At the Oct. 19 Township Committee meeting, Holmdel’s mayor stated he had eliminated himself from potential conflict of interest on Holmdel’s Council On Affordable Housing (COAH) negotiated mandated housing quotas. Mayor Tom Critelli asserted he had “extinguished any conflict that could have been arisen from having an interest in the property moving forward.”
The COAH negotiations with the township, developers and courts have long been ongoing before Mayor Critelli’s denial and during Mayor Critelli’s term on the committee. The mayor’s stated 2016 divestiture of his properties being strong contenders for COAH designation and the buyer for his property being his “former” business partner appears to me to be too little too late.
Designated COAH housing properties have a high anticipated investment return as the building density per lot size vastly increases in order for the builder to reap a significant profit margin thus escalating the incentive to build.
The insider information on the mayor’s once vested interest in pending COAH property designations was apparently known by other members of the Township Committee but not disclosed to the public nor was the mayor publicly asked to step down on COAH decisions by any Township Committee member from their behind closed doors’ years of negotiations selecting properties eligible for COAH development.
It was nonpartisan unaffiliated 2018 Holmdel Committee candidate Lea Shave who brought all this insider trading to light. Lea’s diligent time consuming research revealed the facts from court records the public should have been readily made aware of by sitting elected officials.
Apparently Holmdel’s Township Committee has a hard time divesting from their party affiliation and breaking free of their partisan brotherhood to openly represent the people first and foremost in Holmdel.
Thank you Lea Shave.
Carole Balmer
Holmdel