By Matthew Sockol
Correspondent
SAYREVILLE – The Sayreville Borough Council has approved plans to televise the meetings of boards and commissions.
The council adopted a resolution on Feb. 8 that requires all of the borough’s boards and commissions to meet in a facility capable of being recorded. The recorded meetings must also be posted on Sayreville’s website.
The issue of having meetings televised was made into a resolution after a Sayreville resident and a Board of Education member, Thomas Biesiada, asked the council on Jan. 25 that the meetings of the Sayreville Economic and Redevelopment Agency (SERA) be viewable by the public. Biesiada believed that fellow residents had a right to know what SERA was planning for the borough.
“The people in town want to know what’s going on,” Biesiada said. “They need to know what’s going on. And transparency is one of the issues that a lot of people feel is negative in this town. They don’t know what’s going on. They lack trust.”
The council voted 5-1 to have the resolution placed on the Feb. 8 consent agenda. Councilman Steven Grillo, who is a member of SERA, cast the sole vote against the resolution.
Although only SERA was discussed at the Jan. 25 meeting, Councilwoman Victoria Kilpatrick emphasized that the resolution applied to all the boards and commissions in Sayreville.
“The way that (the resolution) is written, it says that we want all boards and commissions,” Kilpatrick said. “I personally feel that all boards and commissions should have that televised clause in there.”
Kilpatrick made note of the focus on SERA, which she is also a member of.
“If we want to move towards transparency, this should not be about an individual, and I feel the last meeting was made about an individual,” she said. “It was made specifically about SERA. I don’t believe that’s what good government is. If we’re going to call for transparency on any board, it should be across all boards.”
Michael D’Addio, the chairman of SERA, stated he was in favor to having their meetings televised, but the council could not move their meeting location. SERA meets in room 308 of the Borough Hall, which currently does not contain any recording equipment. He also insisted that if a camera was installed in 308, it could be turned off when the SERA went into closed session.
“You do not have the authority as to where we hold our meetings,” D’Addio said. “Our meetings will be in 308. You’re welcome to televise them if there is a switch to turn (the camera) off during closed. If not, the meetings will be elsewhere, where we decide there will be.”
Kilpatrick, Councilwoman Mary Novak and Council President Daniel Buchanan acknowledged the benefits of room 308 and believed it was acceptable for SERA to continue meeting in the room. Whereas the council chambers seats its occupants in front of an audience, occupants in 308 are able to look directly at each other.
“When you’re having a discussion meeting like SERA has, it’s better to be in a round table than looking across over your shoulders and looking back and forth,” said Buchanan.
The resolution was adopted in a 5-1 vote. As with the previous meeting, only Grillo was opposed.
“I don’t believe that there is jurisdiction over SERA in this and I also think this is nothing more than a political attack,” Grillo said. “It has been a political attack on SERA and Mr. D’Addio from day one when this discussion started.”
After the vote, D’Addio emphasized that SERA was only capable of making suggestions on issues.
“We make decisions on practically nothing,” D’Addio said. “Everything that we decide are suggestions. We sent it to the mayor and council, we sent it to the planning board. We pick a developer, we make the deal, we send it to the council, and the council votes on it. If the council doesn’t like it, they send it back.”
He argued the zoning board of adjustment is the most important and powerful board in the Sayreville because, unlike SERA, members have the authority to make changes on their own.
Resident Barbara Kilcommons responded to D’Addio’s comments by stating that while SERA’s suggestions have to be approved by other entities, the council is inclined to support SERA’s suggestions.
“I feel the council acts upon SERA’s recommendation,” said Kilcommons. “I have never seen the council in all the years that SERA has been created to disagree with SERA.”
