Council rejects Michael Simone then appoints Matt Sink to redevelopment agency

The Pompton Lakes Borough Council declined a motion to appoint Michael Simone to fill an unexpired term on the borough’s redevelopment agency, then approved a subsequent nomination of Matt Sink.

Mayor Michael Serra moved to appoint Michael Simone to the redevelopment agency to fill the term through Dec. 31, 2024. A roll-call vote produced both affirmative and negative responses and the mayor announced, "that does not pass." The transcript records the motion’s failure but does not provide a consistent, named roll-call tally for each member on the record.

Later in the meeting Mayor Serra nominated Matt Sink, who introduced himself as a Pompton Avenue resident and an engineer for Sussex County. Council moved and the roll call recorded multiple "Yes" votes; the mayor announced the appointment was approved. Sink told the council he was "really, excited to get involved" with downtown redevelopment and said he looked forward to working with the agency.

The appointments came during a broader conversation about downtown revitalization and pending remediation projects. Council and administration noted upcoming demolition of the A-1 auto body site and plans to remediate the parcel and pursue grant reimbursements before discussing future park uses.

No formal ordinance or other redevelopment policy change was made at the meeting. The council did not attach detailed conditions to Sink’s appointment on the record. The transcript records the motions and outcomes but does not consistently map each recorded "Yes" or "No" to named members, so the precise roll-call tally by name is not specified in the public record excerpt.