Ho-Ho-Kus
May 8, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 5
Borough council renews Ho-Ho-Kus Inn lease
by Jennifer Crusco The Ho-Ho-Kus Council recently renewed the borough’s lease agreement with Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and Tavern, LLC, whose members include Gordon Hamm and Andrew, Anna, and Sarah Chapman. As approved at the council’s last public session, the five-year agreement calls for an annual rent of $83,929, payable at the rate of $6,994 per month retroactive to Feb. 1, 2013. Beginning Feb. 1, 2014, the agreement calls for the base rental to be adjusted annually by three percent or the annual increase in the consumer price index, whichever is less. All other terms and conditions of the lease are to remain in full force and effect, the resolution states. The renewal agreement extends from Feb. 1, 2013 to Jan. 31, 2018. In July 2009, the council convened a special meeting to ratify and confirm the assignment of the Ho-HoKus Inn lease to the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and Tavern, LLC. The council had taken the same action in April of that year, but a borough resident raised concerns regarding the public notice for the April session. The borough is required to send its meeting notices to two legal newspapers. At the time, a Ho-Ho-Kus official explained that the notices for the April special meeting had been sent out, but only one newspaper published the information. The council scheduled the July session to ensure the lease was being discussed at a meeting that clearly met the noticing requirements. Hamm, who was a councilman when the lease was being discussed in 2009, recused himself from the discussions and votes concerning the inn. In April 2009, the Ho-Ho-Kus Council agreed to assign the lease for the borough-owned Ho-Ho-Kus Inn building from Korbitz, Inc. to Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and Tavern, LLC. At that time, Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Attorney David Bole said the council had researched the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and Tavern, LLC’s finances. Bole reviewed the insurance coverage, and told the council the LLC agreed to secure liability insurance of at least $2 million. The LLC’s original lease called for a payment of $71,410 in 2009. Adjustments to the rental agreement included increases of three percent or the CPI, whichever was lower. When the lease agreement was approved four years ago, Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and Tavern effectively assumed the same lease that had been awarded to Intervilla by public bid in 1998. Intervilla principals Marcello Rusodivito and Franco Moretti ran the business until approximately 2007, when the lease was assigned to Korbitz. In January 2009, the inn closed with an uncertain prospect of reopening. Ho-Ho-Kus Inn & Tavern, LLC, subsequently sought to assume the lease. In May 2009, the council adopted a resolution to vacate
the lapsed liquor license that was assigned to Korbitz, Inc. and Korbitz principal Chris Kelly, who had been operating the Ho-Ho-Kus Inn, asked the council to assign the lease for the borough-owned property to Ho-Ho-Kus Inn and Tavern, LLC. The inn, located at 1 East Franklin Turnpike, is a national historical landmark that was built in the 1790s. The building is owned by the borough and any renovations or changes to the building must be approved by municipal officials.