Fanwood Council Candidates Face Off in Election Debate

Fanwood Council candidates sparred off on shared services, downtown redevelopment, budgetary issues and more Tuesday night during the borough’s only election debate.

Sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times, the forum posed a series of issues central to the borough to Fanwood Democrats Donna Dolce and David Valian, both incumbents, and their opponents, Republicans Bob Manduca and Mike Szuch.

The candidates started by discussing the progress of Fanwood’s downtown redevelopment, with the Republicans arguing that the plan is relatively flawed and stagnant, and the Democrats insisting that everything is moving forward.

Councilwoman Dolce stated that despite the current economic environment, she doesn’t think it will be difficult to continue to find and keep tenants in the new properties downtown. Dolce cited the fact that developers are taking the time to find suitable tenants and not accepting all interested parties as proof that the downtown will be made up of the right businesses for Fanwoodians.

In contrast, Bob Manduca complained that “taking time” was precisely the council’s problem. Manduca pointed out that the redevelopment process began back at the turn of the century, and that in his opinion, not enough progress has been made since then.

Manduca’s running mate, Mike Szuch, noted that one part of the plan — the redevelopment of the Livingston-Wilbur property — poses environmental concerns that “are a great aspect to look at.”

“It’s certainly a liability for us to have it in that condition,” Szuch said, adding that he doesn’t think it’s promising that progress will be made there soon.

Councilman David Valian countered by stating that the DEP work and investigation has been doen and that the project is moving forward.

“Once it’s sold off, that’s going to move us forward to what our future look is,” he said.

Both agreed that the proper measures to improve travel for bikers and pedestrians should be a part of the overall plan for a new downtown.

Moving on to budgetary issues, the candidates were asked for their thoughts on the state denying Fanwood extraordinary aid this year, thus pushing the adoption of the budget back to September.

Dolce stated that the borough applied for the aid to provide tax relief, with the understanding that other towns would receive it regardless. She said that because the borough is already working on the 2010 budget, it doesn’t make much difference whether it’s adopted in June, July or August.

“It’s what’s in the budget that’s the problem,” Manduca said in response. “Taxes are up 3.9 percent, and that’s a significant amount of money when Fanwoodians’ incomes aren’t going up by 3.9 percent. Not getting the extraordinary aid shows that Fanwood can’t get a fair shake out of Trenton.”

Another contentious decision made by the council this budget season was the deferral of pensions. Szuch stated that he felt that move was a bad one because it was a considerable amount of money that wasn’t factored into the increase in the budget this year. Valian acknowledged that it was a difficult decision, but that the borough would have been looking at turning to taxpayers to come up with an additional $500,000 if they hadn’t done so.

Valian also defended the borough’s decision to award municipal employees with a 3 percent increase in pay this year. The councilman said that the council gave the raises with the understanding that they’re probably not going to be able to give it down the road.

Shared services was one issue all candidates agreed could have potential, but some were more optimistic than others.

Valian stated that the borough wouldn’t know the pros and cons of sharing more services with Scotch Plains until the two municipalities’ study is complete at the end of the year. Dolce noted that shared services is one of the reasons she’s seeking a third term, and that she thinks collaboration with other communities, the county and the state is a step in the right direction.

“No stone should be left unturned when it comes to shared services,” she said. “I won’t say yes or no to a merger because sometimes it’s not an if, but when, and that may be decades down the road.”

Manduca was much more wary of what may result.

“Hold on to your wallets everybody,” he advised, stating that he fears shared services could mean tax increases for all. Manduca said further that he promises to be open-minded about the idea, but also promises to put the decision up to a vote for the taxpayers. Szuch said he thinks all aspects of town operations should be put out and looked at, but that he prefers not to share police departments, as he’s concerned that may be a decision not in the best interest of Fanwood.

School issues addressed included parking around the high school and the ongoing concern from parents that out-of-town children are attending SP-F schools.

Szuch said he thinks the town’s temporary parking ban at Birchwood Terrace needs to be made permanent and that residents must come first when making decisions on the matter. Valian noted that a study on parking issues near the high school was done three years ago, and that he thinks the council has done a good job of addressing some of the issues that were highlighted.

In terms of non-resident students in district schools, both Manduca and Dolce agreed that that’s an issue that should be left up to the school district to handle, and that the borough should only step in if asked.

In conclusion, Valian and Dolce said they’re proud of the work they’ve done on the council so far, and that they hope to continue it in the coming years.

“The vision is not complete,” Dolce noted.

Szuch countered by stating that he thinks Fanwood has long been run by a Democratic political machine that’s also entrenched in the state.

“I think Fanwood can moved forward as soon as we stop moving in the wrong direction,” his running mate said.