The committee voted to approve Vice Chair Kris Lukowitz's removal from the board following a public hearing in early April. See details:
Updated Wed, Jun 4, 2025 at 2:49 pm ET
COLTS NECK, NJ — The Colts Neck Township Committee approved a resolution to remove the vice chair of the town Planning Board at a meeting on Wednesday night.
The decision comes following a public hearing in early April, which addressed a previous altercation between Planning Board Vice Chair Kris Lukowitz and Deputy Mayor Michael Viola at the annual League of Municipalities event in November.
During the event, officials said Lukowitz and Viola got into an argument that later turned physical, leading Mayor Tara Torchia Buss and former Committeeman JP Bartolomeo (who were standing nearby) to separate them.
After township officials were informed of the argument, the town investigated the incident and held a public hearing on April 1 to determine whether or not Lukowitz violated township policies and should be removed from the board.
Steven Secare, the independent hearing officer, heard arguments from both township officials and Lukowitz’s attorney on the incident before making a final recommendation to Colts Neck’s governing body.
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On May 7, Secare issued his final decision, which found that Lukowitz violated the township's workplace violence policy and recommended his removal from the planning board, according to Resolution 2025-102 (which can be found in the May 28 meeting packet on the township website).
Since Buss and Committeewoman Sue Fitzpatrick were witnesses to the incident and testified at the April 1 hearing, they were required to vote on Lukowitz’s removal, the resolution said.
Viola was not part of the removal vote due to his role in the incident, according to the resolution.
“This has been a very difficult six months,” Buss said at Wednesday night’s meeting. “This issue has been a cloud over the township and everybody involved. This matter has overshadowed many of the wonderful things that have gone on in our township.”
“As your mayor, as a resident, as a volunteer, and as a thoughtful, caring human being, I am asking for respect and professionalism for all involved as we move forward,” Buss continued.
After the resolution was read aloud to meeting attendees, the Township Committee (minus Viola) unanimously voted to approve Lukowitz's removal from the board.
In an emailed statement to Patch, Lukowitz said he is keeping his legal options open going forward, including “relevant appeals and other possible actions.”
“A few years ago, I was asked by members of this Township Committee to serve on Colts Neck's zoning board and then on the planning board," Lukowitz said. "Given my experience in the construction industry, I was happy to volunteer and offer my expertise."
“Over time, I became outspoken against overdevelopment in Colts Neck and the Township Committee's misguided plans to build a 360-unit rental apartment monstrosity on Route 537. It was clear to me then — and even clearer to me now — that my expertise was not welcomed by the Township Committee and Deputy Mayor Michael Viola in particular,” Lukowitz continued. “Viola created a hostile environment every time I voiced opinions that ran counter to his, and especially as I sought to represent the views of the citizens of Colts Neck.”
"This all came to a head in a heated verbal tiff that occurred between Viola and myself at a third-party conference in Atlantic City back in November. As his own Township Committee colleagues would later testify, Viola incited this verbal altercation. Then, instead of settling the matter like two grown men over a cup of coffee, Viola used taxpayer money to hire not one, but two law firms to have me thrown off the Planning Board in a very calculated plan,” Lukowitz wrote. “The absurdity of all of this is underscored by the fact that I have been serving as a volunteer on this board. Viola and other members of the Township Committee have demonstrated a pattern of aggressiveness toward not only me, but others who have opposed their reckless plans.”
At the April 1 hearing, Viola said the incident began when he and Lukowitz made eye contact, and Lukowitz asked Viola, “What are you looking at?” in a tone Viola characterized as “aggressive.”
Viola said he answered, “Nothing much,” but it escalated. He accused Lukowitz of “violently grabbing” both sides of his lapel, pushing him backward, and verbally threatening him by saying, “I’ll f—g destroy you.”
Lukowitz’s attorney, Bill Blaney, argued that Viola initiated the argument, saying Viola stared down Lukowitz and “rushed him” after Lukowitz told him not to and then told Lukowitz he “better not mess with affordable housing issues.”
Viola said he put his hands on Lukowitz’s only after Lukowitz had grabbed him, saying he did so to brace himself, citing spinal issues.
"[On Wednesday], it came as no surprise to me that the Township Committee voted to remove me as Vice Chairman of the Planning Board for allegedly violating township policies,” Lukowitz said in his statement. “Of course they did. They hand-picked and hired the mediator.”
During Wednesday night’s meeting, Blaney raised a similar concern about how Secare was selected as the hearing officer. Though he did not object to Secare’s role in the hearing, Blaney said he was not part of the selection process.
According to township officials, Secare was chosen as hearing officer by the town's special counsel. Mayor Buss, Deputy Mayor Viola, and the rest of the Township Committee were not involved in the process, Buss told Patch.
“Their [the town’s] only witnesses to the incident were other Township Committee members (Buss, Fitzpatrick and Bartolomeo),” Lukowitz said in his statement. “Not one of them had the professionalism to talk common sense into Viola in order to avoid all of this embarrassment and expense to Colts Neck. No, instead, they engineered a process that would allow them to effectively serve as judge and jury. Underscoring the outrageousness of this process, Viola — who, again, incited and participated in this incident — was not brought up on similar charges for violating the same township policies. How is that possible?”
In an email, Viola referred Patch to the town's transcript of the April 1 hearing (which can be found here) and declined to provide further comment.
"While the Township Committee has spent in excess of $25,000 in taxpayer money, these so-called elected officials have simultaneously chosen to ignore the pleas of two senior citizens who say they have been threatened, verbally and physically, by past and current members of the Township Committee,” Lukowitz continued. “These seniors aired their allegations in public at the April 1st Township Committee meeting. No violations of township policies here? What a despicable double standard on display for all to see.”
"Township Committee members are quick to say the cost associated with this completely avoidable situation was caused by my request for all grievances to be aired publicly. As with everything this Township Committee utters, that is yet another half-truth,” Lukowitz said. “They hired a law firm to investigate me long before they notified me that I was being brought up on charges. And then they wouldn't even provide me with their legal report to help me understand as to what I was being charged. It was then that they attempted to sweep this under the rug by giving me the choice to step down quietly and without the opportunity to defend myself, or if I wanted to do so publicly.”
"People have asked me why I've decided to see this matter through, given the toll it has taken on me and the financial burden I've incurred,” Lukowitz said. “The bottom line is this: I've seen what Viola and this Township Committee have done to good citizens who speak up against their threats, bullying and aggression. I think it's important to shine a spotlight on all of it to bring such behavior to an end.”
“And while this 'judge and jury Township Committee' used taxpayer dollars to silence me because I've spoken against their misguided plans, I am keeping all of my legal options open, including relevant appeals and other possible actions,” Lukowitz said. “The procedural errors and conflicts on display throughout this process were brazen and malicious. The people of Colts Neck deserve better. And if I can play even a small role in ensuring that this type of taxpayer-funded abuse never happens again to another Colts Neck resident in the future, then I'm committed to doing my part."
To watch a full recording of Wednesday’s meeting, you can watch here. To read the meeting agenda, you can click here.