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Residents raise noise, delivery and police-leave concerns at Clark council meeting
Summary
During public comment residents asked the council to address noisy dumpster deliveries at a nearby nursing home, delivery/moving-van parking for a redevelopment, and long-running police administrative-leave cases and associated costs; council and staff pledged follow-up.
Residents used the public-comment portion of the Dec. 15 meeting to raise several community concerns and requests for follow-up from township officials.
Noise and large-dumpster deliveries: Carmite Sarasa described disruptive noise from commercial dumpsters and early-morning pickups behind her building near a nursing home and asked the council to use ordinance-hour provisions or send letters to contractors to reduce early deliveries. Councilman O'Connor said he had discussed the issue with the mayor and BA and would follow up with the resident, and the BA and mayor agreed to pursue letters and enforcement where appropriate.
Delivery and moving-van parking at a redevelopment site: Delia Collins, who attended a planning-board meeting on the Westfield Avenue project, asked whether the town can require cutouts or time limits so moving vans and deliveries do not impede traffic; Mayor Albanese said the developer and traffic engineer identified a drop-off area intended to avoid regular large-truck parking on Westfield Avenue and that the design included a dedicated delivery space.
Police administrative-leave costs: Resident Daniel Fuchs referenced a news report about officers placed on administrative leave and asked what the township can do about the allegedly large costs (he cited more than $2,000,000). Officials responded that the matter has been in the court process and that a judge will issue a written decision in time; staff said the township has pursued adjudication in state and county offices and that the case is working through the judicial system.
Other civic ideas: Gabriela Bridal proposed a public-arts program and asked for help connecting with nonprofits or the library to apply for a New Jersey State Council on the Arts grant in February; she also suggested exploring USDA regenerative-agriculture grant opportunities for community gardening or small-scale farming projects.
Council members acknowledged the concerns and instructed staff to follow up: the BA offered to meet with residents about the noise/delivery complaints and the planning-board/developer solutions for parking; the council noted that some issues may require letters to property managers, ordinance enforcement, or coordination with developers and traffic engineers.
