PMUA Adding a New Customer, Reorganizing

The Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority expects to ratify another outside contract Tuesday, this time with North Plainfield for "bulky waste," such as household castoffs.

The new contract expands a roster that includes several others for acceptance of vegetative waste at the Rock Avenue transfer station. The outside contracts fulfill the authority's longtime goal of bringing in revenue above what it gets from providing solid waste and sewer services to Plainfield residents.

The meeting, at 6 p.m. on Feb. 11 at 127 Roosevelt Avenue, also includes the annual reorganization at which the board of commissioners will elect a chairman and other officers for 2014. To see the agenda, click here.

The meeting will include passage of the solid waste and sewer budgets as well. At the Jan. 15 meeting, Executive Director Dan Williamson said rates for the first quarter of 2014 will stay the same as those for the last quarter of 2013. Any subsequent increase or decrease will depend on revenues generated, he said.

In January, the commissioners agreed to hire attorneys at $190 per hour to represent themselves in a lawsuit. See details here.

The nature of the litigation was not described, but since then Courier News reporter Sergio Bichao filed a story revealing that former Chief Financial Officer James Perry is suing the commissioners over contractual matters and alleged racial discrimination. Perry, who is white, was offered a 9 percent reduction in his salary even as PMUA commissioners gave two other executives a $725,000 settlement, with Commissioner Cecil Sanders referring to them as family men who "happen to be African-Americans."

Also since January the City Council voted approval for Commissioner Carol Ann Brokaw, a holdover, to succeed herself for a term ending Feb. 1, 2017. The council rejected four other nominees, but the name of one, Charles Tyndale, was brought back and will be up for a vote Monday for a term ending on Feb. 1, 2017, replacing Commissioner Alex Toliver. Commissioner Malcolm Dunn's term expired Feb. 1 and now he is a holdover.

--Bernice

Storm Images

Overloaded evergreens, as seen through my porch window on Tuesday. (Click to enlarge any image.)

Snow plows on East Seventh Street got the road clean as a whistle, but spewed slush across the sidewalk.

Scott Drugs employee clean up the slush. In 22 years on this block, I never saw plows throw so much snow and ice on the sidewalk.

This scrap of ice resembles one of our summer Swallowtails.

Our Forsythia bush has about a dozen Praying Mantis egg cases stuck on its branches.

I marked each one with a scrap of yarn. The mantises will hatch in late April or early May.

Every branch of the mammoth Oak tree in front of our building has hundreds of icicles.

Wishing everyone a safe day. Stay warm, dry and upright on the ice!

--Bernice

PMUA Nominee Proposed, Reorg Next Week

Last month Mayor Adrian O. Mapp nominated four new commissioners for the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority, but the City Council rejected all of them. At this month's regular meeting on Feb. 10, the mayor is seeking confirmation of just one proposed commissioner from the list, Charles Tyndale.

Tyndale is nominated to replace holdover Commissioner Alex Toliver, for a term expiring Feb. 1, 2017. This was one of the terms that former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs wanted to use to lengthen the tenure of Malcolm Dunn and Cecil Sanders. She wanted to shift Dunn from a term that just expired on Feb.1 of this year and tried to move Sanders from a term that expires on Feb. 1, 2015. On Jan. 27, the council did approve one nomination, for Carol Ann Brokaw to succeed herself for a term ending Feb. 1 2017.

If Tyndale's appointment goes through, it would secure the other longest term on the board.

Here is SRB's failed plan:

current	Term	proposed
Alex Toliver (holdover)	2017	Malcolm Dunn
Carol Ann Brokaw (holdover)	2017	Cecil Sanders
Harold Mitchell (holdover)	2016	Barbara James
Cecil Sanders	2015	Carol Ann Brokaw
Malcolm Dunn	2014	Alex Toliver
Charles Eke	Alt 1 2015	Charles Eke
vacant	Alt 2 2015	Jeffrey R. Burke

The PMUA board is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m.on Feb. 11 at 127 Roosevelt Avenue to reorganize. Sanders, who joined the board as an alternate in November 2011 and became a full commissioner succeeding Tracey Brown in January 2013, is the current chairman. Depending what happens at next Monday's council meeting, Toliver, the current vice-chairperson, could be off the board. Dunn, the current treasurer, will stay on the board as a holdover. Brokaw is the current secretary.

Here are posts on the 2012 Reorganization and 2013 Reorganization. The PMUA has gone through a lot of changes and maybe Feb. 11 will bring about more.

Meanwhile, it was interesting just now to come across a memo from Executive Director Dan Williamson on the PMUA web site. Williamson seeks to set the record straight on a recently announced wage freeze. This memo is part of a move to encourage the public to go directly to the web site for PMUA information rather than hearing things from bloggers and their ilk. The web site is at pmua.info

--Bernice

Weather Tales

For several years when I was a reporter, a newsroom task was to call Plainfield Weather Observer Vivian Scherer and get the daily weather report. I was thinking of her today after checking the state climatology reports for snowfall.

To see a photo of Vivian Scherer being honored for her service, click here and scroll down to page 8. Plainfield no longer has a volunteer weather observer.

You can see the state snowfall report for 2013-14 (so far) here.

It was always a pleasure to call State Climatologist Dave Robinson for an explanation of unusual weather. He gave "good quote" and made many a reporter's life easier when doing weather stories. The worst parts were "Town by Town" roundups, in which we had to track down a busy Public Works guy to state the obvious, and being sent out in blizzards and hurricanes to get comments. We probably had it easier than the mobile journalists ("mo-jos") of today who have to get weather copy plus photos and video, then file digitally.

Once I rode through snow-clogged city streets in a military Humvee, not the wedding-limo version that came out later. The Humvee climbed over snowbanks easily and its might dazzled residents who were out surveying the aftermath of the storm. That was worth all the dopey weather assignments.

Today's conditions will mean the dense, wet snow will become thick ice wherever it is compressed by foot or vehicular traffic. I have a feeling it will be with us for a long time, based on what I saw on a walk to Twin City supermarket. Be careful, everybody!

--Bernice






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Commentary on TV Board Revival

The agenda for Monday's City Council meeting includes the proposed appointment of nine people to the Plainfield Cable Television Advisory Board, an important item now that the city's franchise with Comcast of the Plainfields is up for renewal.

The board is supposed to have 13 members in six categories, but all seats are currently vacant. The resolution before the council names Finance Director Ron West as the mayoral designee and Lamar David Mackson as the representative city official. Mackson, formerly chairman of the board, was hired in 2013 as managing director of the city's Media Division.

Plainfield Public Library Director Joseph DaRold is nominated to represent the library on the board. The roster allows for a Board of Education representative and three council members, though none are named in the resolution. In the citizen category, nominees are Timothy Thompson, Teron Dow, Jan Massey and John Jewczyn, with Carmencita Pile and Richard Lear as alternates.

In 2009, Mackson as chairman of the PCTVAB outlined an ambitious program for revitalization of the board. By degrees, the board went fallow and Mackson focused more and more on production aspects.

I am going out on a limb here and stating my objections to having Mackson in both a managerial capacity and an advisory capacity. Feel free to holler at me. First, Mackson made a strong commitment to revive the advisory board and followed through, up to a point where he began to blend professional opportunities with oversight. As I recall, I made my views known to him as the shift began.

In giving his credentials, Mackson lists both the city title he acquired in May 2013 along with his ongoing position as president and CEO of  his own company, Nonstop Entertainment Group, Inc. By coincidence, three members of the past PCTVAB board he put together are officials in the company with titles such as VP of sales and marketing, senior producer and senior event consultant and VP.

I realize Plainfield often functions like a small town when it comes to alliances that blend personal and professional ties, but even Mayor Adrian O. Mapp's Transition Team found cause for concern about the blurring of boundaries in the PCTV sphere. A municipality has certain checks and balances as well as arms-length rules for its employees and officials which must be taken into account.

Mackson may well be the most qualified city official to represent the city on the PCTVAB. He might just need a sit-down with the city administrator or corporation counsel to talk about parameters.

--Bernice

Up on the Roof

While waiting for a train to make my escape to Westfield Saturday, I noticed workers putting a new roof on the old Mirons warehouse.

After many weeks of inactivity, work has resumed in earnest at the site, which Frank Cretella's firm is renovating for commercial and residential use.The building was dubbed "Luxury Condos" by a previous developer. Cretella is using the name "Gavett Place Properties LLC" for the site and has approvals from 2010 to renovate the building for commercial space on the first floor and 12 apartments on the upper three floors.

It was such a thrill to be able to walk around comfortably after the polar vortex. Getting an update on a Cretella project was a plus.

--Bernice

Celebrate!

Today is:

The Pagan holiday Imbolc

The Christian holiday Candlemas

Groundhog Day

Super Bowl XLVIII

(Go Seahawks!)