Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • August 31, 2011 Franklin Lakes Borough resident recommended for NBCUA post by Frank J. McMahon Thomas Lambrix, the chairman of the Franklin Lakes Environmental Commission for the past three years, has been recommended by the borough council for appointment to the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority. The council passed a resolution recommending the appointment because Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan and the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders are considering an appointment of a borough resident to the NBCUA since the authority is planning to construct sanitary sewers in the borough’s business district. Prior to passing the resolution 3-1 with one abstention, the council discussed the vacancy on the NBCUA. Mayor Frank Bivona said he wants to have a borough resident who is recommended by the governing body serve on the NBCUA, especially in light of the sanitary sewer project. Michael Friscia was the lone member of the council to vote against the passage of the resolution. He explained his position, saying such a recommendation might set an undesirable precedent. He added that he is concerned about the perception of the council if the freeholders do not appoint the recommended person. Mayor Bivona emphasized that Lambrix would be representing the residents of Franklin Lakes, not the borough council. He explained that the NBCUA has already approached several members of the council and has discussed appointing someone else from the borough who would also be acceptable, but would not be his top choice. Councilman William Smith explained further that the freeholders want someone from Franklin Lakes to fill the position and it should be someone who has been recom- The “Music under the Stars” fundraiser for the Franklin Lakes Memorial Pond was a huge success according to Jo Ann Romano and Kathy Psirogianes of the Franklin Lakes Memorial Pond Committee. The benefit, which netted $7,000, will support the maintenance of the pond, which is being further renovated in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Ann Swist helped Romano and Psirogianes run the event, and chaired the special auction. The Memorial Pond is located behind the municipal building on DeKorte Drive and the event took place on the field behind the Franklin Lakes Municipal Building. The fundraiser was sponsored by the Franklin Lakes Memorial Pond Committee along with The Franklin Lakes Public Events Committee and the event featured the Jersey Roll- Memorial Pond fundraiser is success ers Band. “The Franklin Lakes Memorial Pond has become a vital part of the Franklin Lakes Community,” Romano said. “It has been built by many dedicated volunteers and all through donations.” She emphasized, however, that the committee still needs to raise additional funds for plantings required by the New Jersey Department of Environmental protection, lighting, and for the perpetual maintenance which will be needed every year.” While the memorial honors Thomas Cahill, Frank Deming, and Steven Schlag, who were Franklin Lakes residents at the time of the 9/11 attack, and Alexia Tsairis who was lost in the hijacking of Pam Am Flight 103 in 1988, Romano said the memorial also honors all those who have (continued on page 21) mended by the council as the best qualified person for the position and who is best suited for the position. “If someone else from Franklin Lakes is appointed, that’s fine,” Bivona said, “but I feel Tom Lambrix is the best choice for the position and our recommendation should be heard.” The other person the freeholders are considering is Jay Lazerowitz, an alternate member of the planning board, who was recommended by former mayor and current Freeholder Maura DeNicola. Lambrix has lived in the borough for 19 years and his three children are all graduates of the Franklin Avenue Middle School and Ramapo High School. He currently serves on the board of trustees of the Nature Conservancy of New Jersey, and he is an adjunct professor of management and communications in the Anisfield School of Business at Ramapo College of New Jersey, where he teaches several graduate and undergraduate business courses. He has a degree in chemistry from Rutgers University and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts. He has been active in the community, coaching in the recreation program, and as a member of the mayor’s committee that analyzed the controversial split of the borough’s students between the two schools in the regional high school district that existed in the mid-1990s. He has also been a member of the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education’s Horizon Project and Community Issues Committee. For 10 years, he participated in that district’s FLOW Follies scholarship fundraising program, where he was active in script writing and performing. His career spans both business and government. His last corporate position was as executive vice president of the Hawthorn Group, a Washington, D.C. public affairs company, where he led the firm’s energy and environmental practice. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of communications and public affairs for Union Camp Corporation, a company he joined in 1992 as vice president of communications. Before joining Union Camp, Lambrix spent 10 years with Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where he was manager of external communications. Before his tenure at Phillips, Lambrix received a presidential appointment to the White House domestic policy staff as assistant director for energy and natural resources. While at the White House, he worked on numerous environmental and natural resources issues for the President of the United States. His 10 years of federal government experience also included many government assignments where he was involved in legislative and executive branch activities.