Wyckoff August 24, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Committee discusses letter to zoning board chairman by John Koster The three Republican members of the Wyckoff Township Committee accused the lone Democrat, Brian Scanlan, of inappropriate behavior for circulating a letter to the press about Wyckoff Board of Adjustment policy that seemed to them to imply wrong-doing and meddling in the activities of an autonomous municipal board. Scanlan countered that there was nothing wrong with his letter regarding the engagement of a new board of adjustment attorney, and continued to press for a pay-to-play ordinance for the township. “It’s incredible that you would go and do this,” Township Committeeman Rudy Boonstra told Scanlan. Boonstra, who is the governing body’s liaison to the Wyckoff Board of Adjustment and a former board of adjustment member, said Wyckoff’s long-standing policy has been to leave the integrity of the Wyckoff Board of Adjustment intact, which is required by state law. Scanlan, who signed his letter as a member of the Wyckoff Township Committee, wrote to Doug Christie, chairman of the Wyckoff Board of Adjustment and Scanlan’s Republican challenger for a seat on the township committee. “As the Wyckoff Zoning Board of Adjustment has chosen the so-called ‘fair and open process’ to select its The Wyckoff Township Committee has approved a $164,955 contract with AJIM Contractors of Clifton for improvements to Main Street. The cost of the project will be defrayed by a $150,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The area of road widening and repaving will span the distance between Wyckoff Avenue and Madison Avenue. AJIM Contractors, of Clifton was the low bidder with a base bid of $164,954. The company also offered an alternative, which was not selected, that would have increased the price of the project by $61,251. Since the Wyckoff Township Committee did not require the alternate, the work will be carried out with only $14,955 in local funding. The construction will begin in late September and the stores along the Main Street right-of-way between Ever- Township approves contract for improvements ett Avenue and Madison Avenue will remain open during the project. The area between the on-street parking spaces which are perpendicular to the adjacent railroad siding will be enhanced with shade trees and landscaping. Customer access to the PTO Economy Shop will also be maintained during the construction. In prior years, Wyckoff has received grants for the repaving of a number of municipal roads including Mountain Avenue, West Main Street, Grandview Avenue, Lawlins Road, Crescent Avenue, Monroe Avenue, and Park Avenue. The competitive awards process for state grant money requires that municipal roads be heavily trafficked or connect another municipality or two county roads. J. KOSTER legal representation, I am writing to ask you to release to the press information on the political contributions which have been made by candidates for the position prior to announcing your choice,” Scanlan’s letter states. “While such information can presumably be requested by the Open Public Records Act, it is my hope that the board will provide the information and spare the press the time and expense of filing for this information, particularly in light of the disclosures that the previous holder of this office did in fact make such contributions.” Scanlan clarified his letter by saying Harold Cook III, the former zoning board attorney, had made contributions to Friends of Senator McNamara. Cook recently resigned as the board’s attorney due to an investigation that originated in another municipality. The Wyckoff Board of Adjustment, rather than the township committee, reported when Cook had resigned without conceding any wrong-doing. Scanlan made the following comments: “As you all know I have been interested in pay-to-play reform since I first ran for office in 2008. That’s why Brian Hubert and I (continued on page 23)