By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Democrats running for Township Committee are seizing upon a letter in the Darby Development’s off-track site application to suggest that the local governing body knew months earlier than it has said about the possibility of a horse-wagering parlor in town.
After more than 18 months assembling the application for the N.J. Racing Commission, the controversial facility in a former restaurant on Route 206 South in Hillsborough plans a grand-opening ceremony for Saturday, Oct. 24.
Candidates Ann Harris and Laurie Poppe pointed to a May 9, 2013, letter from a Darby Development advisor to the executive director of the N.J. Horsemen’s Association saying “considerable progress” had been made in locating an OTW in Hillsborough.
That’s several months earlier than the Township Committee has said they knew about the application.
The letter in the OTW application says, “We engaged the services of a construction manager/general contractor to inspect and evaluate the location, assist in obtaining architectural proposals and (Darby president) Bob Kulina had a meeting with representatives of the town to provide a ‘heads-up’ initial meeting concerning the proposed OTW. The town was very receptive.”
The letter also said, “ If, for any reason, the lease negotiations falls through, the representatives from Hillsborough advised there were two other locations in town which may be suitable.”
The Democrats emphasized the parts about “the town was very receptive” and the suggestion of two other possibly suitable locations.
Mayor Douglas Tomson said Tuesday he thought it “amazing” that a document that he “sought to get released” from the racing commission and had been public since early August was being made an issue two weeks before the election. The Democrats face independent candidates Susan Gulliford and Republican incumbents Carl Suraci and Greg Burchette for two three-year seats.
Mayor Tomson said Tuesday no elected “true representative” township official had met with Darby. He said Gene Strupinsky, the township’s business advocate, met with Darby in April 2013, but stressed that Mr. Strupinsky was a fulltime employee whose job is to meet with companies and proprietors who are thinking about locating in Hillsborough.
The business advocate has such meetings nearly every day, the mayor said, and most of the time the plans don’t come to fruition, he said. The Township Committee doesn’t get told about every meeting, he said, nor would it be appropriate until a proposal firms up.
In the letter, which they titled, “Hillsborough Citizens Deserve Answers,” Ms. Ms. Harris and Ms. Poppe pointed to a letter dated May 9, 2013, sent to Michael Musto, executive director of the N.J. Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, by Dennis Drazin, identified in the letter as “advisor” but who is also listed as an attorney, wrote as one of a series of updated progress reports regarding off-track wagering sites.
“We have made considerable progress on the Hillsboro site,” the letter reads. “We engaged the services of a construction manager/general contractor to inspect and evaluate the location, assist in obtaining architectural proposals and (Darby president) Bob Kulina had a meeting with representatives of the town to provide a “heads-up” initial meeting concerning the proposed OTW. The town was very receptive.” (emphasis added)
Mr. Drazin also wrote, “ If for any reason, the lease negotiations falls through the representatives from Hillsborough advised there were two other locations in town which may be suitable.” (emphasis added).
The Democrats said they want to know the date and site of the meeting, who was there to represent the town, what information was discussed and how receptive was the representatives of the township and how they conveyed that.
The Democrats also ask why other locations were mentioned in the conversation. They want to know to whom the town’s “representatives” reported and what records were kept. They want to hear an explanation of the May letter and the township’s statements about knowing about it in the fourth quarter of the year. They wanted to know how suggestions of alternate sites shouldn’t be construed as encouraging the proposal.
“What did the township know and when and why did they not share all information with Hillsborough residents? It is now up to our elected officials to provide answers,” the letter says.
The letter said Hillsborough Democrats have filed an Open Public Records Act request regarding this meeting and other matters that came to light through a review of the application. To date, records for the OPRA request are pending.
“The citizens of Hillsborough deserve answers and township representatives should all be held accountable, as may be needed, so that the public can know of how the matter of the OTW was handled by our elected officials,” the letter says.
