TC votes 4-1 to make deal with Reliable

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Township Council voted 4-1 at its Aug. 9 meeting to approve a resolution amending the township’s agreement with Reliable Wood Products LLC, allowing the company to operate the West Orange Recycling Center and Compost Facility rent-free from Oct. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2018, as a means of settling a dispute that was nearing the point of litigation, according to Jack Sayers, the township business administrator.

In exchange for the rent-free status, the amendment states that Reliable will grant West Orange a “full and complete release” from all financial claims it had against the township up to that moment. That includes the more than $638,500 the company had claimed it was owed for processing an extraordinary excess of material following a nor’easter in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Additionally, the amendment calls for Reliable to replenish and continue to satisfy all escrows and advances throughout the duration of the agreement and any more extensions beyond.

Sayers said the issue came about after West Orange was unable to pay Reliable the $388,500 it owed for the nor’easter and the more than $250,000 it owed for Sandy due to a lack of funds at the time. Furthermore, Sayers said the township could not recoup the monies from FEMA since it needed to pay all invoices before it could seek partial reimbursement. This amendment was a chance to address what was owed.

But Councilman Joe Krakoviak, the only council member to vote against the resolution, questioned whether the amendment was actually a good option. Krakoviak specifically pointed out that, going by the rent Reliable was being charged, West Orange will lose out on $216,144 as a result of waiving all payments. On top of that, he asked why this money is being brought up after all these years.

“I may have been asleep when this was discussed, but I never heard us talk about these guys’ claim that we owe them over $638,000,” Krakoviak said. “Now all of a sudden we’re being told that we might have to settle something where we supposedly owe $638,500. And I just don’t understand that at all.”

Krakoviak added that no mention of the funds owed was made the last time the township extended Reliable’s contract. Indeed, the 2013 resolution granting the extension does not make reference to any monies due. A 2013 settlement calling on Reliable to pay $5,000 to the township — for failing to process excess material as a result of 2011 storms in a timely manner — also did not include mention of fees owed by the township.

Krakoviak also had questions regarding Reliable’s contractual responsibilities, though Sayers cautioned that such discussions should be handled in an executive session. The council then unanimously agreed to hold one.

But, even after returning from the executive session, which is exempt from the Open Public Meeting Act rules, Krakoviak still had one question regarding the handling of big contract approvals. The councilman, who said he was not impressed by Reliable’s performance thus far, specifically asked whether the council or township could create some sort of policy that would give the council members time in the weeks before a possible approval to consider whether it wants to issue a Request for Proposals instead. That way, he said, the council will not feel obligated to extend an unwanted approval because it did not have the time to find a better vendor.

Sayers responded that such a policy would be possible, but it would not likely apply to Reliable’s contract.

“There are very few people who do this work,” Sayers said. “It’s a very difficult contract to negotiate.”

Reliable’s contract extension comes after a few residents who live near the facility complained to the West Orange Chronicle last year about a “brutal” and “offensive” odor emanating from the site, in addition to several other issues it had with the company’s operation of the center. But Wayne DeFeo, the environmental consultant who inspects the facility on behalf of the township, told the Chronicle that Reliable was in compliance with all regulations. Eugene Ciarkowski, the company’s vice president, also told the Chronicle that any odor smelled was the “natural” aroma of organic material and that “best practices” were always followed.

Yet this is not the only time Reliable has made local headlines. In 2014, the company’s owner, Nicholas Vene, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud after underpaying the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority for water usage between 2007 and 2012. Vene was sentenced to five years probation, 500 hours of community service, a $20,000 fine and a community service project in 2015.

Prior to that, Jersey City sued Reliable in 2010 after numerous residents complained about a bad odor coming from one of the company’s facilities. Reliable settled the lawsuit in 2013 by pledging to stop mulch production at that site.

  Reliable Wood Products, West Orange Township Council