After hearing that the Borough Council and the Erskine Lakes Property Owners Association are still at loggerheads over co-signing a $1.1 million state loan for dam repairs, a state Department of Environmental Protection official said Wednesday his agency wants to see a deal soon.
"We're expecting this agreement will be signed. We don't want this to keep dragging on," said Larry Hajna, a DEP public relations officer. "We understand these are complex cases. At the same token, if somebody is not able to use that money, we need to be able to put that money to work elsewhere."
The state loans, with 2 percent interest rates, are granted only if a local government agency co-signs with a private organization that owns a high-hazard dam the state has deemed in need of safety upgrading.
Hajna said his agency agreed to a 10-day extension of its Sept. 15 deadline to provide more time for negotiations on the loan agreement. But council members on Tuesday held firm to the same positions they took earlier this month that resulted in a 3-2 vote for an agreement with terms that lake association leaders refused to sign.
At issue is how much the lake association would pay to help reduce the borough-backed loan. It wants to put $209,000 into an escrow account that would be used only for cost overruns. The council majority wants the $209,000 used up front to pay down the loan, so that other residents who live in the area, but are not necessarily lake association members, will be assessed less money to help repay the loan.
After an emotional debate, the council again voted 3-2 on Tuesday for the version that set off the controversy.
Democratic council members Thomas Mac Allen, William O'Hearn and Wenke Taule maintained that this version is fairer to other residents in town, including homeowners at other lakes that previously got state loans for dam repairs. Republican members Donna Anderson and William Marsala said they didn't see a problem with the terms that the association prefers.
Democratic Mayor Joanne Atlas and GOP Councilwoman Linda Schaefer didn't vote because they live in the lake community.
The council then agreed to request another extension to provide more time for negotiations.
Association President Charlie DeDeyn asked who to negotiate with, which set off a council debate as to who is on the dam-loan subcommittee. It was resolved that the committee consists of Anderson and Mac Allen.
If the dam repair issue is not resolved, the state could order the dam removed, as it did at a small lake in West Milford, and the large lake that is the center of the Erskine Lakes community would cease to exist.
"In West Milford, we had approved a loan for a significant amount of money in the late '90s and the work was never done," Hajna said. The DEP ordered that dam cut open to prevent the possibility of a dangerous break during a flood.
The DEP, he said, would like to see the Erskine Lakes dam fixed.
"We want them to reach an agreement," he said.
E-mail: barry@northjersey.com
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