Suburban Trends
April 22, 2009

Dear Editor:

The Suburban Trends article on March 25, "Council seeking to curb its critics remarks," is an example of the extreme hypocrisy that the all Republican Ringwood Council exhibits. Considering what I was subjected to when I was mayor, it also proves that they are a bunch of wimps!

I laughed so hard when I read the article that my sides hurt. Mayor Davison is planning to use his gavel when he feels the council is being attacked and will even have persons removed from the council chambers. If I had tried that when I was mayor the Republicans would have gone berserk! They spent the two years that I was mayor organizing every possible group against me. Meetings became the best reality show in town as the Republicans went as far as wanting to have me arrested for removing saplings in my yard. Mr. Joe Troy proudly announced at a meeting that he trespassed on my property to count trees. I guess he was part of the Republican tree police. They seemed to forget that a whole mountain was denuded, without a permit, on their watch. And by the way, the tree ordinance Mr. Troy and company were so obsessed with still stands.

Even during those contentious meetings I treated everyone respectfully, which is more that I can say for this group.

Councilman Marsala says he "won't stand" for people accusing any council member of professional lapses. He has no credibility when making such a statement. While the borough of Ringwood was being sued by residents to perform a tax revaluation (this lawsuit sparked the recent revaluation), Mr. Marsala sat in on closed session meetings which included discussions of this legal matter even though his sister was a litigant in the suit. His failure to recuse himself during these discussions was a serious ethical lapse, especially for an attorney who should know better. I also watched Mr. Marsala almost in tears at a recent council meeting as he defended Mayor Davison and the office of the mayor, but his disrespect of me when I was mayor, even calling me a liar, was his mantra.

Councilman Taukus has always been very disrespectful to the public, which he seems to be very proud of. He also seems to think it's fun to bully the public. When Ms. Grace Hazeldine mentioned at a meeting the fact that Congressman Garrett stated in one of his 2007 newsletters that a mere walk through of Upper Ringwood by council members in 1994 (the year the superfund site was de-listed) would have revealed that much toxic sludge still remained, Mr. Taukus went off the deep end. He called Ms. Hazeldine a liar and also said she wouldn't know the truth if it "bit her in the butt." He repeated this vulgar comment at a subsequent council meeting. The fact is the Congressman did make that statement and a call to his office would verify it.

Councilman Taukus also countered Ms. Robin Canetti's assertion that the public portion of the meetings have been scaled back. As usual Mr.Taukus is using his selective memory. For the last 5 years there were two open public comment periods at council meetings. This year the Republicans dismantled that practice, narrowing the time for public comment. As the election season approaches it is the Ringwood Council, not the public, that is in campaign mode. They are shutting down public input by threatening the public, discontinuing a second public portion and limiting the number of times per week the council meetings are replayed.

The article also includes accolades for the council by their supporters. Former mayor Jerry Holt showed up at the last council meeting to praise his friends. It's no wonder since Scott Heck is using our tax dollars to repair runoff problems in Mr. Holt's front yard caused by steep slope development behind his house. This development was approved by Mr. Holt and Mr. Heck when they were council members, now they expect the taxpayers to pay for their mistakes.

Many people living on Cheshire Lane are plagued by drainage and runoff issues because of the development on Nottingham Court and Coventry Way. Some have even had to install sump pumps. It is important to note that when these developments were being built, the Ringwood Republicans were paying their engineer $160,000 a year plus an SUV . Our tax dollars are now being spent to rectify runoff problems that should have been solved by the town engineer and implemented by the developers during the building process.

At a recent council meeting Mr. Scott Heck thanked Borough Manager, Ms. Kelley Rohde, for hiring him and allowing him to use his drainage expertise to help the town. What?! He spearheaded the weakening of Ringwood's steep slope ordinance for his mentor, Pat Wallace, and now he's the expert on drainage? Mr. Heck has also touted his training of DPW employees. To hear him talk, no one in the department knew how to do anything until he came along.

Ms. Canetti has been very vocal in her opposition of Ms. Rohde's hiring of her good friend, Mr. Heck, as Deputy Borough Manager. This job never existed until Mr. Heck, who was a self employed landscaper, needed a job with health benefits and a pension. This new position costs taxpayers $82,000 a year, which is well over one tax point! Ms. Canetti is right to voice her concern about this issue, since the hiring process was done behind closed doors and Mr. Heck's qualifications for such a position are slim at best. It has become pretty obvious that Mr. Heck will also become the Director of Public Works, which will include a pay raise, when the newly appointed director either retires or is demoted.

Defending the hiring of Mr. Heck, Mayor Davison said it was the best decision he has made in all his years on the council. Holy cow! Listening to the Ringwood Council whine about how badly they are being treated by the public is like living in an alternate reality.

Wenke Taule

former Ringwood mayor