TC rejects proposal for senior citizen advisory board

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WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Township Council rejected an ordinance proposing a senior citizen advisory board during its Sept. 6 meeting.

The rare first reading rejection came as a result of a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Joe Krakoviak being the only one in favor of it. Krakoviak had co-authored the measure along with resident Leigh-Anne Zaolino.

Some of the council members mentioned reasons for voting against the ordinance at the meeting — Michelle Casalino and Jerry Guarino had concerns with the language, while Susan McCartney felt a board would be “redundant” with all that the township already does for seniors. But Krakoviak was still taken aback by the decision. In particular, he said it is “simply bizarre” that any council member would mention language concerns when no one came forward with any questions during the weeks they had the proposal, which was sent to them in early August.

And while Council President Victor Cirilo decided against holding a discussion prior to the vote — the council traditionally waits until an ordinance is heard on second reading before discussing it — Krakoviak said anyone with questions could have passed his measure on first reading so matters would be hashed out at the next meeting. He said it is “baffling” to him why his colleagues were so reluctant to do that.

“‘Stunned’ and ‘amazed’ are the two words that come to mind at this rejection,” Krakoviak told the West Orange Chronicle in a Sept. 12 email. “The proposed ordinance would simply give organized voice to a large, growing and important segment of our community. It’s essentially no different from many other entities the town has created over the years to provide focus to important issues.”

Zaolino was also “profoundly disappointed” that the ordinance was not passed. And, like Krakoviak, she said she does not understand the difference between a senior advisory board and the many other boards the council has approved in the past, such as the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Board. Having a group of volunteers similarly dedicating their time to helping seniors seems like a “win-win” for all involved, she said.

“(A senior board would) look at what people say they want and need and then figure out where do we get the money from,” Zaolino told the Chronicle in a Sept. 8 phone interview, pointing out that there are a lot of grants the board could explore. “But they’re just opposed to everything, and I don’t get it.”

Zaolino said she respects the work of Patti Duffy, West Orange’s senior citizen program aide, but feels the township administration still needs to step up the number of services it provides to older residents. She said baby boomers like herself will not settle for activities like bingo and aerobics, and a senior advisory board could have helped the town bring about new programs.

Rosary Morelli, whose senior advocacy group put the senior board ordinance into motion, agreed that West Orange is not doing enough for its senior population. Specifically, Morelli said she would love to see more educational programming for seniors so that their minds stay sharp. And while West Orange already has a senior jitney service within the township, she also wants a volunteer-run transportation program to take seniors to outside communities. Many doctors are migrating out of West Orange, she said, so seniors need a way to get to appointments if they cannot drive themselves.

Overall, Morelli said she would like to see the township follow the lead of other communities like Livingston and East Orange, which respectively have a senior advisory group and a senior citizen center. As the number of people age 65 and older continues to grow, she said West Orange must start focusing on ways to allow seniors to “age in place” instead of having to move into a care facility. She said the township should not allow politics to interfere with residents’ well-being.

“A happy population makes for a happy town,” Morelli told the Chronicle in a Sept. 9 phone interview. “People throw around the word ‘diversity’ a lot, but that includes different generations. People don’t want to leave their homes. West Orange has to listen to its seniors.”

But McCartney said the township does in fact listen closely to its senior citizens and almost always follows through on their suggestions. Just recently, she said the township expanded its senior pool shuttle shortly after a senior requested it at a council meeting. Prior to that, she said the township added a number of stops to the shuttle after a senior once asked the councilwoman why it never stopped at Whole Foods in West Orange Plaza. A knitting club and classes for aerobics and yoga were initiated after similar recommendations, she said.

In addition, McCartney said the township’s grant writer has recently applied for several grants that could benefit seniors, if obtained. These include grants to purchase a new shuttle, increase accessibility at the Ginny Duenkel Pool and produce a new brochure to raise awareness of the township’s senior services. Additionally, the councilwoman said West Orange could look into providing even more services without the use of grant money. For instance, she said she could use her contacts to find guest speakers for free educational seminars, as Morelli wants.

And if West Orange seniors have other needs or suggestions, McCartney said they should simply let the township know. That is why she found the idea of an advisory board to be unnecessary.

“If you have a concern, you can come to the microphone (at council meetings) or call Town Hall,” McCartney told the Chronicle in a Sept. 9 phone interview. “You don’t need a board to tell us.”

Mayor Robert Parisi told the Chronicle that the township administration is indeed always interested in pursuing new senior programs, though their implementation would depend on their cost and the general interest for them. Parisi also pointed out that West Orange already offers a host of senior services, including two to three day trips per year, AARP Driver Safety classes, insurance assistance and various social events throughout the year. In fact, according to a chart he provided, the number of services the township offers is comparable or greater than in surrounding towns such as South Orange, Maplewood, Livingston and Montclair.

Parisi also said that Morelli’s implication that he had influenced the council into voting against the ordinance was “insulting.” And though he was opposed to the idea, he said his reasons were practical and not political. Specifically, he said it simply does not make sense to have a senior advisory board when the township already has a funded health department and senior services division.

“You can’t have a citizens advisory committee, in my opinion, oversee a function of government,” Parisi said in a Sept. 9 phone interview. “They’d have no authority to direct paid employees or instruct what they should or shouldn’t do. That’s the administration’s job.”

The mayor added that a senior board differs from existing West Orange advisory groups in that the other groups were formed to work cooperatively with the township in the absence of any particular department. For instance, he said the PSAB is useful because there is no department specifically dedicated to pedestrian safety and the police do not exclusively focus on assisting pedestrians. But the senior services division’s sole purpose is to help seniors, so it would have conflicted with a senior board’s purpose.

Part of the reason Casalino voted against the ordinance related to the administration’s concerns. She said that much of what advisory boards can accomplish hinges on the township’s approval. So if the administration is entirely opposed to the idea, she said establishing a board would not have done much good.

“It wouldn’t have been able to function without the administration’s approval,” Casalino told the Chronicle in a Sept. 9 phone interview.

As for the language concerns she mentioned at the meeting, Casalino said she mostly had an issue with the number of board members the ordinance had listed. She said having 15 people involved, including council appointees and police, fire and emergency services representatives, seemed “unfeasible” to her. And since the administration would have to approve paying employees to attend, she said that raised questions as to whether their inclusion would even be possible.

And while Krakoviak and Zaolino both said they would have been willing to revise the ordinance if it had been passed on first reading, Casalino said her concerns would have required a complete overhaul of the measure. As a result, she said that she did not see the point in approving it.

Photos by Sean Quinn