LAW OFFICES
HOLSTON, MACDONALD, UZDAVINIS, EASTLACK,
ZIEGLER & LODGE
A PROFESSIONAL
CORPORATION
ROBERT G. HOLSTON 66
EUCLID STREET
ARTHUR J. MacDONALD,
JR. P.
O. BOX 358 OF COUNSEL:
RONALD J. UZDAVINIS WOODBURY,
NEW JERSEY 08096-7358 CHERYL
L. COOPER
JOHN C. EASTLACK, JR.+
WILLIAM F. ZIEGLER* 856-848-5858
TERI S. LODGE* FAX
856-848-1898 +CERTIFIED
CIVIL TRIAL ATTORNEY AND
_________________ CERTIFIED
CRIMINAL TRIAL ATTORNEY
*ALSO
ADMITTED IN PENNSYLVANIA
AUGUSTA J. PISTILLI* WWW.HOLSTONLAW.COM
SAMUEL J. MYLES e-mail:wziegler@holstonlaw.com
DAVID P. PERRI*
August 15, 2006
David Ferrucci, Mayor
Township of Franklin
1571 Delsea Drive
Franklinville, NJ 08322
Re: Accutherm, Inc. (Block 4111, Lot 1)
162 Station Avenue,
Franklinville (Kiddie Kollege)
Dear Mayor Ferrucci:
At your request, this letter has been created to compile a series of recommendations for changes in the administration of land use practice in Franklin Township in the wake of the tragic circumstances of the exposure of children to elemental mercury at the above referenced location. This letter is written following a meeting of staff at the municipal building where Chief Michael DiGiorgio, Patricia Knobloch, Robert Errera and the undersigned were in attendance along with you.
As you know, this office, in conjunction with Mike DiGiorgio has commenced an investigation of the documentary record, as well as, evidence obtained from witnesses and interested parties in order to determine the circumstances by which the above referenced property came to be utilized as a daycare center for young children. The results of that investigation are being presented to the Township Committee in writing, in advance of the special meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 17.
Based upon the meeting with staff, the following recommendations are hereby made. With respect to each recommendation, I will attempt to summarize the steps that have already been taken to place the matter into action or, alternatively, what steps need yet to be taken. The recommended steps are as follows:
1. Strengthen Franklin Township’s environmental requirements in the realm of zoning and planning with respect to site plan and subdivision applications. This has been significantly accomplished, previously, by virtue of the recent amendments to the Franklin Township Zoning Code respecting the Commercial Zones with the exception of the Interchange Commercial Zone which has not yet been addressed. As you are well aware, the Township Committee had before it ordinances respecting the commercial zoning designation of various
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segments of Franklin Township in December, 2005 but action on those ordinances was deferred until recently. The ordinances that were adopted do significantly strengthen the amount of environmental information that an applicant for site plan approval is required to submit to the planning and/or zoning board, as the case may be. Those steps include, but are not limited to, the requirement that the history of the site be documented to the Planning Board prior to subdivision or site plan approval.
2. The DEP list of known contaminated sites within Franklin Township should be added to the property record cards within the Franklin Township tax office so that in the event that a property is sold at tax sale, that it may be specifically referenced as a known contaminated site so as to avoid the possibility that a purchaser of a tax sales certificate could, unknowingly, purchase a tax sales certificate on a property that has known and documented contamination.
With respect to the Accutherm property, it appears that the Township did comply with the requirements of the law that a disclosure be made to prospective purchasers of tax sale certificates so that if one of the properties on that list were contaminated that the purchaser was placed on notice that it was required to do its own due diligence. Nevertheless, in the last few days, Patricia Knobloch has worked, cooperatively, with the Franklin Township Tax Assessor and has cross-referenced the DEP’s known contaminated site list to the corresponding properties in Franklin Township so that in the event that a property goes to tax sale, that a very specific reference may be made to the existence of known contamination.
3. (a) Franklin Township should inquire of the NJ DEP as to what properties in Franklin Township are subject to the provisions of the Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA) and which, if any sites, have been the subject of DEP action and oversight. It has become apparent from the documentary record that the DEP has not copied the Township of Franklin on any correspondence respecting known contaminated sites in Franklin Township including, the Accutherm site. In addition to requesting the DEP to identify the properties in Franklin Township which are ISRA qualified and as to which action has been taken, the Township should request that the DEP copy the Township Clerk on all correspondence respecting properties in Franklin Township which are the subject of remedial action or violation and that the DEP identify those properties by municipal tax block and lot rather than by address. It appears that the DEP has, for many years, referred to the Accutherm site as 1600 Delsea Drive when, in fact, the property is known as 162 Station Avenue. This office will prepare the appropriate letter to the NJ DEP for signature by the Mayor on Township letterhead.
(b) The Township should request that the DEP provide copies of all documents respecting Franklin Township properties to Franklin Township and that they be copied to the Franklin Township Clerk and that the Clerk be directed that each item received from the NJ DEP should be referenced at the Committee’s regular meetings during correspondence and reports. This office will prepare a letter for the signature of the Mayor.
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4. During the course and scope of the investigation, Chief DiGiorgio has uncovered that Accutherm, Inc. conducted business surreptitiously out of two other properties in Franklin Township being known as 1012 Delsea Drive and 916 Main Road. Recognizing the fact that these properties may, likewise, have mercury contamination issues, Chief DiGiorgio has contacted the NJ DEP hotline and has reported the results of his investigation as to those two properties. Both of those properties have been assigned case numbers by the NJ DEP.
5. It is recommended that the Township amend §253-32C(4) to provide that even when an existing building is simply being converted to a new use that if the new use involves the provision of care or the housing and maintenance of persons under the age of 18 to include, but not be limited to daycare facilities, schools, recreational facilities directed at children, dance academies, etc, that the property be subject to the requirements of a site plan approval . In addition to requiring all uses involving children be subject to site plan review by the Planning Board, we have recommended that the Township Committee amend §253-33F(1)(a)[29] to add a requirement that an applicant for site plan approval provide to the Planning Board as part of the application process and as a matter referenced on the checklist a copy of a phase one environmental report for the property to be developed. Patricia Knobloch, the Director of Community Development is in the process of preparing draft ordinances to carry out this recommendation which would need to be introduced by the Township Committee and referred to the Planning Board for their review and consent.
6. All documents on file in the Office of Emergency Management respecting various properties in Franklin Township which may have adverse issues of an environmental nature shall be moved to the Office of Community Development. Michael DiGiorgio accomplished this task in 2005. In the future any and all items that are received by the Office of Emergency Management, shall be copied and forwarded to the Director of the Department of Community Development and maintained in the books and records of that office.
7. The Mayor pointed out that the Township should reach out to Governor Corzine’s office and request a meeting with the Governor to discuss the failures at various levels of Government in order that we may coordinate such that no situation like the Kiddie Kollege one ever occur again. This office will prepare a draft letter to Governor Corzine for signature by the Mayor on Township letterhead with a copy to Senator Fred Madden of the Fourth Legislative District. We will also prepare separate correspondence to Senator Madden requesting that he facilitate the meeting with Governor Corzine.
8. The Township should purchase enhanced software for the Department of Community Development to replace the Lucars Software Program with the Mitchell Humpfrey Software so the Community Development Department can share information on a real time basis
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with the Construction Office increasing efficiency and accuracy and tracking of projects and permits and allowing coordination of the various departments within Franklin Township.
This item was approved as part of the 2006 budget subject only to the Township Committee approving the actual purchase of this software.
9. The Township should make recommendation to the Legislators for the Fourth Legislative District representing Franklin Township regarding the licensing of daycare centers with a specific request that the Department of Children and Families, (which is the entity responsible for licensing daycare centers), and the NJ DEP share information and interface whenever a site is proposed for development as a licensed daycare facility. Seemingly, the Department of Children and Family should at least check to see whether or not the proposed site of a daycare facility is on the NJ DEP’s known contaminated site list and if so should not license it. Further, the Department of Children and Families should require a full environmental inspection for all environmental hazards prior to licensing.
10. It is apparent from the documentary records that the Gloucester County Department of Health received voluminous information regarding the contamination at the Accutherm site but that Franklin Township was not carbon copied with that information. The Township should correspond with the Gloucester County Department of Health and request that the Township receive a copy of every document which the County Health Department receives regarding properties in Franklin Township. The Township will also recommend to the County that it post signs on the Accutherm site immediately to warn unwary members of the public or other curious individuals of the hazards within the structure. Please note that this was recommended to the County Department of Health in the mid 1990s by correspondence from attorneys from Midlantic Bank and Accutherm, Inc. respectively. I will prepare a draft letter for the Mayor’s signature.
11. In conjunction with the request for a meeting with Governor Corzine, the Township will recommend to the NJ DEP that in the event of a future determination that a daycare facility or other child care facility has been located on a known contaminated site, that the DEP act immediately to evacuate the site pending an evaluation of the building and not allow the children to remain in this site while the investigation is on going. This information will be included in the list of recommendations made by the Township to the DEP.
12. The Franklin Township Environmental Commission prepared a draft internal document listing sites within Franklin Township which various members of the environmental commission in conjunction with interviews with various longtime residents of Franklin Township thought appropriate to receive extra scrutiny by the Planning and/or Zoning Board as the case may be. This was prepared as an internal document and has not previously been shared with the zoning officer or the Department of Community Development. This document was created so that the planning and/or zoning board, as the case may be, would not lose its
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institutional memory as a result of the retirement, resignation or death of older members of those Boards and the environmental commission. The Township zoning officer should immediately be provided with a copy of this document for internal use only as a reference and this has been accomplished on August 15, 2006.
The above referenced items constitute the initial recommendations of staff for changes at the State, County and local level in order to take all appropriate and authorized steps to prevent unfortunate occurrences like the Kiddie Kollege situation in the future.
Thank you as always for the privilege of serving Franklin Township.
Respectfully submitted,
HOLSTON,
MacDONALD & UZDAVINIS,
EASTLACK, ZIEGLER & LODGE
A Professional Corporation
By: ________________________________
WILLIAM F. ZIEGLER
WFZ/caw
Cc: Township of Franklin Committee, Attn: Peter Scapellato
Township of Franklin Committee, Attn: Louis Moffa
Township of Franklin Committee, Attn: Frank Scavelli
Township of Franklin Committee, Attn: Kenneth Gallagher
Township of Franklin, Attn: Larry Nightlinger, Tax Collector
Township of Franklin, Attn: Timothy Mead, Tax Assessor
Township of Franklin Police Department, Attn: Michael DiGiorgio, Chief