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IT 0822 Pg A1 Yellow Red Blue Black Volume 115 Number 32 THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2002 60 Cents Royal Ahold application defeated in 5-2 vote officially declared the application was peared before the board twice over the visited Stop & Shop supermarkets from site plan, “a serious detriment to the By Harry Trumbore denied. past year. New Jersey through New England and town if it is approved.” of The Item James Segreto, the attorney represent- Mr. Applebaum recalled Ms. Mintz always observed dropped trailers. Board members Michael Herzlinger It’s all over but the shouting. ing Royal Ahold during the proceed- testifying that delivery trucks were not “It puts a big question mark on (Ms. and Sam Lubash, the two members who By a 5-2 vote, the Springfield Zoning ings, said after the vote the company allowed to drop, or detach, their trailers Mintz’s) testimony,” Mr. Eisen said. voted to approve the site plan, both cited Board of Adjustment Tuesday night re- would weigh several options, including near loading areas at Ahold supermar- Outlining the problem created by a favorable review of the plan written jected a site plan application by Dutch an appeal of the decision and the possi- kets, but that opposition witnesses had dropped trailers, board member Arlene jointly by the Springfield engineer and conglomerate Royal Ahold to build a ble renovation of the existing Saks Fifth proved otherwise. Newman said congestion in the en- town planner. Mr. Lubash said he didn’t consider Stop & Shop supermarket on Millburn Avenue building that stands on the prop- “I’m obliged to question the credibil- closed loading dock area would send the loading area a detriment, and re- Avenue. erty. ity of Ms. Mintz’s testimony in all re- trailers waiting to unload circling the minded the board the state Supreme Before the vote, several board mem- gards,” said Mr. Applebaum. “Dropped congested and narrow streets surround- A standing-room only crowd of more Court ruled Ahold acquired all vari- than 100, including Millburn Township bers read statements criticizing the plan trailers create a safety problem. The site ing the site. ances granted to the previous owner of Committee members and community as being unsafe and questioned the tes- plan falls short of its goal of safety on “Every time a truck does not fit into the property, Saks Fifth Avenue, when it leaders, burst into applause and cheers timony of Melissa Mintz, the Ahold real this site.” the loading dock, it becomes a hazard to when board chairman Stuart Applebaum estate development manager who ap- Board member Lee Eisen said he had the neighborhood,” she said, calling the Continued on Page 35 Town’s share of School county tax rises could get at $754,100. Adding the munici- $5.6 million By Anne L. Malyska pal and school levies, which of The Item were both approved earlier this Board OKs two Township taxpayers should get year, brings the average bill to a ready to shell out an extra $265 total of $12,668. ballot questions for county services. While the numbers provide a That’s what municipal tax offi- good sense of what residents By Anne L. Malyska of The Item cials are projecting to be the should expect to pay, Gerald Vi- impact of a $571 million 2002 turello, township tax collector, For the second time this Essex County budget that in- was quick to point out that they month, school officials an- creased nearly $10 million, are still tentative. The tax board nounced that financial assis- almost all of which to be raised releases these initial figures to tance from the state would help through taxes. municipalities to review and ap- defray district-related costs. The three-point increase, a prove before county officials cer- While the first financial pack- preliminary figure released Tues- tify final rates. age was a $122,390 reimburse- day by the Essex County Board He estimates the county will ment for special education out- of Taxation, will bring the provide the certified rate in the of-district tuition, the most county tax bill, including an next one to two weeks; fourth recent announcement came open space tax, to $4,298 for the quarter taxes, which should in- Tuesday night at a Board of Ed- average township home assessed ucation meeting when school Continued on Page 35 officials said Millburn could get back nearly $5.6 million for Workers consider new proposed construction and ren- ovation projects at all seven dis- trict schools. union as talks on hold The news came as the school board unanimously approved la organization representing WHERE IS HE NOW?— the final wording of a two-part By Harry Trumbore school employees in a variety of Former township resident referendum to fund the projects. of The Item fields, is making a bid to repre- Beni Gavrieli, known during The first question is for new sent the district’s custodians and his days at Millburn High Before custodians and mainte- additions and upgrades at maintenance workers. School as Brad Weiner, said nance workers in the Millburn Hartshorn, Wyoming, Deerfield Karen Joseph, a spokesman a trip to Israel changed his school system vote on a new and Glenwood elementary for the NJEA, said the Millburn life. A 1972 MHS grad, Mr. contract with the Board of Edu- schools and Millburn High workers made an overture to her Gavrieli moved to Kibbutz cation, they will first have to vote School, and renovations to organization. They are currently Sde Eliyahu in Israel in on whether or not to remain in Millburn Middle School and represented by the Communica- 1978, married there, and their current labor union. South Mountain elementary tions Workers of America has served for 10 years as a The contentious negotiations school. The project is estimated (CWA). member of the Israel Border between the board and the union to cost $18 million. “At least a number of them ap- Police. He currently holds representing custodians and The second part of the refer- proached the NJEA because they the rank of master sergeant. maintenance workers came to a endum, which only can be ap- were unhappy with the represen- See story, Page 2. halt last week when the board proved if voters OK the first tation with the CWA,” Ms. was informed another union had part, calls for $1.39 million to Joseph said. She said a rival install a synthetic surface at the filed a “representation petition” union has the right to petition high school athletic field. The with the Public Employee Rela- PERC to represent workers when new field previously had been tions Commission (PERC) to a contract has expired and no estimated to cost $1 million. represent the workers. successor agreement is in place. The New Jersey Educational Photos courtesy of Beni Gavrieli School officials said both Association (NJEA), an umbrel- Continued on Page 35 projects include a 10 percent “contingency” fee for extra costs resulting from “unfore- seen circumstances.” School system gains state aid for out-of-district tuition The state money, $5.5 million “We’re receiving the fourth of special education costs in for the construction and renova- By Harry Trumbore highest amount in Essex excess of $40,000. tion projects and $56,000 for of The Item County,” Ms. Kusz said. “This is “The bill will make the the field, covers nearly 30 per- The Millburn school system is remarkable because we never re- process more objective,” said cent of the total proposal, and comes as part of the state’s Ed- receiving help with its back-to- ceived this aid before.” Robert Zeglarski, the district’s ucational Facilities Construc- school expenses from an unex- The aid package, which reim- superintendent for business, who tion and Financing Act, said pected source: the state of New burses the district for extraordi- assisted Ms. Kusz in filing the Robert Zeglarski, district assis- Jersey. nary costs incurred during the applications. He expects a larger tant superintendent for busi- Julianna Kusz, currently the 2001-02 school year, was re- percentage of extraordinary spe- ness. supervising coordinator of the viewed by a panel and approved cial education costs will be reim- Should the school district at the discretion of the state com- bursed during the coming years. special services department, said spend the entire $18 million for missioner of education. Begin- Last January after the bill was the state Department of Educa- the construction and renovation ning with the coming school signed, Larry Ashley, the direc- tion has approved $122,390 in projects, Mr. Zeglarski said, it year, however, a bill co-spon- aid to the Millburn department, tor of special services who left will receive the full grant sored by then-Assemblyman which should arrive before the the district this month, said the amount of just more than $5.5 start of school in two weeks. Richard H. Bagger and signed majority of out-of-district per million. If the project comes in The assistance comes as part into law last January will rele- pupil costs in the district run be- under cost, the aid will be ad- of a program to help cover out- gate financial assistance. tween $27,000 and $40,000, a justed accordingly. of-district tuition costs in excess The legislation, providing range unaffected by the legisla- The same applies to the syn- of $40,000. relief from extraordinary costs, is tion. He estimated the district thetic field surface, he said. If Ms. Kusz applied for the phased in over a three-year would be reimbursed less than the project comes in under the money this past spring on behalf period beginning with the 2002- $90,000 for the initial year of the $1.39 million, the state will of 16 pupils who received out-of- 03 school year.