Records returned to West Amwell

No charges have been filed in the investigation that began in 2005.

By: Linda Seida
   WEST AMWELL — The state has returned items seized in 2005 in an investigation related to access of public information as well as a proposed public sewer project.
   No charges were ever filed in the investigation, according to Township Attorney Philip Faherty.
   "If there was any wrongdoing, they’d have had an indictment, I’m sure," Mr. Faherty said Monday.
   The state verbally confirmed the investigation has concluded, but Mr. Faherty is awaiting written confirmation, he said.
   The seized items included a tape recorder and minutes from meetings of both the Township Committee and the Planning Board. The records spanned a time frame from Jan. 1, 2004, to April 2005.
   No explanation accompanied the items’ return July 10, according to township Clerk Lora Olsen. An investigator who was passing through dropped off the records and the tape recorder and asked her to sign a receipt, she said.
   The investigation actually had a silver lining, according to Mayor Ron Shapella.
   "The township pays much closer attention to how public records are kept and stored," he said. "We have a better recording system for public meetings, and our records are much more secure than they were before. The lesson for all of us is that we have to do everything we can to make sure township business is conducted as openly as possible and that we always are accountable to the public."
   Investigators remained characteristically tight-lipped. The official policy is to neither confirm nor deny an investigation, a spokesman for the Division of Criminal Justice said when the records were taken. A call to the division was not immediately returned.
   The return, apparently, was prompted by a request from the township.
   "The Township Committee asked Township Attorney Phil Faherty to make some phone calls, and within a matter of weeks, the records were returned," Mayor Shapella said. "Phil is now seeking a determination that the investigation has been closed, which will be helpful in putting this chapter behind us."
   In the meantime, the records are making life easier for township personnel.
   "The township is grateful that the records have finally been returned," Mayor Shapella said. "We actually needed them from time to time, which became an inconvenience."
   In 2005, the state demanded records that "concern, refer, relate or reflect" business conducted by the committee and the board, both solely and jointly with other official bodies.
   The subpoena specifically asked for all documents related to a proposed sewer area between Route 179 and Lambertville-Rocktown Road and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
   The subpoena also specifically referred to a request for information made by a township resident under the Open Public Records Act related to a meeting held Oct. 19, 2004, when the sewer service area was under discussion.
   Some residents have said the Oct. 19 meeting became volatile when the proposed sewer was being discussed. Some of them had thought the issue was dead, but they found out differently that evening when it came to light the sewer area was still included on a DEP map.
   The official minutes and recording contained no reference to the heated exchange. Also missing was the promise some residents recalled hearing from township officials there would be no discussion of a transfer of development rights until the sewer service area was removed from the state map.
   Adding to the confusion was the fact the township ended up with three different versions of transcribed minutes from the meeting.
   In West Amwell, everyone has private septic systems. Public sewers, some believe, would pave the way for increased development.
   The township now is in the process of trying to have the sewer service area removed from the DEP map.
   Mayor Shapella said, "The township submitted an amended wastewater management plan last fall, which DEP published and sought public comment on. That process ended earlier this year, and our amended plan, which would remove the township’s sewer service area, is still pending.
   "There are one or two issues relating to matters covered by closed session so that’s where things stand. Our plan is still pending."