Resident Kate Middleton has filed a complaint with the Department of Community Affairs, alleging Mayor Amy Aughenbaugh broke ethics laws because of her involvement with a housing development in Hightstown.
By: Scott Morgan
HIGHTSTOWN A borough resident last week filed a grievance with the state Department of Community Affairs against Mayor Amy Aughenbaugh, claiming she committed an ethics violation as a member of the Planning Board.
Last Thursday, Kate Middleton, a resident of Monmouth Street, filed a conflict of interest violation grievance with the DCA’s Local Finance Board. Ms. Middleton claims Mayor Aughenbaugh breached ethics laws by voting as a member of the Planning Board on issues connected to Weichert Realtors, the company that hold’s the mayor’s real estate license.
The issue at hand centers around Weichert’s relationship with DM Associates, a development company based in Freehold, which obtained development rights for the 11-house Grant Preserve development in 1999.
The complaint charts the sequence of the Planning Board’s business with DM from the April 3, 1999, approval for a major subdivision through a Feb. 12, 2001, decision that granted DM Associates a 120-day extension, to May 13, 2002, when the mayor sat in on a presentation by DM Associates regarding another property.
The complaint also contains an April 4, 2002, letter from Van Cleef Associates, the borough’s engineering firm, to DM Properties, which Ms. Middleton said points to inappropriate use of the mayor’s position to "relax" certificate of occupancy restrictions by granting DM Associates a certificate prior to the completion of sidewalks at Grant Preserve.
The letter, citing a conversation between Van Cleef and DM, states "(Mayor Aughenbaugh) indicated that you felt you might not be able to complete the installation of the sidewalk prior to the request for the first certificate of occupancy. The mayor has determined that this standard can be relaxed to allow you the issuance of four certificates of occupancy prior to the completion of the sidewalk on Grant Avenue." It adds, "No additional certificates of occupancy will be issued until the sidewalk is completed."
Ms. Middleton said the mayor’s relationship to Weichert places her in conflict with her duties as mayor. She said Mayor Aughenbaugh performed secretarial duties for Weichert before getting her license and that, due to her connection with the company, should have recused herself from any official action that would involve the Realtor. Her grievance states, "… whenever DM Properties appears before the Hightstown Planning Board, Ms. Aughenbaugh’s personal interest in Weichert stands in ‘substantial conflict’ with the ‘proper discharge of (her) duties’ as a member of the Hightstown Planning Board and as mayor of Hightstown."
Mayor Aughenbaugh called the filing little more than a politically motivated attack by a "disgruntled resident." She said she does not work for Weichert, though the company does hold her real estate license.
Mayor Aughenbaugh has been licensed since March 7, 2001.
She said her work with Weichert is as an independent sales agent, but she does not receive an actual salary from the Realtor. Any money she makes, she said, is as commission.
The mayor denied that her presence on the Planning Board and her affiliation with Weichert had any bearing on proceedings with DM Properties. Contrary to Ms. Middleton’s statements in her grievance, Mayor Aughenbaugh said, Weichert is not the sole agent handling DM’s business in Grant Preserve.
"DM hasn’t asked to be the client," the mayor said. "There is no commitment to any real estate agent."
She said many of the wives of DM’s associates are real estate agents and that they work for varied realty agencies. Mayor Aughenbaugh said she conferred with Planning Board attorney Gary Rosensweig who informed her there was no need to automatically recuse herself from discussions with DM Properties, as it is not the developer’s primary agent. She added she has removed herself from any personal business dealings with Grant Preserve.
Responding to the claims that she parlayed her office into granting four certificates of occupancy before sidewalk construction was completed, Mayor Aughenbaugh said the circumstances were misrepresented by Ms. Middleton. She said DM Properties promised four families they could move into their new Grant Preserve homes by April 30 of this year. The borough housing inspector and zoning officer, Harry Wetterskog, wanted to issue certificates of occupancy to these families, as the families had sold their previous homes and needed to move in, the mayor said. However, according to the mayor, Borough Engineer Carmela Santaniello denied the certificates of occupancy, since the sidewalks were incomplete.
Tempers flared between Ms. Santaniello, attorneys for DM Properties and Mr. Wetterskog, the mayor said. The tempers nearly turned into a legal battle, she said.
"It got really out of control," the mayor said.
Mayor Aughenbaugh said she inadvertently became a mediator in the issue, which was ultimately decided by all parties involved. She said she could not make Ms. Santaniello relax certificate of occupancy requirements and that the ultimate decision belongs to the engineer.
The mayor said she attributes Ms. Middleton’s grievance to a recent Planning Board decision to allow Seick-Wright Floral Products, a wholesale floral retailer originally based in Cranbury, to set up shop across the street from Ms. Middleton’s former Monmouth Street home. Ms. Middleton, who last year said she would move away if Seick-Wright moved in, said she plans to do exactly that in the near future.
Ms. Middleton said her filing has nothing to do with Seick-Wright. She also denied the timing of her filing has any connection to the June 4 Democratic primaries in which the mayor is running for re-election against Councilman Mike Vanderbeck and write-in hopeful Eugene Sarafin. Ms. Middleton said she only recently discovered what she considers the breach and felt now was the time to report it.
The mayor said she believes Ms. Middleton received the letter from Van Cleef Engineering through Mr. Vanderbeck’s assistance. Mr. Vanderbeck vehemently denied the accusation as a rumor.
"I had absolutely nothing to do with getting that letter to Kate Middleton," Mr. Vanderbeck said.
Ms. Middleton has openly and repeatedly stated her opposition to Mayor Aughenbaugh and support for Mr. Vanderbeck’s mayoral campaign.