By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
WEST AMWELL — The gloves have come off in the race between two former mayors for a seat on the Township Committee.
Challenger Tom Molnar, a Republican, has alleged the governing body and his rival, incumbent Democrat Ron Shapella, have been fiscally irresponsible.
He also contends there is a lack of open government and alleges Mr. Shapella has taken credit where it is not due.
Mr. Shapella shot back, saying some of Mr. Molnar’s allegations are “absurd beyond words.”
Also, he said, Mr. Molnar has publicly “attacked” the governing body’s sustained and successful efforts to win back more than $1 million of lost state aid earlier this year.
The last time the two of them faced off in 2004, the number of votes that separated winner from loser was just 11, and the outcome was decided by provisional ballots.
The candidates do not seem to agree on anything.
Mr. Shapella, 55, has lived in the township for eight years. He is the executive director of the New Jersey Association for Sustainable Agriculture, a nonprofit he founded earlier this year.
He also has 30 years of experience as a communications professional, having worked in journalism, public relations and government affairs.
He first served on the committee in 2004 by appointment to fill an unexpired term and again from 2006 to present with a year as mayor in 2007.
He has served as chairman of the Environmental Commission. He also has served on the Planning Board and the Open Space, Stormwater, Cross-Acceptance and Recycling committees.
Mr. Molnar, 57, has lived in the township for nine years. He is an auto technology instructor at the Burlington County Institute of Technology in Mount Holly.
He served on the committee from 2004 to 2006, the last year as mayor.
He is a member of the Planning Board and the Parks and Recreation Committee. He also has served on the Board of Health and the Country Fair, Township Lands and Open Space committees.
His community service includes the South Hunterdon football and basketball booster clubs, and he also was assistant coach of the South County Soccer Association.
”We have done a lot of good things in recent years,” Mr. Shapella said of his record of action in office. “Our town united and overcame a fiscal crisis this spring. I am exploring shared services with neighboring towns as one way to reduce the local tax burden.
”I led the push in recent years to protect our rural heritage from uncontrolled development. For the first time we can tell developers what to do rather than the other way around.
”Also for the first time, West Amwell is free of the threat of sewered development. I am the only one in this election who can be depended upon to preserve these protections.”
The township’s fiscal crisis erupted when the state threatened to reduce aid by more than $1 million. The state eventually relented and gave the township its aid. Even better, the state threw in an additional $200,000 in extraordinary aid.
Mr. Molnar said he thinks Mr. Shapella is taking credit where none is due concerning the removal of the sewer service area.
He said, “Mr. Shapella thinks that he is the only person responsible for the elimination of sewers in West Amwell. I would have bet any amount of money that they would have been eliminated while I was the mayor in 2006.
”Due to the state dragging their feet, the sewer service area was eliminated during Shapella’s watch. He is trying to take full credit for the combined efforts of many people.”
But Mr. Shapella said Mr. Molnar’s assertion is incorrect, and it is, in fact, Mr. Molnar who is trying to steal the credit.
Mr. Shapella said, “The first thing I did when I was sworn in in January 2006 was begin rewriting our wastewater management plan to remove the sewer service area. Mr. Molnar had already been on the Township Committee for more than a year at that point and had not done a thing to accomplish what had been identified as an important township goal starting in 2001 during the Master Plan process.
”Mr. Molnar is trying to take full credit for something he was not involved in at all, except to listen as I gave the Township Committee updates of my progress with DEP. I will remind Mr. Molnar that the state did not present our plan for formal adoption until late 2006. Approval would have taken place in early 2007, after he was out of office, except our plan got tied up in the Fulper lawsuit, which was filed while he was still mayor.
”The state did not drag its feet but was waiting for the township to adopt a nitrate dilution ordinance, which was also blocked by the Fulper lawsuit. DEP finally decided there was no reason not to adopt our plan and remove the sewer service area, and that took place in March of this year.
”Ironically, DEP imposed a much more stringent nitrate dilution requirement than would have been the case if we had been able to proceed without the lawsuit.”
The Fulper family is suing the township, the committee, the Board of Health and the General Development Plan Committee in New Jersey Superior Court. The family alleges the township’s reserve septic ordinance reduced the value of the family’s land along Lambertville-Rocktown Road.
They contend the township would have profited by being able to purchase development rights for a lower price. The lawsuit, filed in 2006, is ongoing.
The Fulpers entered into a General Development Agreement with the township in 2003. They agreed to preserve some of their land in exchange for the ability to cluster 67 units on a parcel with minimum lot sizes of 1.13 acres.
They also agreed to a building moratorium on 130.4 acres along Lambertville-Rocktown Road provided a receiving zone for the transfer of development rights was created within three years. The township did not create such a zone.
Mr. Molnar said one of the main reasons he decided to run for office again is to “restore balance to the committee.”
”The current Township Committee is composed of members who all think alike,” he said. “There seems to be no room for an opposing view or an opposing opinion. One member proposes a piece of legislation, and the other two members automatically vote yes for it. I will contribute thoughts and opinions that, so often, seem to be overlooked and uninvited.”
Mr. Shapella countered he has appointed Republicans to key positions, and Mr. Molnar was one of them. Republicans were appointed to positions on the Planning Board, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Environmental Commission and numerous committees.
”As anyone who attends a Township Committee meeting knows, there are two public comment periods on each agenda, and the Township Committee takes additional comments from the audience on any given agenda matter,” Mr. Shapella added.
”Mr. Molnar rarely attends Township Committee meetings, and when he does, he usually leaves after a short time so I am puzzled about what ‘thoughts and opinions’ have been overlooked.
”The current discussion on a proposed ordinance to protect drinking water aquifers here in West Amwell is a case in point. It has been discussed in open session before the Board of Health, Agriculture Advisory Committee and Planning Board for several months and has been amended significantly in that time.
”As Mr. Molnar knows, township committees past and present have always reached consensus on practically all of the normal business that is on any given agenda. That’s because elected officials in West Amwell have dealt with routine township business — and 90 percent of any given Township Committee agenda is pretty routine — based on a set of values that are broadly shared in our community.”
Mr. Molnar said another reason he is running for office is because he wants to restore open and honest government. He contends the current governing body has held an “extraordinary number” of meetings that have been closed to the public.
”Many of these meetings need not be closed to the public,” he said. “The residents have the right to know how their money is being spent and what the future of open space lands are and how much money it will cost them as taxpayers.”
By law, governing bodies are permitted to hold closed-session meetings and exclude the public to discuss personnel, litigation and the acquisition of property.
Mr. Shapella countered township government already is being run openly and honestly, perhaps more so than when Mr. Molnar was in office.
”It was at my suggestion in 2005 during a Township Committee meeting that meetings of additional advisory committees, including Open Space, be recorded,” Mr. Shapella said. “So West Amwell Township government is far more open now.
”But since we’re counting meetings, I would like to remind Mr. Molnar that he missed five of 13 Planning Board meetings last year and four of 10 so far this year or about 40 percent over two years.
”As a member of the Township Lands Committee in 2007-08, he missed seven of 12 meetings or 58 percent. It seems to me that a big part of ‘open and honest government’ involves showing up, not just taking potshots.
”Meanwhile, there have not been an ‘extraordinary number’ of closed sessions. Believe me, the Township Committee does not hold any more meetings than are necessary. When I was mayor in 2007, there were a total of eight more meetings held than when Mr. Molnar was mayor the year prior.
”As Mr. Molnar knows, once or twice a year our township attorney reviews all the closed-session minutes and determines which can be made public, at which time they are released. So the people of West Amwell are being informed.
”Litigation needs to be discussed in closed session, but there have been about the same number of meetings on those issues as when he was mayor. Open space transactions also need to be discussed in closed session when they relate to negotiating positions. There probably have been more of those since our Open Space Committee is more active and communicates better with the Township Committee than it once did.
”Projects being considered for preservation are discussed publicly at Township Committee and Open Space Committee meetings and are reflected in the Open Space Committee minutes, which are posted on the township’s Web site. Open Space Committee minutes started being posted on the Web site after Mr. Molnar left office, which enhanced the openness of our municipal government.”
Mr. Molnar also said he wants to restore fiscal responsibility.
”Last year, the state threatened to take away almost a million dollars in state aid,” he said. “At the end of this controversial move, the state not only restored our state aid, but also gave West Amwell an additional $200,000.
”I was very happy that the money was restored to all towns that were affected. In spite of this additional money, our municipal tax rate still went up by an astronomical amount. My job as a committeeman will be to watch every penny and justify all expenditures.”
Mr. Shapella agreed fiscal responsibility is one of the most important duties faced by officials.
”It is alive and well in West Amwell,” he said. “I am glad Mr. Molnar is happy we got our money back from the state after the fiscal crisis this spring. We actually got back more than any other municipality in New Jersey.
”Of course, while other township residents volunteered to lead the effort to restore more than $1 million in revenue, and while the people of West Amwell united to write letters and make phone calls, and while the Township Committee went to Trenton to discuss the situation with top legislators, Mr. Molnar publicly attacked these efforts twice in a partisan manner and at crucial times.
”The municipal tax rate is still less than 10 percent of the overall tax bill and has gone up for specific costs that the Township Committee either has no control over or relate to capital spending commitments made when Mr. Molnar was mayor.”
”A small part of the increase is due to the purchase of a fire truck, which I am very proud to have been a part of,” Mr. Molnar said. “The substantial amount of increase occurred since then. I haven’t been in office since 2006.”
Mr. Shapella said the top issues he sees in the township are reducing the burden on local taxpayers, preserving the township’s rural heritage and promoting agricultural sustainability.
”This past spring we got through a fiscal crisis when the state tried to take away more than $1 million in revenue,” he said. “We got our money back — and then some — and now I am working to make sure we don’t have to go through that again. I have been exploring shared services that will further reduce the local tax burden.
”Our new recycling system is a shared service that will be more convenient to residents, increase the amount we are recycling and probably make money for the township, instead of costing taxpayers $10,000 a year.
”We are studying the feasibility of a south county police force. Considering what we went through this spring, it seemed we should look into it. There will be public meetings when the study comes out.
”Bottom line: If a combined police force is not good for West Amwell, it’s not going to be something I can support.”
Mr. Molnar is concerned about possible shared services.
”That seems to be the buzzword for all municipalities and school systems,” he said. “I feel that before any long-term contracts are signed for shared services, a trial period should be enacted. This way if it doesn’t work out, a modified contract, or complete restructuring, can be crafted. Ill-crafted, long-term shared service contracts can be a detriment to the community.”
But Mr. Shapella refuted the suggestion of any “ill-crafted, long-term contracts.”
”We have entered into an agreement with Lambertville so we can handle our own recycling program instead of paying a hauler $10,000 to take it away,” he said. “We expect to break even or make money, which I think is very fiscally responsible. The program has been discussed and planned by our Recycling Committee and discussed publicly for the past year and is patterned on the system that Lambertville has used for some time. The agreement contains an opt-out provision with 60 days notice.
”We are also looking at shared services involving other municipal services and other neighboring municipalities. We are also embarking on a feasibility study of a combined south county police force with East Amwell and Lambertville. I have spoken to our police officers about this and am on the record stating that when this study comes out, there will be public meetings to discuss its findings.
”We have a very good local police force that I want to remain on the job here in West Amwell. I will not support any proposal that is not good for West Amwell.”
Concerning the promotion of agricultural sustainability, Mr. Shapella said, “West Amwell is a test case for the future of farming in New Jersey. The odds are against ag sustainability in our town and the state. Owners of established farms are at or approaching retirement. Real estate prices are putting land out of reach for new farmers.
”The historic connection between local farms and communities needs to be renewed. The Agriculture Advisory Committee I appointed last year is addressing these issues for the first time.
”West Amwell has created a directory of locally produced food. We are looking at local ordinances to determine the impact on local farming. We are revising our farmland preservation plan, and next spring, we expect to start a farmers market on the municipal property. I will continue to protect the future of farming in West Amwell.”
Mr. Molnar does not see any improvement in the promotion of agriculture in the township.
”Since Mr. Shapella has proclaimed himself the ‘executive director of sustainable farming in West Amwell,’ there have been more farmers fighting and arguing with each other than ever before. He has not visited with nor contacted any of the larger farms in the township or any of the smaller farms, for that matter, except for one or two that he knows personally.
”The farmers want to know what impacts the executive director will have on their day-to-day operations. They would like to contribute their thoughts to this process. They are asking, ‘What new rules will we have to follow and what will it cost us in the short and long run?
’Other than the article in the paper, no one knows anything.
”Unfortunately, I don’t believe that Mr. Shapella has ever owned or for that matter ever worked on a farm.”
Mr. Molnar is misinformed, according to Mr. Shapella.
”Mr. Molnar completely misconstrues the nature and purpose of the nonprofit association I have created to promote agricultural sustainability in New Jersey,” Mr. Shapella said. “I can assure him that he has no idea who I have talked to and what farms I have visited.”
Mr. Shapella has written and published an op-ed piece in several newspapers. It details the goals of his organization.

