Council Appoints Anthony Ceglia to Fill Cicerale Seat; MUA Shuffle, Dog Park Pitch

The Hardyston Township Council appointed Anthony Ceglia to the seat left vacant by the death of Councilman Frank Cicerale at a special meeting Tuesday night, then swore him in and put him to work on the rest of the agenda within minutes.

The meeting was not originally on the calendar. Under state statute, the council had thirty days from the vacancy to act, and the nominating process runs through the party of the departed officeholder. The Hardyston Republican County Committee met July 27 and forwarded three names: Ceglia, Donna Carey, and Carl Paladino. The council’s job Tuesday was to interview all three publicly and pick one.

One nominee steps aside before the interview starts

Carey, taken first in alphabetical order, used her time to withdraw in substance if not in form.

A resident since 1990 and the mother of three district graduates, Carey currently sits on the Hardyston Board of Education. She told the council she understood she could not finish that term if she took the council seat, and that she would rather stay where she is.

“I’m not really comfortable moving forward with it,” she said, adding that she was honored by the nomination and would welcome future opportunities. She closed by calling it “a great honor” to have known Cicerale.

Asked whether that constituted a withdrawal, the township attorney advised that no immediate action was required and her name would remain on the slate, since the council is obligated to consider all three.

Ceglia: fire service background, recusal questions

Ceglia, a Hardyston resident since 2004, is a business owner and the current president of the fire department, where he previously served as chief. He pitched his leadership experience in both roles.

Councilman Alfano confirmed Ceglia would step down as a fire department officer while remaining a volunteer firefighter, then asked the question that mattered: would he have to recuse himself on fire department business?

The answer from the township’s professionals was that recusal is decided case by case, and only where a material personal benefit to Ceglia or someone in his immediate orbit is at stake. The example offered was the Length of Service Awards Program - an ordinance raising the LOSAP benefit would require recusal, because it is a direct financial benefit to fire department members. Routine votes, including the annual municipal budget that contains the fire department’s operating line, would not. OEM matters were described as outside the concern.

Paladino: land use board, county planning, county committee

Paladino, a 20-year resident, described 48 years in senior management in the packaging industry before semi-retirement. He currently serves on the Hardyston Land Use Board, the Sussex County Planning Board, and the Sussex County Republican Committee.

He said he had been asked whether he would step in “with the passing of my good friend Frank,” and was more than willing. Asked about conflicts, he said he has no business dealings with the township; his part-time position is in Bergen County.

The vote - and the banner that preceded it

Mayor Kula placed Ceglia’s name in nomination after remarks on the loss of Cicerale, noting the bunting outside the building and recalling that before the meeting he had nearly asked aloud whether Frank was coming that night. The resolution appointing Anthony Ceglia to temporarily fill the unexpired term through December 31, 2026 passed 4-0 (Kula, Miller, Kaminski, Alfano). Ceglia took the oath on the spot, signed it, and was seated for the remainder of the meeting, casting his first vote on the consent agenda.

The council’s deliberation, such as it was, consisted of the mayor placing a name in nomination and his colleagues agreeing. No member advocated for another nominee. No member offered a reason for preferring one over the others.

There is context for that.

Before Tuesday’s meeting, a campaign banner at the fairgrounds already carried Ceglia’s name as Councilman Brian Kaminski’s running mate. The party, in other words, had settled on Ceglia as its November candidate for this seat before the council convened to choose among three nominees for it.

Kaminski said as much from the dais, though only in passing. Welcoming Ceglia during council comments, he noted the two “are going to be running together against another team” and would begin campaigning “tonight or tomorrow morning.” Ceglia’s appointment expires December 31, so the seat appears on the November ballot regardless.

Two points of law are worth stating plainly, because they cut in different directions.

The appointment and the ballot line are separate processes. Nothing prevents a county committee from slating a candidate for November independent of who the council appoints in August, and a party organization’s endorsement decisions are its own business. A banner is not evidence of an agreement among council members, and nothing in Tuesday’s record establishes one.

But the vacancy statute contemplates that the council will exercise independent judgment among the three names submitted to it. That is the purpose of requiring three rather than one, and the purpose of the public interview the council conducted Tuesday night. When the party’s choice for the seat is already printed on a banner, the interview of the other two nominees serves a different function than the statute envisions.

Carl Paladino answered questions Tuesday about his land use experience and his freedom from township conflicts. Donna Carey withdrew in substance before hers began. Whether either was under serious consideration is a question the public record does not answer.

Two MUA vacancies trigger a chain of moves

Cicerale chaired the Hardyston Township Municipal Utilities Authority, so his death created a vacancy there as well. A second opened when commissioner Robert Codner resigned, citing an accumulation of volunteer commitments. Codner had reportedly indicated he would step down once his seat could be filled.

Following the township’s standing practice of promoting alternates rather than seating newcomers directly into full member slots, the council approved the following, unanimously:

• Donna Carey, alternate one, moves to full member, filling Cicerale’s unexpired term to January 31, 2030
• William Marotta, alternate two, moves to alternate one, term expiring January 31, 2027
• Zach Dora, interviewed last month, is appointed alternate two

A Hoboken resident interviews for an MUA seat - and a conflict question that went unanswered

With another alternate slot opening as a result of the shuffle, the council interviewed Joseph Branco, who appeared via Teams from California due to pre-arranged travel.

Branco lives in Hoboken with his wife and two children and has owned property in the Crystal Springs area of Hardyston for nearly 13 years. He currently owns a home here plus two units in the hotel, and says he comes up every weekend.

Mayor Kula read from Branco’s own application, which discloses that he owns and actively manages 17 investment properties across Hudson County, Hardyston Township, Hamburg, and Paterson - multifamily, residential, mixed use, and condominium - overseeing acquisition, financing, budgeting, leasing, capital improvement planning, infrastructure, maintenance, and regulatory compliance. The mayor then asked directly whether serving as a commissioner would involve any conflict or undue influence.

Branco said no. Most of his holdings are in Hudson County; four are local, and all four are on the MUA system. He argued his background is an asset, pointing to what he described as a coming $100 million bond proposal for infrastructure improvements - a figure that did not otherwise come up Tuesday and that has not, to our knowledge, been presented publicly. He noted he pays quarterly on his home and is billed through the HOA at the hotel, giving him what he called a unique view of both sides of the ratepayer picture.

What was not said, by Branco or by any member of the council, is that Branco has served as campaign manager on multiple Hardyston Republican slates - including Councilman Brian Kaminski’s current re-election campaign.

That relationship was not disclosed in response to the mayor’s direct question about conflicts. It is not a legal disqualification; there is no statute barring a campaign manager from serving on a municipal authority, and the appointment is the council’s to make. But the council members who would vote on Branco’s appointment include one whose campaign he is currently running, and the public heard a conflict-of-interest colloquy that did not surface it.

Councilman Miller pressed on a different question - attendance, given how many irons Branco has in the fire. Branco said the MUA meets the first Monday of the month, that Crystal Tavern serves prime rib on Mondays for $38, and that he’d been up three Mondays running: “if you give me an excuse to come up on Mondays, I have no problem being part of the meetings.”

On residency, the township attorney offered a clarification with some reach: unlike the Land Use Board, where membership criteria are set by the Municipal Land Use Law, neither state statute nor the township code imposes a residency requirement on MUA commissioners. The MUA is a separate entity of the township, and the council’s appointment power is its own prerogative - it may approve, deny, or postpone on whatever basis it deems fit, including residency, but it is not required to.

The council took the application under consideration. No vote was taken, which means the disclosure question can still be put on the record before one is.

Stavola quarry hours request pulled from the agenda

The council took no action on a request from the operator of the Stavola quarry on Beaver Run Road to expand operating hours, moving the start time from 7 a.m. to 6 a.m.

The request came in by email last week in anticipation of a large short-term contract, and was placed on the agenda because it appeared time-sensitive for early August. The operator is still working through truck routing, hours, and duration, so the item was held.

The township manager said she and township engineer Mike Drieland agreed the request should return only with a full plan, and that because the quarry sits in both Hardyston and Lafayette and is permitted in both, both towns should be aligned before anything changes - the traffic affects residents on both sides. Asked directly, she confirmed the request concerns truck movement only, not blasting or extraction.

Safety Town, year five

Recreation staff gave a mid-week report on Safety Town, the half-day, week-long program for incoming kindergartners, now in its fifth year.

Monday brought a wildlife conservation officer for bear and wildlife safety, followed by a bus safety session in which students boarded a bus, rode to the middle school, and returned. Tuesday was bike safety with the police department and a water safety session with the YMCA. Wednesday brings a tour of the police station and a stranger-danger presentation from Officer McGrath, with the fire department closing out the week Friday.

Staff noted the program has run long enough that younger siblings of the first cohort are now coming through. The council asked that thanks be extended to recreation, police, fire, and township staff.

Residents ask for adult CPR training

Deputy Mayor Alfano said he has been approached by residents asking for adult CPR classes, observing that roughly half the township is over fifty. He floated running it during Hardyston Day.

The manager pushed back on the venue - certification runs about half a day, not half an hour - but was receptive to the substance. The township already certifies its own staff in this room, she said, using Commissioner Henderson, a licensed trainer. She suggested small-group sessions of 10 to 15 residents, with a quote from Henderson or another licensed instructor, potentially funded from the senior or recreation budget. She committed to reporting back at the next meeting.

Public comment: a dog park proposal

Joe Gorberg, Country Lane, proposed the township build a dog park, noting the nearest off-leash facilities are in Vernon and Wantage. He described a half-acre to one-acre site with separate large- and small-dog areas and a double-gated entry for safe transitions, and argued the need is real in a township with substantial townhouse, apartment, and unfenced-lot housing stock, where the code permits off-leash dogs only on private property.

Gorberg had done the regulatory homework. Building a park would require amending Chapter 20-128, which bars animals from township parks at any time, and Code 60-23, which requires any dog off private property to be leashed and accompanied by a person over twelve. On liability, he said the township’s participation in the Joint Insurance Fund could cover the facility if it is identified as a new exposure, with property coverage added for fencing and equipment, and risk further reduced through licensing requirements, double-gate design standards, and posted liability signage. He said he had done the same thing successfully at his second home in Windham, New York.

He left a written proposal with the township manager, who said she would circulate copies to the council.

One other speaker, who gave a Hamburg address, addressed the council regarding a personal dispute with a member of the governing body. No council member responded.

Executive session

The council closed into executive session for an update on outstanding litigation matters, with the manager stating there was no intent to take action afterward.

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