UCCF 7/20/17: Roselle’s Folly and the Return of the Prodigal

As a public service Freeholder Chairman Bergen warned about an invasive bug coming to Union County:
.

.
Coincidentally, earlier in the evening we learned of the return of a familiar name as a developer of the Roselle Mind and Body Complex that some Roselle residents warned would destroy their borough as if it were an ash tree facing a horde of Emerald Ash Borers.

Bonding Blank Check

Whatever Union County can’t get from raising taxes as much as is allowable under the tax cap and stealing Open Space Trust Fund money they bond for each summer. Here is a history:

• 616-2005: $21,576,863
• 631-2006: $44,351,923
• 653-2007: $29,204,825
• 669-2008: $26,164,000
• 687-2009: $43,371,808
• 713-2010: $43,892,019
• 723-2011: $49,557,455
• 740-2012: $31,938,317
• 752-2013: $46,588,800
• 759-2014: $38,793,236
• 765-2015: $44,904,146
• 776-2016: $58,933,154

The jump to $59 million in 2016 was a record but at tonight’s meeting that record will be shattered:

Building It (2) Courthouse Timeline

So how do you go about putting a Family Courthouse on the agenda to build after you have greased the people who need greasing to give the go-ahead. We will examine each stage in some detail but, for an overview, here is a timeline based on public information, mostly resolutions of the Union County Improvement Authority (UCIA) and, when necessary for bonding, of Union County (UC):

Building It – The Series (1) Plant the Seed

How does a major building project get done in Union County?

This series will examine the process concentrating on the recently completed Family Courthouse and the recently green-lit Mind & Body Complex in Roselle.

Step one: campaign donations.

If politicians want money from Netta Architects, NW Financial, and Mast Construction they have to provide them with work.

Juvenile Detention Center Lawsuits

Resolutions from the June 8, 2017 freeholder meeting:

2017-493: A Resolution appointing Palumbo, Renaud & DcAppolonio, LLC of Cranford, NJ as special counsel to represent Diana Youst in the matter entitled Hannah Burton v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed$20 ,000.

2017-494: A Resolution appointing Palumbo, Renaud & DcAppolonio, LLC of Cranford, NJ as special counsel to represent Diana Youst in the matter entitled Jessica Lederman v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed $20,000.

2017-495: A Resolution appointing Palumbo, Renaud & DcAppolonio, LLC of Cranford, NJ as special counsel to represent Diana Youst in the matter entitled Kyriaki Mouratoglou v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed $20,000.

2017-496: A Resolution appointing Palumbo, Renaud & DcAppolonio, LLC of Cranford, NJ as special counsel to represent Diana Youst in the matter entitled Corrina Stoker v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed $20,ooo.

2017-497: A Resolution appointing Kologi Simitz of Linden, NJ as special counsel to represent Frank Guzzo in the matter entitled Hannah Burton v. UC, et. al, in an amount not to exceed $20,000.

At the time the question was pay-to-play:
.

.
Now we have the lawsuits, all received on April 27, 2017:

Shakedown: The Fleecing of the Garden State

Carl J. Mayer profiled mostly legalized corruption twenty years ago on Sixty Minutes:
.

.
This segment yielded a book that, sadly, remains timely. Excerpts follow:

UCCF 6/22/17: Oak Ridge Park Plans

2017-542: A resolution amending Resolution Number 2016-514, authorizing the County Manager to enter into an Amended Shared Services Agreement with the Union County Improvement Authority for the Oak Ridge Park Project.

2017-543: Resolution Authorizing the County Manager to enter into a Use and Maintenance Agreement with the Union County College for the Oak Ridge Park Project.

From back on June 9, 2016:

2016-514: Resolution authorizing the County Manger to enter into a Shared Services Agreement with the Union County Improvement Authority for the development, construction and implementation of the Oak Ridge Property Project; and further transferring existing funds to the Union County Improvement Authority in an amount not to exceed $2,562,788.40 as per terms of the Agreement.

Back to the last meeting:
.