talking to about the type of people he’s associating with. Not only are they pushing an ugly agenda, but they are doing it in an ugly way. We have had to endure so much cockamamie BS that it smells to high heaven.
Michelle
9:47 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
As for Sanzari’s, I cannot possibly weigh in on whether it’s an okay thing or a bad thing, since I’ve only sat in on the hearing of their application this one evening. My comments about them came from their refreshingly courteous and sensible testimony contrasted to the overbearing baloney the hearers of the Hekemian’s application are being treated to. The difference is night and day. From what I understand, they have purchased two homes for the parking lot they want and are using permeable pavers that allow the movement of stormwater through their surface reducing runoff and filtering pollutants; and they don’t appear to be controlling and intimidating the Board and public as a means to that end. Regardless, this is for those who are more involved to decide, not me by far.
Michelle
9:47 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
As to the members of SOD taking this issue on in order to maintain their credibility, there is a bigger fire to put out and that is where their focus is now. Many of these people work full-time jobs, are parents and have other demands on their lives. Attending these meetings, writing letters, distributing signs, collecting signatures, meeting with officials of neighboring towns, researching witnesses and the validity of their testimony -- all that is consuming and can wear a person real thin. They can’t fix the world, except for one problem at a time. A fire department is not naïve, NIMBY, or serving a political agenda if they’re tending to the biggest threat to the community. Just adding another fire to the list requires much more than one would think, when there are only so many people actually willing to stand up there and hold the hose.
Barbara DeGraw
7:13 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
I want to thank SOD and Michelle Hayden for trying to keep my hometown as charming and beautiful as when I grew up there.
Mark G
11:17 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Michelle, thank you for your response. I can only see this through the window of Patch, so forgive me if my details are thin. My comments are just observations of a broad nature on what I see as similar issues, however large or small. Both proposals are for two different properties on opposite ends of town. Both are good long time businesses in town, Shop Rite and New Bridge Inn. Both propose to improve their businesses. Both proposed improvements will impact the town and the immediate surrounding neighborhood. Both are in residental neigborhoods. I am just speaking to the consistancy of the process. I think your analogy of the fire is weak, do you think that if Shop Rite was on fire and a single family house was on fire at the same time, the fire department would ignore the house to put out the larger fire? I think not. They would call in other departments to help. There are alway going to be the perverbal fires, and the community has joined to form the new fire department (SOD) to protect their interests and rights. Don't ingore the smaller fires, they just may grow and spread. You all are going a great job, keep up the fight for the big and the small. Everyone matters. You may gather more help with the hose if you project that you are there for the whole community.
Michelle
1:10 am on Friday, July 20, 2012
Hi Mark, I guess when you look at it like that, it's a crummy analogy, but I think it's a proportion thing. If you had a tissue and a paper towel burning on the floor 2 feet apart from each other, it would be kind of lame to stomp out just the tissue and let the paper towel burn. When you think of my analogy though, think more of the fire raging in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The comparative magnitude of the development proposed on the UW property to that of Sanzari’s is truly a mountain to a molehill. We’re talking 13 acres. The biggest threat has to be handled first, and you’d have to experience it firsthand to understand the effort it takes to track these things. I have nothing left at the end of some of my days, and I’m only contributing a fraction of what the other SOD members are contributing. I think it would be helpful, as some are suggesting here, if you could attend the Sanzari’s hearings and also the Hekemian hearings so you can gauge for yourself what’s doable, and possibly get involved in starting the southern division of SOD monitoring development issues on that end of town. You seem to be passionate and have the vision, and your contribution would definitely be welcome.
Lori Barton
12:44 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Mark, while SOD's cause is specifically the Suez/United Water property, the fight is for the entire community. It is definitely not a case of NIMBY. The Hekemian development would impact negatively on the entire community. This is about higher taxes for ALL of us, overcrowded schools for ALL of us, flooding and flood related expenses that will impact ALL of us, increased pollution (air, water, noise and light) that will impact ALL of us, increased response time for emergency services that will impact ALL of us, etc. ShopRite has been a good neighbor but this is not being neighborly. They have the approvals to rebuild at their current location and that is what they should do.
miriam pickett
3:00 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Mark, are you aware that in addition to the Shop Rite, Hekemian is planning on building a 4 story apartment building with a 5 story parking garage? I think that's a little different than what Sanzari is planning on doing on his property.
Ulises
11:02 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Mark G, I'm with you. You should attend the Zoning Board and Mayor and Council meetings. Ask questions, make suggestions, and join the rest of the other concerned citizens that are starting to get more involved. Most people don't attend these meetings and then point fingers when it's too late. I hope to meet you one day at one of these town meetings and hopefully we could stop all development along the Hackensack River.
Robert
8:26 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012
Debari was the one who got us into this mess with "his vision." He was the gate keeper at the time, and he brought this trouble on New milford. He should be at the forefront of SOD fighting like hell to get us out of this mess.
Ulises
9:10 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012
The Mayor and Council spend $5K (tax payers' money!) on a new rezoing report (see above, I just uploaded it) of the Suez/United Water property by the high school. They could have just voted to pass a resolution keeping this land as open space at no cost to the tax payers...???
Please attend the Mayor and Council meeting on Monday July 23rd, at 6:30 PM and tell them what you think this property should be zoned as.
Stop-Over-Development! Join us at SODNOW@yahoo.com to find out how we're trying to stop our Mayor and Council from changing this town forever.
SOD!
Barbara
9:22 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012
Hi Uli, could you email the PDF to me? My iPad can't open the link about - no flash player. One downside to iPad!
Ty Barbara
Barbara
9:14 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012
A survey revealed:
90% of people would say yes to getting involved in a cause.
10% of these people actually get involved.
It is easy to comment on SOD. Let see the action by volunteering skills and talents to the cause.
Become a part of the 10%