By SETH AUGENSTEIN (NJ Herald)
However, the judge also had some criticism about the open government practices of the town.
Township Attorney Thomas Ryan said that four of the 21 complaints brought by limited-liability company Limecrest Quarry Developers against the township were dismissed by Judge Theodore Bozonelis. As a result, the bond ordinance and the $2.45 million contract agreement transferring the old Edison Quarry land last August remain in place.
"The important thing was the court upheld the ordinance and the purchase contract," Ryan said after the hearing.
Ryan's adversary, Kevin Kelly, said there were several other key parts of what Bozonelis ruled. The judge told the parties that the mayor and council had not fully complied with the Open Public Meetings Act and the Open Public Records Act, and would have to make amends by producing documents like reports and closed-session minutes — and also pay part of Kelly's fees, the amount of which will be determined by the court.
The suit, filed in December by Limecrest Quarry Developers, alleges that the township bought the 172-acre tract of land from previous owner C.C. Cox, LLC, without going through the proper public channels, which was a "denial of due process," according to court documents.
Mayor Michael Spekhardt and the
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... and the council moved fast to act on it," Spekhardt said in December. He also said that C.C. Cox had approached the town first, and that the sale was a transparent transaction.
Judge Bozonelis, however, ruled that the council moved too quickly on the purchase, and should have been more forthcoming with documents to the public. The judge had ruled back in October that the contract between C.C. Cox and
Eugene Mulvihill, Limecrest Quarry Developers' co-owner, also has a lease through 2017 to continue mining operations at the site. Mulvihill had expressed interest in developing housing at the quarry prior to the township's purchase of the land.
