WO may increase debt to add parking to Gregory School

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Township Council approved a bond ordinance on first reading at its Jan. 19 meeting appropriating $375,000 to cover the cost of traffic and parking improvements at Gregory Elementary School.

The ordinance, passed by a 4-1 vote with Councilman Joe Krakoviak voting against it, specifies that $357,140 of the total amount will be issued in bonds and notes; $17,860 will be paid as the down payment required by the Local Bond Law. As such, the township’s gross debt will increase by $357,140 to reflect the authorization of the bonds and notes.

The funds will pay for the creation of a bus loop in front of the school as well as the addition of approximately 23 new parking spaces for staff, according to township engineer Leonard Lepore. Additionally, Lepore said some parallel or angular parking spots may be included in the bus loop. Overall, he said roughly 25 to 30 parking spots will be added to the school.

That parking expansion should be good news to frustrated Gregory teachers and administrators, as Lepore said 12 to 15 vehicles currently have to park in non-spaces. Township business administrator Jack Sayers added that buses sometimes cannot easily navigate the driveway for the parking lot, which makes dropping off children difficult. And parents often cannot get into the packed lot either, Sayers said.

In fact, it was after meeting with Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Rutzky, the West Orange Traffic Bureau, and Gregory parents and staff to discuss these issues that it became clear the improvements must be made, the business administrator said.

“Something needed to be done before somebody gets hurt,” Sayers said.

Krakoviak agreed that the traffic and parking is “ridiculous” at the Gregory School, pointing out that the landscaping is being ruined because people are parking on the lawn. Still, though he said he hopes these improvements will remedy this problem, the councilman expressed disapproval that the township is funding the work rather than the school district. Referring to the state law requiring a public referendum to approve all bond ordinances sought by school districts, Krakoviak said it seems that residents are being done a disservice if the council continues to pass bonds like those for Gregory.

“By constantly going through the township to do this, we sidestep what I think is a very important provision for the citizens of New Jersey,” Krakoviak said. “I vote against these and I’m going to vote against this today because it subverts a constitutional provision in the state of New Jersey.”

Similarly, in 2014, Krakoviak voted against the township footing the bill to improve the sight line from the third-base bleachers at the West Orange High School baseball field, for approximately $10,000.

Board of Education President Laura Lab told the Chronicle after the council meeting that the improvements were actually recommended by the WOPD traffic bureau to address the fact that the school’s neighbors were being forced to endure congested streets and “chaotic” traffic as a result of the parking overflow. Additionally, Lab pointed out that the situation simply is not safe for the faculty and close to 600 students who attend Gregory.

“This has been an ongoing issue for a number of years and is growing worse,” Lab said in a Jan. 20 email. “The safety of our students and staff is paramount.”

Sayers also clarified that this bond ordinance comes through an interlocal agreement between the township and Board of Education, since the town does occasionally use the field near Gregory and will thus be using the newly created parking spaces. Krakoviak, however, disputed that West Orange will be using the new spaces nearly as much as the school.

The lack of a public referendum was not the only reason Krakoviak voted against the ordinance. The councilman pointed out that, if the Gregory School bonds are eventually approved on second and final reading, the township will have increased its outstanding debt by 31 percent, or $18.5 million, since 2010. Especially considering the Federal Reserve recently increased the federal interest rate to a range of 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent — up from a range of zero percent to 0.25 percent — he stressed that the township needs to start thinking twice when it comes to finances.

“I think we need to take a very careful look at what we’re borrowing, what we’re borrowing for and how we’re going to pay it back,” Krakoviak said.

To underline this point, Krakoviak asked for a review of the township’s overall debt service and the plan for its payment to be added to the Feb. 9 meeting agenda, which also includes the Gregory School bond ordinance’s vote on second and final reading.