Home Care In Mt. Arlington, NJ

ROXBURY, NJ – Construction is about to begin on the long-proposed Howard Boulevard/Route 80 interchange improvement project and that means lane closures on the highway, starting tonight.

The state Department of Transportation today said Route 80 is scheduled to have lane closures in both directions tonight (Nov. 17) on the bridges over Howard Boulevard in Mount Arlington on the Roxbury border. Starting at 9 p.m. and continuing through 10 a.m. Nov. 18, the left and center lanes on Route 80 eastbound and westbound are scheduled to be closed over the boulevard, said the DOT.

“The closures are necessary to implement a traffic shift and create a median work zone,” the state explained. “A temporary bridge will be constructed between the existing eastbound and westbound bridges to maintain three lanes of traffic in each direction throughout construction.”

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It said that, by Saturday morning, there will be three lanes in each direction with traffic shifted to the right. At least one lane will be maintained overnight, the DOT said.

The federally funded project, initially estimated to cost $24 million, in 2017, but now described as a $65.4 million endeavor, will replace the existing bridges carrying Route 80 over Howard Boulevard.

But the bridges will not be replaced with similarly sized spans. They will be higher and bigger to enable widening the boulevard, according to the DOT.

“Improvements will include raising the vertical clearance of each bridge, widening the shoulders, lengthening acceleration and deceleration lanes on I-80, and widening the ramps to and from Howard Boulevard,” it said. “The Howard Boulevard intersection will be reconfigured to improve operational performance.”

Additionally, the interchange will get upgraded traffic signals and lighting and ADA-compliant sidewalks and crosswalks, according to the state. “Sidewalks will be extended to the Mount Arlington Train Station for improved pedestrian and bicycle safety and mobility.”

Originally scheduled to be done by 2025, the project is now expected to be complete in summer 2027, the DOT said.

“The precise timing of the work is subject to change due to weather or other factors,” it noted. “Motorists are encouraged to check NJDOT’s traffic information website www.511nj.org for construction updates and real-time travel information.”

Related TAPInto Roxbury coverage:

Roxbury Hears Big Plans for Fixing Route 80/Howard Blvd Interchange

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Despite claims it found a path to save $100 million in taxpayer dollars over the next decade, a state-authorized commission to study a merger of Roxbury and Mount Arlington met for the last time Wednesday in Roxbury.

Craig Heard, chairman of the Roxbury-Mount Arlington Consolidation Study Commission, said after more than five years of work, the commission was unable to muster interest in consolidation among elected leaders or residents.

In August, Heard said the commission, authorized by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Local Finance Board in 2014, had hit "a brick wall" and would seek an extension to continue its work until December 2020.

"The local board did not grant them the one-year extension they requested," said Roxbury Mayor Robert DeFillippo, a consolidation opponent.

Wednesday, the commission called a halt to the effort, voting by resolution to dissolve at the end of the year.

"The Consolidation Commission I chaired for over 4 1/2 years completes our mission," Heard wrote in a social-media post on Thursday. "Now it is time for Roxbury and Mount Arlington to use our study reports as a blueprint to find shared services that can be implemented to reduce property taxes for the residents."

Following the guidelines of the Municipal Consolidation Act of 2007, the process began in 2012, when groups from Roxbury and Mount Arlington formed and each collected more than 400 signatures from the respective municipalities.

The petitions moved the Local Finance Board in 2014 to approve their application calling for the creation of a commission to study a possible consolidation.

Heard in August said the commission was "so darn close" to producing a study he feels will project annual savings to the combined towns, ranging from $9.2 million per year, based on their own calculations, to $11.8 million annually, based on a recent independent CPA study ordered by the commission.

But sticking points in the complex state statute guiding the formal consolidation process stalled the efforts. The primary problem, Heard said, are rules regarding the equal distribution of consolidation savings.

"If we consolidated using the commission's numbers of 9.2%, Roxbury would have an 8% reduction in property taxes and Mount Arlington would have a 10% reduction," Heard explained. "That's great, except the statute requires you to equalize the taxes for both municipalities. And when Mount Arlington goes into Roxbury, the equalization doesn't create any savings for Mount Arlington."

The mayors of both towns questioned the commission's findings, as did many residents who expressed opposition in public meetings and on social media.

DeFilippo said the equalization rules would effectively negate the savings to Roxbury's 23,000 residents, to the benefit of 5,000 Mount Arlington residents.

"That's Craig's claim: If we could only eliminate equalization, then we could claim all these savings," DeFillippo said. "There's a reason why equalization is in there, to make sure each town pays its fair share, that it is equitably distributed."

"I have several concerns. One is the study itself, and the other is: Does Mount Arlington need this or want this?" Mount Arlington Mayor Michael Stanzilis said. "Clearly, Mount Arlington does not want this, and the people are angry that this is even being foisted on them."

Heard also stated at an Oct. 23 meeting of the commission that some of its volunteer members "were attacked online, publicly and had their businesses attacked."

"We started doing shared services long before the commission got involved," DeFillippo said. "We have other shared-service opportunities we are pursuing. I'm pleased the commission is now disbanded, and we can get back to running the communities for the residents."

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven

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ROXBURY, NJ – There's a reason Roxbury Councilwoman Jaki Albrecht plans to attend tomorrow's ribbon-cutting ceremony for a trail system in Mount Arlington: The meandering pathways benefit Roxbury too.

Mount Arlington’s Lake Rogerene Trails system, to be celebrated 9 a.m. at the pathway's trailhead, interchanges deep in the woods with Roxbury's 1.3-mile Ice Age Trail at Orben Park. In fact, the Lake Rogerene Trails trailhead is situated on Orben Drive right up the road from the trailhead for the Ice Age Trail.

Both trails wind through the hilly woods northwest of Lake Rogerene and east of Shippenport Road.

Albrecht said she recently joined Mount Arlington Mayor Michael Stanzilis and other Mount Arlington officials in a Zoom discussion about trails. She said the connection between the two municipalities’ pathways was mentioned in the chat.

“This gives a great opportunity to residents of Mount Arlington and Roxbury to see all the great natural features up there, especially in winter when the views open up,” Albrecht said.

The ribbon-cutting for Roxbury's Ice Age Trail took place in May 2014.

The Mount Arlington trail system cost about $378,000 to preserve as open space. About $297,000 of that came from a Morris County Trails Grant Program.

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An elusive record that has stood strong for nearly 122 years might have been broken during the monster snowstorm that has pummeled New Jersey during the past three days.

The National Weather Service announced Tuesday night it received a preliminary report of 35.1 inches of snow on the ground in Mount Arlington in Morris County.

If that report is confirmed, it would top the state’s longtime record of 34 inches of snow, which fell during a multi-day blizzard that stretched from Feb. 11 to Feb. 14 in 1899.

However, the weather service is not declaring this a record yet, agency meteorologist Patrick O’Hara said. Even though the agency has no reason to doubt the veracity of the snowfall report, it still has to go through a strict process to confirm it.

O’Hara said the 35-inch snow report in Mount Arlington came from a trained weather observer, someone who likely knows the proper way to accurately measure snow. But to be declared a new statewide record, it has to be investigated further.

And it’s not a quick process.

“It’ll go through a lot of scrutiny,” O’Hara said. “It won’t be days, it won’t be weeks. I’ll probably be months.”

On Monday, after some early snowfall reports of 30 inches were received by the National Weather Service, New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson echoed what O’Hara said, saying all snowfall measurements are considered preliminary until they can be confirmed.

Robinson, whose office at Rutgers University oversees state climate data and records dating all the way back to 1895, said any snowfall reports for something as significant as a statewide record would have to undergo a lot of scrutiny under procedures set up by the National Centers for Environmental Information, formerly known as the National Climatic Data Center.

Robinson said the process involves determining the procedure used by the weather observer who reported the snowfall measurement, and making sure the procedure adheres to proper standards in measuring snow.

It’s not something weather and climate experts take lightly, Robinson noted. Which is why the National Weather Service can’t declare the 35-inch snowfall report as a record right now.

If the measurement holds up, it would be among several hefty snowfall totals of 30-plus inches that were reported Monday night and Tuesday — the second and third days of this three-day winter storm.

TOP SNOWFALL REPORTS IN N.J.

(UPDATE: The National Weather Service said the preliminary Mount Arlington snowfall total was originally reported as 35.5 inches, but the person who took the measurement later corrected the total to 35.1 inches.)

As of now, these are the highest preliminary snow totals across New Jersey during this epic storm:

Current weather radar

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Len Melisurgo may be reached at here.

Elizabeth Valandingham is accused of secretly giving campaign contributions to Mount Arlington officials on behalf of her law firmPhoto Credit: NJ Attorney General's Office

ROXBURY, NJ – A Morristown lawyer lied about making campaign contributions to Mount Arlington officials in 2016, a year before her firm was awarded a “lucrative contract” with the borough, according to law enforcement officials.

The lawyer, Elizabeth Valandingham, 47, of Morristown, now faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $150,000 if convicted, said the state Attorney General’s Office on Friday.

It said Valandingham was charged June 17 with second-degree false representation for government contracts and second-degree misconduct by a corporate official. The state accused the lawyer of conducting similar behavior in Bloomfield.

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Valandingham, who could not be reached for comment, was a partner with lawyer Matt O'Donnell at the defunct O'Donnell McCord law firm in Morristown. She also was a member of the Jerzey Derbie Brigade roller blade team, going by the name "Lawless Lizzie."

Without naming the firm for which she worked, the state said Valandingham, in 2016, submitted a proposal for legal services to Mount Arlington. One of Valandingham’s duties at the law firm “was to prepare and submit annual proposals to various municipalities in order for the firm to garner public contracts for legal services,” according to the state.

It said Mount Arlington required that Valandingham certify her law firm “made no reportable political contributions in the year preceding the award of the contract.” Valandingham made that certification and the borough subsequently “awarded the firm a lucrative contract, earning the firm in excess of $470,000,” said the state.

The charges allege Valandingham actually donated $7,500 to Mount Arlington officials in 2016 and used “straw donors” to do so surreptitiously.

Friends and Family

It contends Valandingham, and a co-conspirator, “recruited friends and family members to act as straw donors— people who made political contributions and would subsequently be reimbursed in cash by the firm for those contributions” in an attempt to shield the payments.

“It is alleged that, in total, during the time that Valandingham indicated that the firm made no contributions, the firm made tens of thousands of dollars in straw contributions,” in Mount Arlington and Bloomfield, said the Attorney General’s Office.

The charges against Valandingham stem “from a major corruption probe by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) that previously led to five former public officials and political candidates in New Jersey being charged with taking bribes,” noted the Attorney General’s Office.

Among the defendants initially charged in the OPIA investigation are former Mount Arlington Councilman John Windash and former Morris County Freeholder Candidate Mary Dougherty, the wife of Morristown’s mayor.

Those people are facing charges of second-degree bribery in official and political matters “for allegedly taking thousands of dollars in bribes from a cooperating witness in the form of campaign contributions,” said the state. “In return, the defendants allegedly promised the cooperating witness – who is a tax attorney – that they would vote or use their official authority or influence to hire or continue to hire his law firm for lucrative government legal work.”

The Attorney General’s Office said Valandingham’s alleged conduct “is not directly related to the bribery allegations” against the other defendants.

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Six years after it was first proposed, work has finally begun on a three-year, $65.4 million effort to replace two Route 80 overpasses at the border between Roxbury and Mount Arlington in western Morris County.

In the intervening time, the price tag for the federally funded project has almost tripled.

Lane closures were put in place last month, launching the long-awaited replacement of both interstate bridge spans over heavily trafficked Howard Boulevard. The section of highway is next to the Mount Arlington NJ Transit station and near the former Hercules munitions plant property in Roxbury, where developers have proposed a 2.5 million-square-foot warehouse park.

The project is necessary because the bridge spans "are in poor condition," said Stephen Schapiro, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

First, a temporary bridge

The initial lane closures allowed the department to complete a traffic shift and create a median work zone, from which road crews will build a temporary bridge between the existing eastbound and westbound bridges. That will allow motorists to continue to use three lanes of traffic in each direction throughout construction, the state said.

The project is expected to be finished in the summer of 2027, the Transportation Department said. The precise timing is subject to change due to weather "or other factors," the department said in a statement last month.

State officials estimated that the overpass replacement would cost $24 million when they announced its initial design phase in 2017.

More:Massive BASF complex on Route 80 falls to the wrecking ball. Here’s what will replace it

Why costs climbed

In addition to the impact of COVID delays and inflation, Schapiro said, costs increased due to the project's expanding scope.

The original concept called for closing and detouring a nearby exit ramp. But the temporary bridge will now permit "all lanes and ramps to remain open during construction, with only short-term ramp closures," he said.

In addition, the final design increases the height of the highway over Howard Boulevard and adds five stormwater basins, five sign structures and a retaining wall. It calls for thicker asphalt for the Howard Boulevard pavement box, all ramps and the temporary roadway.

Other aspects of the project will include:

Motorists can check the Transportation Department's traffic information website, 511nj.org, for construction updates and real-time travel information. Advisories also will be posted on the department's Facebook page and its X (formerly Twitter) account.

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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Anne is our full-time audiologist. She graduated from William Paterson College in Wayne, New Jersey with a BA in Speech Pathology. She went on to earn her Masters in Audiology from Montclair State College. Anne has special training in Electrocochleography, Electronystagmography (used to diagnose balance disorders), Otoacoustic Emissions and Auditory Brainstem Evoked Response testing. Anne has been a practicing audiologist for the past 20 years and has a wealth of experience in dealing with children and adults. Anne currently dispenses hearing aids, swim plugs, musician's plugs and assistive listening devices through our office.

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Photo Credit: Jimmy Pelusio

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Succasunna accountant Frank Sarinelli at Sunday's "Drive for Hope" tour through Roxbury and Mount ArlingtonPhoto Credit: Jimmy Pelusio

By Fred J. Aun

ROXBURY, NJ – About 10 area residents took a break from COVID-19 cabin fever on Sunday by hopping in their cars and slowly driving together through Mount Arlington and Roxbury in what they unofficially called a “Drive for Hope.”

Horns were honked. Loud music was played through open windows. Some cheer was delivered to neighborhoods that seemed to need it, said Jimmy Pelusio, one of the organizers.

“We just wanted to do something positive for the community,” he said.

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The friends met at Mount Arlington Public School at about 2 p.m. and embarked on a leisurely tour that lasted past 5 p.m., Pelusio said. Based on the reactions from people along the way, the Drive for Hope was worthwhile, he said.

“The support we got was incredible,” Pelusio said. “There were some people outside already. Some were out walking. People came out when they heard us come through”

Pelusio, who rumbled along in his 1992 Camaro, said some people approached – staying at least six feet away – to express thanks. “People were saying, ‘You made my day,’” he said. “There was so much positive. I’m telling you; it was a really great feeling.”

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ROXBURY, NJ – Dozens of Mount Arlington residents last night forcefully told the Roxbury/Mount Arlington Consolidation Study Commission they are not interested in seeing their borough become a hamlet of Roxbury even if it would bring a big decrease in property taxes.

Prodded by a social media campaign and word-of-mouth exhortations – efforts lambasted by commission Chairman Craig Heard as being full of inflammatory falsehoods – the borough residents jammed into the Roxbury Senior Center. They comprised most of the approximately 200 people attending the commission meeting and many loudly expressed anger, distrust and a “leave us alone” attitude.

The panel of volunteers, representing both municipalities, has been studying for four years whether a consolidation of Roxbury and Mount Arlington would yield any benefit to taxpayers. If approved by voters, the idea would be to dissolve both towns and form a new one in which Mount Arlington would be a section of Roxbury, similar in nature to Landing, Port Morris, Kenvil, Ledgewood, Succasunna and Lower Berkshire Valley.

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Commission Chairman Craig Heard recently said the panel’s latest information showed that municipal consolidation would result in almost $12 million per year in cost savings for the towns and cut about $1,000 per year from the average Roxbury homeowner’s tax bill.

However, he also recently learned the state’s municipal consolidation law would require Mount Arlington’s tax rate to be equalized with Roxbury’s, a factor that would mean Mount Arlington homeowners would see no tax reduction.

Searching for a Solution

Heard said an expert in the state’s municipal consolidation law is looking into ways this situation can be avoided. If that can be done, Mount Arlington property owners would see tax bill reductions of about 10 percent yearly after a consolidation, he said.

But finding a way around the equalization problem is unlikely. The commissioners said they would not vote to bring before the voters a proposal that did not project tax savings for people in both towns.

If the equalization issue had not come up, the commission might have voted to have the consolidation question placed on the general election ballot this November. It’s now too late to have that take place.

The panel voted last night to seek from the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) an extension of its charter through December 2020. If the tax equalization matter can be resolved, and if the panel continues to find probable tax savings for both towns through consolidation, it might have the question placed on the November 2020 ballot.

Don't Bother

However, people at yesterday’s meeting – including Mount Arlington Mayor Michael Stanzilis – resoundingly told the commission they want nothing to do with consolidation. Some said they did not want their borough to lose its identity.

Stanzilis said Mount Arlington doesn't need "a merger" to reduce taxes. However, the mayor said he’s a firm believer in some forms of cost-sharing between neighboring towns.

“I believe New Jersey is moving hard in the direction of shared services,” Stanzilis said. “We can accomplish what the merger is trying to do on our own. Smaller is better.”

Roxbury Mayor Bob DeFillippo, who is a member of the commission, and Roxbury Township Manager John Shepherd also oppose the commission’s effort. Both said the panel’s facts and figures are inaccurate, with DeFillippo contending the group’s investigations lacked professional methodology.

Heard, and others on the commission, said the municipalities – particularly Mount Arlington – have been uncooperative when it comes to providing data needed for the study. He challenged the assertions by Shepherd and DeFillippo, noting that former Roxbury Township Manager Chris Raths – who retired in 2017 - was much more cooperative than Shepherd and provided much of the information used by the commission.

Many people at the meeting said they only recently learned about the commission. Commissioners said the group's meetings have been open to the public and they noted much of its information can be found on its Facebook page and website.

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