Posted on September 2, 2024
WAYNE, NJ – A bond ordinance was introduced during this past township council meeting to authorize $3.38 million for the dredging of Packanack Lake. During the discussion prior to the vote, two council members voiced objections to taxpayer funds being used to improve a private lake in Wayne Township. While Packancker, and At-Large Councilwoman Jill Sasso, a member of the Packanack Lake Association Board of Directors, defended the use of funds, saying the dredging is court-mandated.
Second Ward Councilman Al Sadowski began the discussion, talking about the 1975 court ruling that has since forced Wayne Township to pay for the dredging of the fingers of Packanack Lake and asked the township administration what could be done to challenge the nearly 50-year-old ruling, saying that changes have been made to mitigate downstream flow into Packanack Lake since.
“I don’t believe that the original premise from 1975 still applies in 2024,” he said. “So that’s the first thing I’d like to suggest, that the administration seek a sample of what’s in [the fingers] and tell us how much of that is caused by Wayne Township versus how much is caused by natural conditions in that local area.”
Sixth Ward Councilman Jon Ettman added to this, saying, “I have real concerns that the taxpayers are spending over $3,000,000 to remedy this issue, and unless you live in the lake, you’re not even allowed to dip your toe in the lake. That seems outrageous to me, frankly.”
Ettman said that he had done “cursory research,” and believes the township should challenge the 1975 court ruling.
“I don’t know the answer, legally, whether-or-not there is an opportunity to extricate ourselves from the ridiculous perpetuity nature of this agreement,” said Ettman, “But I think it’s worth looking at and possibly challenging if there is a legal basis to do so.”
Dave Verano, another At-Large Wayne Councilmember, said that he would also be “in favor” of the township looking into challenging the court order to pay for the dredging of the lake.
“Obviously we’re on the wrong side of a judgment by a higher court, but nothing is set in stone,” he said. “There’s always an opportunity to bring forth new arguments, new evidence and I think it’s worth [investing in] some sort of an expert and analysis on what’s changed, if anything, over the last 40 odd years.”
As a resident of Packanack Lake, a member of the Pakanack Lake Association, and serving on both the Board of Governors and the Board of Directors for a number of years, Councilwoman-At-Large, Jill Sasso comes at the issue from the opposite direction.
“I have read up on this, and we have been fighting with the Township for years to fulfill the obligation of the Township,” she said. “It is very complicated; there is a lot of science that goes to it.”
She mentioned a parade of professionals that have been paid for by the lake association who educated the community on the local watershed that affects Packanack Lake. And talked about spending “well over” $1 million per year to remediate what comes into the lake “that does not come from members of our immediate community.”
“Anybody who puts materials on the pavement that are not put in by Packanack Lake,” she said as an example, mentioning Wayne Township specifically. “That stuff goes in the lake, and it disturbs the entire lake.”
The councilwoman was fired up and confident, saying “bring it on,” regarding the challenge to the court ruling.
“I personally think the lake bears an unusual responsibility for maintaining that water source, that maybe shouldn’t be borne strictly by the members of that lake,” said Sasso. “So, I’m happy to open that door, and I’m happy to go down it. And I think we could fight for more to be done by the town than what is being done today. So, let’s bring it on. Let’s bring in the experts; let’s educate everybody in terms of how this stuff works and how the watershed works.”
Mayor Chris Vergano, who is also a Packanacker, told the township council that they had an “obligation to proceed with the project,” and described the last time it had been done, eleven years ago.
“I can tell you back in 2013, the last time we did this, it took us 108 days,” he said. “It took 108 days because we removed 527 truckloads of silt. It’s not grass, it’s not twigs, it’s not leaves, it’s silt. It’s measurable; you can see it with your eye.”
The mayor asked township attorney Matt Giacobbe to weigh in, and he explained why it may not be the wisest choice to fight the ordinance and not dredge the lake.
“Not only is there a prior agreement, but there’s also our practice of doing this since the 70s,” said the attorney. “So, there’s a big difference between leaves and grasses – which are biodegradable – versus silt, which is really just very fine pieces of stone and dirt. Unless there’s another culprit that we can identify that is causing the silt, we will not prevail. You will lose, and you’ll be forced to do it. And the issue is that you’re going to expend funds litigating something that was litigated and agreed to many years prior.”
In 1975, the court ruling forced Wayne township to dredge the easternmost of the two “fingers” of Packanack Lake, but in 1998, an update to the ruling forced the township to include the west finger. It also changed the annual measuring of silt levels to once-every-two-years, which Giacobbe pointed out was “a benefit” to the township.
Lastly, the attorney said that there was “little chance” of beating this particular dredging obligation through litigation.
Sadowski pointed out that he just wanted to make sure that the township was responsible for the “minimum” requirements of the lawsuit.
“I think any resident of Wayne Township would agree that we should pay for what we’re responsible for, and nothing more,” said the Second Ward Councilman.
Attorney Giacobbe recommended that the council vote to approve the introduction of the ordinance. This would then give him two weeks to research the issue. “Then we can tell you what we’ve discovered going back through the archives, to see if there’s anything that would shed light on why it was a settlement agreement,” he said.
The vote to introduce the ordinance was passed 6-0 with Councilman Sadowski abstaining. This issue will now come up again, likely during the September 4th Township Council meeting, where it will be up for a final vote.
And TAPinto will be there, so you don’t have to be.
