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Resident files complaint against Woodcliff Lake
(by Kevin Glynn - September 16, 2008)
Woodcliff Lake resident Kevin O’Brien filed a complaint on Sept. 11 with the Superior Court of New Jersey against the borough, asking for a motion to compel Mayor Joseph LaPaglia, Planning Board Chairman George Fry, and others, to turn over all correspondence regarding the proposed installation of a hydrogen tank at BMW’s headquarters on Chestnut Ridge Road. BMW currently has an application before the planning board requesting permission to install a hydrogen tank, which would be used internally by BMW personnel to fuel Hydrogen 7 model cars.
“When I read through it [the BMW application file], there seemed to be documents referenced that were missing,” O’Brien said in a phone interview. O’Brien believes there are e-mails and possibly other forms of correspondence involving borough officials not included in the BMW file, documents which should be subject to public inspection according to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA).
According to the lawsuit, O’Brien filed a records request on Aug. 1. He claims that Borough Administrator Ed Sandve told him that all correspondence was contained in the BMW file. O’Brien, however, says that there is correspondence in the file referencing e-mails that were not included.
“The town originally came back and said there’s nothing on file. Then it was, ‘well, the mayor only gets e-mails, he doesn’t send e-mails.’ Then Mayor LaPaglia said he never sent an e-mail on that topic, so it kept changing.”
LaPaglia, however, said the conversation they had about his use of e-mail has been taken out of context. “I told him I don’t use e-mail to correspond with any applicant,” the mayor said, adding that after O’Brien submitted the OPRA request, he reviewed his files and didn’t find any e-mails pertaining to BMW that he had initiated. “I obviously can’t control people who send me stuff,” he said.
O’Brien said he is also concerned with two references made in the file to pictures of the hydrogen tank. “Yet there’s no pictures in the box. It makes you wonder, ‘What else are they hiding from us?’” he said.
“I continue to be concerned about safety – safety for the first responders. Have they been properly trained?” O’Brien said.
Asked if he would drop the lawsuit if the town turned over any documents he believes to be missing from the file, O’Brien said, “I’ve asked the town to do that three times… They’ve still yet to respond to the request for documentation… I think it’s best suited for a judge to determine what’s right or wrong here.”
On Monday, Sept. 15, LaPaglia said he had not yet seen the complaint. “All I know is I went through my files, and other people went through their files, and we gave him copies of the documents that we believe were responsive to his request,” he said. “It’s not that we ignored his request. You’re talking about a fairly involved application that has been going on for probably over six months.”
Borough Attorney Mark Madaio said he received the complaint on Monday and asked O’Brien to provide him with a list of the documents he believes are missing. He then asked all borough officials to review their files for any correspondence that may not have been included in the BMW file. “We completely comply with OPRA,” Madaio said, “and if we miss something we will endeavor to provide every document every time.”
Madaio said he already found the pictures that O’Brien wanted and forwarded them to him on Tuesday afternoon.
One of the problems in this case, and in other towns, is that municipal officials sometimes use their personal or work computers and e-mail accounts to conduct borough business. While the personal and work computers and accounts remain private, any correspondence relating to borough business is subject to review according to the Open Public Records Act. LaPaglia, and any other officials who sent or received e-mails on their work or personal computers, have to go through their records to find any correspondence that should be at borough hall.
O’Brien, a mobile application consultant to the government, plans to take on the borough pro se, acting as his own attorney. He previously took on United Water and the Borough of Woodcliff Lake pro se in a complaint filed in 2003. In that complaint, O’Brien claimed that the water company failed to properly maintain the reservoir located in Woodcliff Lake and the property surrounding. While the judge’s ruling was sympathetic with O’Brien, he ultimately ruled in favor of the borough and the water company.
O’Brien has a court date set for Sept. 18 at 3 p.m. with Judge Robert P. Contillo to determine whether or not there should be a temporary restraining order placed on the Oct. 14 planning board meeting.
Kevin Glynn's e-mail address is glynn@northjersey.com.
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