Sparta Township Council Meeting Minutes
Excerpts from the March 10, 2009 Sparta Township Council meeting minutes—
http://www.spartanj.org/uppages/3-10-09.pdf
March 10, 2009
The Sparta Township Council met in a regular meeting of Council on Tuesday, March 10, 2009
at Sparta Town Hall, 65 Main Street, Sparta, NJ.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Brady who issued the formal statement in
compliance with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, P.L.
Roll call was taken and present were: Councilman Spekhardt, Deputy Mayor Seelagy,
Councilman Murphy, Mayor Brady, Township Attorney Tom Ryan, Township Manager Henry
Underhill, and Township Clerk Mary Coe. Councilman Goldberg was absent.
Riverbank Update:
Mr. Underhill stated that officials from Riverbank met with town officials. He stated that town
officials assisted them and attended meetings with the Highlands Council and the DEP. Mr.
Underhill stated that both meetings seemed to go well. Mr. Underhill stated that Riverbank had
met with officials from Andover Township.
Mayor Brady stated that he had attended the meeting between Riverbank and the Andover
Township officials. Mayor Brady stated that two weeks prior Councilman Boyce from Andover
Township had attended the Sparta Council meeting and had expressed a desire for Riverbank
officials to meet with Andover Township officials. Mayor Brady stated that the President of
Riverbank and his experts flew down from Toronto to meet with the Andover Township
Manager, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and an expert in hydrology. Mayor Brady stated that the
Andover Township Mayor facilitated the process.
Mayor Brady stated that Andover Township officials had expressed four concerns to the officials
of Riverbank. He stated that their concerns were regarding transmission lines, hydrology effect
on the community, removal of rock and compensation that Sparta Township was receiving.
Mayor Brady stated that Mr. Douglas, the President of Riverbank, agreed to investigate alternate
routes for transmission lines and would be doing extensive studies of the geology of the area and
the hydrology. Mayor Brady stated that the DEP was the oversight agency and would require the
studies to be conducted. Mayor Brady stated also that the President of Riverbank had agreed to
meet with the Andover Township officials on a quarterly basis to update them on the progress of
the project.
Robert Smith, Mayor of Andover Township, addressed Council and stated that he was impressed
by the forthcoming nature of Sparta Township at the meeting. He stated that a considerable
amount of time was spent speaking with Riverbank officials. He stated that his goal was to
establish communication between the entities and was very encouraged. He stated that specific
issues were discussed that had been mentioned by Mayor Brady. He stated that Andover
Township’s immediate concern was the proposed routing of the transmission lines. He stated
that it did not appear to be logical and Riverbank had stated that it was only a proposed route.
Mayor Smith stated that Riverbank had indicated that there were two or more alternatives that
could be looked into. Mayor Smith stated that residents in Andover Township were concerned
over the project and had been attending Council meetings in record numbers. Mayor Smith
stated that he wanted to keep the dialog between Sparta and Andover Township open. Mayor
Smith stated that he would like Riverbank officials to come to an Andover Township meeting to
answer the residents’ questions directly.
Mayor Brady stated that Riverbank officials had met with the chief geologist at the DEP and had
relayed Andover Township’s concerns regarding the project. Mayor Brady stated that Sparta has
not yet set a date for Riverbank to address Sparta’s residents and would have an open public
meeting in the future. Mayor Brady stated that Sparta is very concerned about the aquifer and
would not allow anything to jeopardize the drinking water for the Township.
Mr. Underhill stated that Riverbank sent another batch of frequently asked questions to be posted
on the Township website. He stated that Riverbank was also going to hire a company to do the
borings.
Open to the Public:
Bob Dole, 14 Southdown Drive, Lafayette addressed Council concerning Dorsett Farm
Development’s concerns regarding the Riverbank project and the power lines that were proposed
along the easement adjacent to the development. Mr. Dole stated that the residents of the
development had health and aesthetic concerns. He stated that there were also concerns
regarding the aquifer.
Mayor Brady stated that the DEP would conduct extensive studies and the project would
progress over time. He stated that the president of Riverbank had met with Andover Township
officials and had agreed to investigate alternative routes that did not go through Andover
Township.
Scott Frauenpries, Katelyn Court, Andover, addressed Council and stated that he had received an
e-mail from the project manager of Riverbank whereby Riverbank would consider burying the
transmission lines that pass by dense residential areas. He stated that Riverbank’s preliminary
permit application did not propose alternate routings. Mr. Frauenpries stated that he would be
greatly impacted by the current proposed routing. Mayor Brady stated that Riverbank got the
proposed routing from PJM. Mayor Brady stated also that Riverbank understood Andover
Township’s objections to the transmission lines going through their town.
Robert Smith, Mayor of Andover Township, reiterated that at a recent meeting held with
Riverbank that they had a clear understanding of Andover Township’s objections to the
transmission lines in their town.
Scott Theil, 6 Southdown Drive, Lafayette, addressed Council and stated that Sparta was a
partner with Riverbank. He stated that clearly Sparta had rights of way that run through town
that could be utilized by Riverbank. Mayor Brady stated that it didn’t come down to what
Council suggested. He stated that Riverbank files with another company who makes a
determination on where to interconnect with the grid. Mayor Brady stated that Andover’s
Deputy Mayor suggested alternate routes to Riverbank and Riverbank made note of them.
Mark Gore, 7 Southdown Drive, Lafayette addressed Council and stated that clearly Riverbank
came down from Toronto because of Sparta. He stated that Sparta went out to bid and stood to
gain the financial benefits. He stated that residents of the Dorsett development had health
concerns regarding the transmission lines. Councilman Murphy stated that Sparta’s
Environmental Commission had concerns as well and would share any information with
Andover Township.
Sally Tranati, 11 Southdown Drive, Lafayette, addressed Council concerning the proposed
transmission lines and asked if there was a timeframe on when alternate routes would be
announced. Mayor Brady stated that there was no timeframe.
Richard Sullivan, 88 Cheyenne Trail, Sparta addressed Council and stated that he was confident
that Sparta Township would look into all environmental and health concerns regarding the
Riverbank project. He stated that he felt the project was good for the community in order to
bring in a revenue stream. He stated that he was concerned when he went on the town’s website
to ask a question and got an automatic response telling him that his question would take several
weeks to be posted. Mr. Sullivan also raised concerns regarding Riverbank’s ability to turn a
profit.
Joy Theil, 6 Southdown Drive, Lafayette, addressed Council concerning Riverbank’s feasibility
study. She asked how much influence Sparta had over the Riverbank project with regard to
environmental concerns. Mayor Brady stated that the State DEP had responsibility for
environmental concerns.
Victor Kaplan, 23 Victoria Pines Lane, Andover addressed Council and asked why Sparta
Township had not been more forthcoming regarding the project. Mayor Brady stated that
Council had been approached by Riverbank, along with Limecrest Developers, some months
ago. He stated that negotiations had been conducted over an extended period of time. Mayor
Brady stated that a two billion dollar project in Sussex County did not exist. Mayor Brady stated
that all negotiations were conducted in executive session. He stated that Council went public
with the project at the same time that the agreements had been signed.
Brian Sullivan, 21 Dorsett Lane, Lafayette addressed Council and asked whether they had any
contingency discussions if Riverbank decided to route the lines through Sparta. Mayor Brady
stated that they had not had contingency discussions with Riverbank. Mayor Brady stated that he
truly believed that Riverbank would investigate alternate routes.
Scott Frauenpries, Katelyn Court, Andover, addressed Council with questions regarding the
signed agreement. Mayor Brady stated that there were several documents involved and they
were very extensive. He stated that Riverbank had a right to exercise an option within the
confines of federal and state regulatory agencies, and that Sparta did not have direct control.
No one else wished to be heard and this portion was closed.
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