JACKSON – The chief operating officer of a company that is seeking to establish a business on Wright-Debow Road in Jackson described the operations that would take place at the property during a recent meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
A and A Truck Parts is seeking a use variance from the zoning board to operate a recycling center. Recycling is not a permitted use in the Commercial Office/Light Industrial zone on Wright-Debow Road. Previous testimony has indicated trucks will be brought to the site, broken down in a building and their parts resold.
A public hearing on the A and A Truck Parts application resumed on June 20 with testimony from Tom Kerwin, the company’s chief operating officer.
“We would choose our operation hours. We would not work on Sunday because the town does not want us to work on Sunday, but we would be allowed to work on Saturday. On some Saturdays we would open and work a half-day or a full day,” Kerwin said.
He said the business would be permitted to operate until 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
During his testimony, Kerwin addressed concerns he said he heard during previous zoning board meetings.
“One thing that was brought up (by members of the public) was what they call ‘stacking.’ Are we going to have vehicles outside the building waiting to get in? The way we operate is that we buy vehicles from auctions (and/or) other trucking outfits. … We schedule when they come (to us),” Kerwin said.
He said there would “probably be fewer than one or two trucks a week that come into our yard that we are not ready for, so stacking does not happen.”
The board’s vice chairman, Sheldon Hofstein, asked about the drivers who would be coming to the Wright-Debow Road property.
“You have control over their driving habits and so on, so if somebody complains that (a driver) is speeding or somebody is driving erratically, you can address it and get that under control?” Hofstein said.
Kerwin said that was correct and added, “As the operations officer, I am also the safety and compliance officer. I have a background in safety and security and compliance … our trucks are all marked with our name … and number. We take safety and security very seriously both on the road and in our operation.”
Attorney Ray Shea, who is representing A and A Truck Parts, asked Kerwin to respond to a statement that was made by an attorney who is representing an objector to the application. The objector’s attorney claimed A and A Truck Parts is running a retail operation.
Kerwin said because most of the parts the company deals with are “heavy duty,” the operation is a business-to-business transaction and not retail in nature.
“We do not have new parts, so it is not like going into AutoZone and ordering a new part,” he said.
Board member Scott Najarian asked Kerwin about the company’s current operation in neighboring Freehold Township, its hours of operation and noise that may be affecting residents who live near the site.
Kerwin said he does not understand why there is a focus on noise. He said the company operates in Freehold Township under a junkyard license.
“We operate outside, with no building, we have the heavy equipment we are talking about putting (in Jackson). We do not have a noise problem, we are in a residential area (in Freehold Township) and we never had a noise complaint,” Kerwin said.
He said there would be no noise outside the boundaries of the company’s operation in Jackson.
Shea asked Kerwin if in the 10 years he has worked for A and A Truck Parts the company has received any complaints from a municipal, county or state agency in regard to the operation. Kerwin said no complaints have been received.
Shea asked if the Freehold Township operation is surrounded by homes, to which Kerwin responded “correct.”
Zoning board member Carl F. Book Jr. said, “If I understand the testimony that has been put forward, the retail aspect is a minimal, if almost inconsequential aspect of the business. Would that be a fair statement?”
Kerwin said that was a fair statement.
Book asked if the company relies on retail transactions, which he defined as individuals coming to the location to purchase parts.
Kerwin said the most significant portion of the operation is business to business. He said there may be a few people a week who stop in and ask for a specific part, “but we do not have the retail you would have at AutoZone or something like that.”
Kerwin said 90 percent of the parts that are sold are shipped to customers, although he said local customers could pick up parts they have purchased. He said an office on site would accommodate individuals who stop by to inquire about buying a part.
Board member Alexander Sauickie III asked how often trucks are scheduled to come to the site.
Kerwin said one or two trucks an hour and added, “We have to schedule (trucks) to come in, so we are going to schedule them when we are there, so they are not coming in all at one time. We bring them in, we do an inspection on them, we are required to do that.”
Kerwin said if a vehicle is going to be stored outside until it is brought into the building, the company’s employees must ensure it is not leaking fluid.
The A and A Truck Parts application is expected to resume at the zoning board’s Sept. 5 meeting.
