TC CANDIDATES QUESTIONNAIRE

We sent out the same eight questions to the four candidate on the ballot for Township Committee on Nov. 4. Only Angel “Bob” Perez did not respond.

The remaining candidates, Vic De Luca, Kurt Kiley and India Larrier did.

Their answers are posted below in alphabetical order, unedited.

 

Vic De Luca

1.   How do you plan to reduce property taxes?

I have worked to keep annual property tax increases at or below the state mandated two percent cap. As a member of the Board of the NJ Conference of Mayors, I have joined with my colleagues across the state to advocate for a fairer system of taxation, other than the property tax, to pay for public education. I will continue to control spending locally and advocate at the state level for a better tax system.

2.   What is your top priority for the township?

I want to keep Maplewood as a place of choice for people to live in and raise a family, to operate a business, and to visit to shop and attend various events. Protecting residents and their property from criminal activity is critical. People must feel safe in our community. We also must continue to attract new businesses that serve the needs of our residents and increase commercial tax ratables. Lastly maintaining our infrastructure is very important. Our roads, parks and public buildings need care and attention so that do not fall into disrepair.

3.   Why do you want to be on the township committee?

It has been an honor to serve and I find making a contribution to the community is tremendously rewarding. I want to work with my neighbors to make Maplewood the best it can be. 

4.   What is your greatest asset for the township?

I am a worker who gets things done. I can lead people around a common goal and purpose.

5.   What do you think of the post office redevelopment and how should it be handled going forward?

The Township Committee is interviewing developers to move forward with a mixed residential and retail building.  I feel confident that this is the right move for Maplewood Village.

6.   Was the purchase of the Woman’s Club right and how would you utilize it going forward?

Yes. We secured nearly one acre of land in downtown Maplewood to keep for public use. Parking for shoppers has been increased and the facility is being used to house events and cultural and recreational programs.

7.   Many College Hill residents have complained about increased power outages. What would you do to pressure PSE&G for improvements?

The Township Engineer has been in contact with the PSE&G representative that serves Maplewood. I will follow up with them to make sure the problem is identified and corrected. It sounds like a breakdown in the sub-circuit that serves a few hundred customers in College Hill. This should be a solvable problem.

8.   What would you change about the township, if anything, going forward?

I am not looking to make wholesale changes. I think it is critical that we reach out to all people in our community and make sure they feel connected to and are involved in civic affairs. We will be a better town if we can better incorporate in community life the skills and talents of our Haitian and African American residents.

Kurt Kiley

1.   How do you plan to reduce property taxes?

The taxes on Maplewood’s citizens are high because we have too few commercial ratables to absorb the taxes.  For example, we don’t have a shopping mall like Millburn.

To have any chance at slowing the growth of taxes I would prioritize development of our commercial ratables at every opportunity. These new commercial developments must be focused on bringing in goods and services the citizens of Maplewood need.

The building of apartment buildings has not brought any meaningful tax relief to Maplewood, and continues to deteriorate the ratio of commercial vs residential ratables. In addition, unless the residences are age restricted, they put continued pressure on our schools which are already overcrowded. 

With the PSE&G Redevelopment the Township is taking a commercial ratable and turning it into a residential ratable while offering a 30 year tax abatement in the form of a PILOT. There is a better approach. As a member of the Township Committee I would fight to keep this a commercial ratable, or a mixed use commercial/residential ratable with retail/office space balanced with residences.  

I will be looking at shared services to improve our service offerings. I would use shared services to bring better services at a lower cost to Maplewood. For example, the services Montclair and South Orange offer their seniors surpass ours. There is an opportunity to leverage their expertise or possibly arrange reciprocity agreements to expand our offerings.

I would also examine insourcing many of the services that we use on a regular basis and outsource. For example, every year a section of our roads are paved, and we outsource that service to a company that performs the service, and is able to make a profit off of it. If we insource that service we can keep the profit in our pocket.

2.   What is your top priority for the township?

Improving the quality of life for Maplewoodians by increasing public safety, stimulating our local economy and empowering the arts.

3.   Why do you want to be on the township committee?

I love our town! 

I want to work for and alongside the people of our town. When we work together as a community, great things will happen.

I want Maplewood to serve everyone today, but also well into the future.  In order to accomplish this, instead of reacting to circumstances we need to start looking at the complete picture and make decisions that have a positive effect now, as well as on the future of Maplewood.

I also bring an alternate voice to economic development that focuses on stimulating our small businesses, building pedestrian friendly downtowns, promoting the creative sector, bringing goods and services to the citizens of Maplewood that they need, and growth that supports and enhances the charm and character of our town.

4.   What is your greatest asset for the township?

My greatest asset would be my background experience. Over 25 years as a small business owner, consulting to businesses of all sizes, provides me with the insight of how successful businesses work and how everything is interrelated.  

I am brought into companies and I need to understand their vision for long term growth, and assist them with executing a strategy that continues to move them forward to stay relevant and profitable.   I reach out to experts in order to gain a better understanding of the issues.   

I will use these skills to improve the quality of life of all Maplewoodians.

5.   What do you think of the post office redevelopment and how should it be handled going forward?

The post office project presents us with a once in a lifetime opportunity to address many of the issues Maplewood Village faces, and to improve the shopping experience for our citizens.

The post office project is in trouble, most people are unaware how much trouble it is in. Kings backed away, the two developers backed out and the development has lost almost all of the retail space leaving us with a large apartment building. To add insult to injury, tax abatements are on the table.

With the retail portion almost completely slashed we are losing the very reason for this development.

I think we should take a step back and not rush forward with the old plan, which all the original players have backed away from. 

We need to restore the retail, bring in office space to attract new businesses, integrate “creative place making” to build community, improve the parking situation, and then balance the remainder with new condos.

And do this while maintaining the charm and character of Maplewood.

This property belongs to all of the citizens of Maplewood; we should prioritize serving their needs first before trying to build new apartments.

6.   Was the purchase of the Woman’s Club right and how would you utilize it going forward?

     It was the right decision if it becomes a vibrant part of the Maplewood community once again; otherwise people will start to question its reason for being.

    

     To do this we need to:

a.   Communicate. We need to communicate clearly the current and future intended uses of the building. Any information coming out right now is through the grapevine. People aren’t confident the building will be around for too long.

b.   Commit to it. A full throated endorsement by the Township Committee to the long term restoration of the Woman’s Club will go a long way to improving its future viability and the ability to raise funds for its restoration.

c.    Develop a clear and compelling vision for its future use. Collaborate with the public and groups in the education, arts, community, urban planning, historic preservation, architectural, and entrepreneurial sectors to brainstorm a vision all of Maplewood can rally around.

d.   Develop a Master Plan for the long term restoration of the building.

e.   Develop a Citizens Corp of Volunteers to help. Much like Habitat for Humanity, many hands make light work.

f.     Organize a fund raising group. Maplewood is known for rallying around and supporting a good cause. The portraits in town hall, playgrounds, and more were made possible by generous donations of our citizens. A commitment and a compelling vision for the future of the Woman’s Club will make this possible.

g.   Organize a board of Trustees to oversee the building and its future.

h.   Optimize revenue generation. Phase in the restoration so that revenue is optimized. The faster revenue is generated the faster the building can stand on its own and be restored.

i.     Look for corporate underwriting to help fund the restoration. The Woman’s club has a great history and story that many would want to be associated with. Let’s approach Home Depot, John’s Mansfield, etc. about contributing construction material for the restoration.

j.     Media exposure. Home restoration shows abound. Again the Woman’s Club has great history and a great story, let’s see if we can capitalize on it. 

This is a just a framework to get us started, we can adjust and add to it as necessary. Maplewood has the ability to do great things. The Woman’s club will be celebrating their 100^th anniversary in Maplewood in 2 years; let’s make it a goal to rededicate a restored Woman’s Club at that time.

7.   Many College Hill residents have complained about increased power outages. What would you do to pressure PSE&G for improvements?

     I wasn’t able to get in contact with the College Hill person that has been the point person on this. My response is based on a loose understanding of the power problems in College Hill, and my experience working with companies that manufacture equipment for the power distribution network.

     If a certain section of the power grid consistently loses power, that points to a piece of equipment that is marginal, or a segment that routinely exceeds its power capacity. (blowing the breaker, just like in your home)

     There is a high probability PSE&G already knows where the problem is. We need to find out what the problem is, when it is scheduled to be addressed, and how we can move it up on the schedule.

     Barring that I would talk with the township attorney about our standing and if any legal action could be taken directly with PSE&G or the Board of Public Utilities.

     All in all I would prefer to work WITH PSE&G rather than against them.

 I think these problems are systematic of our aging infrastructure which was not originally developed to accommodate local generation of power like solar panels, or the ever increasing demands placed on it. (Electric cars, increased population density)

8.   What would you change about the township, if anything, going forward?

I wouldn’t use the word ‘change’ as much as the word ‘grow’. We need to grow and stay relevant into the 21^st century.

At some point we need to stop looking inward and start looking outward to what is going on around us in other towns.  In other towns schools are improving, they are seeking to attract diverse populations, and they are developing bustling downtowns that serve their residents.

We need a true vision of the future and a strategy to accomplish it. This is ultimately what I would hope to accomplish in my term with the Township Committee.

India Larrier

1.   How do you plan to reduce property taxes?

Taxes are a very hard issue and a concern for all of our residents to some degree or another.  However, the percentage of taxes that are controlled by this local governing body is small.  Nevertheless, we can be responsible with our spending.  I am committed to a concerted effort spend less than we pay off in debt each year.  Additionally, I will be looking carefully at budget items and requests to ensure that we are funding those things necessary to maintain Maplewood's function and quality of life - all within reason.  The development we do should, likewise serve to help with taxes  - for instance, once the Post Office redevelopment is completed, that will be a tax paying entity.

2.   What is your top priority for the township?  

I actually have several, but an obvious one would be the safety of our residents.  This manifests itself in different ways. 1) Working with the public safety committee and law enforcement to stay on top of crime.  While crime is down, there are instances of it that are concerning.  For this reason, we have added police, concentrated overtime hours and worked with MPD to make residents aware of their own ability to protect themselves and be vigilant. 2) Working with MPD to make drivers more aware of safe habits and pedestrian safety through increased check points and educational programming.  Our launch of the Maplewood Community Action Program is an excellent conduit for this information. 3) The safety of our health is important.  The health department's health clinics are run throughout the year.  I am working with our Health Officer to make them available in other languages to serve our diverse population.  Another public health initiative, an ordinance instituting our pilot TNR program will be introduced this month.

3.   Why do you want to be on the township committee?

 I have been in Maplewood for almost 20 years.  When I arrived, I was a newly married woman with no children.  I now have three - one just starting college!  I've been volunteering in this community almost from the beginning - having been involved with things from helping found our neighborhood association to serving as the president of the Maplewood First Aid Squad. I have shown my commitment to this community  - for the long term.  Serving on the TC allows me to continue that commitment and set in place things that can benefit this community - also for the long term.

4.   What is your greatest asset for the township?

I think one of my greatest assets is that I'm am not always so easily convinced of everything.  I cannot support something that I don't believe is right - for me, for my family, for my community.  I also am committed to the well being of this community.  My interest and training in public health allows me to work well with our health department.  My investment in this community - going back almost 20 years allows me to see things in light of recent history as well as the future.  Additionally, I work well with others and am eager to listen to and weigh the merits of differing points of views.

5.   What do you think of the post office redevelopment and how should it be handled going forward?

 I am on record saying that I believe in the plan we have.  I look forward to working with the developer we designate and the outcome and benefit of this project.  It will bring more business and more business patrons to the area.  The type of residences will be good for seniors who want to stay in Maplewood but don't want the burden of mortgage or house, singles and young couples who can begin their lives here before buying a house - all who can benefit from the close transportation and the shops and restaurants in the Village.  The Post Office site will be added to the tax rolls and that is definitely good.

6.   Was the purchase of the Woman’s Club right and how would you utilize it going forward?

The purchase of The Woodland is ABSOLUTELY a plus for our community.  On a practical basis alone, it gave us some additional parking.  Overall, however, this is a gem of a building - locally designated by our own Historic Preservation Commission.  We have already had programming at The Woodland.  I look forward to this facility being a frequent site for artistic and residential and community events, and a signature Maplewood place.

7.   Many College Hill residents have complained about increased power outages. What would you do to pressure PSE&G for improvements?

 The Township has already been in touch with PSEG representatives to Maplewood.  This utility is there to serve us, and being in constant contact with them on behalf of our residents is part of the Township's role.  If we cannot gain satisfaction, then we should push the problem up to county and state legislators for their help.

8.   What would you change about the township, if anything, going forward? 

I love this town, but if I could snap my fingers and make it so, Springfield, Ridgewood, Irvington and Maplewood Avenue businesses would all be filled and thriving, the Post Office, PSEG and other sites in need of development would be completed, Irvington Avenue's business district would be revitalized.  Criminals would bypass our town because it just wouldn't be worth the risk for them.  Taxes would go down mostly because they would be calculated differently.   All of our sub-communities would be reached with needed programming and helps.  All of our residents would be gainfully employed (if they want to be).  Some of these changes are outside of our control, but we're making headway on the others.  I ask the residents of Maplewood for their votes so I can continue.