Mahwah July 17, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Spiech resigns council seat; township eyes options by Frank J. McMahon The Mahwah Township Council has two options to fill the unexpired four-year term of John Spiech, who recently resigned from the council. According to Mahwah Township Administrator Brian Campion, the council can leave the seat vacant until the general election in November when someone will be elected to fill the final year of Spiech’s term, or the council can appoint someone now to fill the vacancy until November when someone will be elected to serve the unexpired term. Spiech’s seat on the council will then be up for election in 2014, when his four-year term expires. Spiech, 75, resigned at the last meeting in June, advising the council that he would like to spend more time with his family, which includes two grandchildren in Colorado and two in New Hampshire. Spiech said he has no health problem, but his family has been prompting him to retire and he felt that resigning now would allow the township to hold a regular election in November and avoid any cost for a special election. The vacancy was discussed at last week’s meeting, when several council members voiced support for filling the vacancy now to avoid the possibility of tie votes until someone fills the vacancy. Other council members expressed the opinion that the seat should be left vacant until the November election. The council decided to wait until the July 25 meeting to make a decision on whether to fill the vacancy now or wait until someone is elected to the position in November. Mayor William Laforet praised Spiech, noting that he has served Mahwah in many capacities since 1965, including as councilman, council president, library trustee, mayor’s liaison to the library board, housing commission member, fire inspector, life-long firefighter, and planning board member. He said Spiech was also a Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 258, a Watershed Management #3 committee member, and an Army Corp of Engineers committee person. “There are few among us who have dedicated their lives to our community with the care and concern for simply wanting to make Mahwah a better place to live,” Laforet said. “John is a well-respected gentleman who has done so much for Mahwah. He is an honorable man who always spoke on behalf of the community as a gentleman and a diplomat. As mayor I am honored to have served with him and wish him nothing but happiness. Mahwah is a better place for John’s contribution. “Councilman John Spiech now turns his attention to his family and simply enjoying life,” Laforet concluded. Council President Harry Williams said he was shocked by Spiech’s announcement, but he sees no reason to doubt his explanation for his decision to resign. “I take him at face value,” he said. “John is a pretty forthright guy and so I think it’s not anything more than that.” Williams described Spiech as a role model for anyone looking to be a councilman or a volunteer. “John is the role model you want to look at,” Williams said. “He’s the prototype. He’s a model of how anybody doing this job should conduct himself and what he should be. He tries to do the right thing and I think his motives are pure in what he believes in. For me, he has been a source of great advice, and the best advice he gave me when I became council president was to keep my sense of humor.” Spiech is a life-long resident of the township. He has been married to his wife Patricia for 52 years and they have four children and four grandchildren. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and holds a bachelor’s degree in management. He also served in the United States Navy. Spiech previously served on the township council from 1997 to 2004 and was council president from 1999 to 2003. He is a retired senior automotive executive who was president of Ferrari North America and owner and president of Lotus Performance Cars. Spiech was the township’s first fire inspector in 1963 and he has been a volunteer firefighter in Mahwah for 52 years. An active member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Spiech was one of the founders of Boy Scout Troop 258, serving as committee chairman and as Scoutmaster. He has also served on several town boards and commissions, including the environmental commission, the Mahwah Green Team, the township’s community cable TV committee, and the senior advisory board. While serving as council president, Spiech was one of the leading proponents in the drive to build the town hall on Corporate Drive and ensured that the senior center was included in that building. Continental Soldiers Park, considered to be a state of the art recreation facility, was also completed while he was council president. He is credited with expanding the township’s water system, providing sewer service to additional portions of the township, building a new library, launching the township’s website, and putting minutes and agendas of all meetings online so they could be accessed by residents. In addition, he is credited with restarting the township newsletter, increasing open space in the township, defending the township’s water supply against towns in New York State and in New Jersey, and acquiring county and state grants to save tax dollars for the township. In 2001, he received the Bergen County Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award.