Planning Board member won’t have to recuse
herself from car wash application hearings
By:Alec Moore
A judge has ruled that Planning Board member Marian Fenwick-Freeman will not have to remove herself from hearing Richard Grosso Jr.’s application for the proposed Mountain View Car Wash.
The ruling was made by Somerset County state Superior Court Judge Helen Hoens on Dec. 21.
"This is one of the best Christmas presents I could ever have gotten," said Ms. Fenwick-Freeman. She noted, however, that the only stipulation to the judge’s ruling was that both parties could go before Judge Hoens again in the event that Ms. Fenwick-Freeman’s vote on the application determines whether or not the application will be approved or denied.
Mr. Grosso had requested through his attorney, Richard Schatzman, that Ms. Fenwick-Freeman be removed from hearing the application on his proposed car wash because he said charges she made at the board’s Sept. 6 indicated she was biased against the application. During that meeting, Ms. Fenwick-Freeman said the sewer connection plans proposed for the business were "illegal, fraudulent and an atrocity."
Ms. Fenwick-Freeman’s attorney, Greg Sodini, said he expected the court date to be pushed back due to the holidays, but that was not the case, and at 3 p.m. Friday Judge Hoens presided over the matter between Ms. Fenwick-Freeman and Mr. Grosso at the Somerset County Courthouse.
"She dismissed it, she dismissed it altogether," said an ecstatic Ms. Fenwick-Freeman of the judge’s ruling which according to Ms. Fenwick-Freeman determined that she had acted within her rights as a Planning Board member in raising concerns over the Mountain View Car Wash application.
"It took all of 20 minutes, we went in at 3 o’clock and we were done by 3:20," said Ms. Fenwick-Freeman, who noted that the judge had mentioned during the hearing that she encourages Planning Board members to speak out. "She didn’t chastise me or anything and she was very matter of fact about everything," said Ms. Fenwick-Freeman who did not testify during the court proceedings.
"Each of the lawyers presented, they made their final statements and then they were done and it was all over," she added. "Having an excellent attorney really made the difference. I had complete confidence in him."
The question now becomes who is going to pay Ms. Fenwick-Freeman’s legal bills. According to Ms. Fenwick-Freeman, the Township Committee has indicated to her that the township will not be footing the bill. Mayor Joseph Tricarico said Township Attorney Emil Philibosian has advised the Township Committee that the township is not legally obligated to pay for Mr. Sodini’s services to Ms. Fenwick-Freeman. Mr. Philibosian could not be reached for comment by press time.