The effort to find a new location for the Whippany Fire House  has been going on for several years and this effort predates the Whippany Village development. The commissioners have been pursing many other options over the last several years, including FEMA funds which were are supposed to be used to relocate structures in flood plains, and more recently Federal stimulus funds which were earmarked for Fire House.  Unfortunately, neither of those efforts panned out.  The Fire Commissioners have and will continue to approach the relocation and eventual construction in a manner that costs the tax payers the least amount of money.  They are about a month away from being in a position to discuss specifics with the public.

 

I had an opportunity to speak with several individuals on the Whippany Firehouse Re-Location committee about the specifics surrounding the Builder of the CVS property and his alleged obligations.  There is a lot of misinformation being circulated and I would suggest that anyone that questions what I am about to write to contact the Whippany Fire Commissioners. 

The deal was most recently described by former Mayor Fariello as one where the builder was obligated to construct a new building on a new piece of property.  And Fariello is not the only one spreading this around.  This is in fact not the case and never was.  First off there is no legally binding builder’s agreement requiring the Builder to do anything related to the new firehouse including the construction of a new building or even the exchange of the builders land for the property that the current firehouse is located on.  If anyone can produce such a document then please do so.
 
Since Mayor Fariello is claiming to have been so intimately involved in the final approval of the CVS property I would ask him or anyone of the other current or former township officials to produce the language within an executed builder’s agreement that backs up these false claims.  Don’t hold your breath because they can’t.  Another point worth bringing up was that the township committee, with Iradi, Fariello & Copppola knew that the fire commissioners were pursuing federal grants to cover the full cost of a new fire house. There would have been no reason to pursue these grants if the developer of the Whippany Village complex was going to pay for the fire house. So Iradi, Fariello and Coppola are simply trying to mislead the public once again by intentionally misstating the facts.

According to the conversation I had with the Whippany Fire Commissioners, the builder had verbally offered to construct a large sheet metal building type facility not a “brick & mortar” and aesthetically pleasing one similar to the existing one.  It would be an eye-sore and probably not something we would want Hanover.  These buildings are typically well under $100,000 compared to a conventional structure which would run into the millions.  It would not have been cost effective for the builder to agree (verbally or otherwise) to lay out 2-3 million dollars to construct a convention building which is why they didn’t do it.

What is going on here is that Fariello is making claims to the fire commissioners that they somehow have leverage on the Whippany Village developer and that they can make him do whatever they want up to and including the construction of a 2-3 million dollar complex.  Not only is that unrealistic, but more importantly it’s just not going to happen  - period.  Also, if that was the intention back when all of these details were being worked out, then why wasn’t it put in writing?

 

Iradi & Fariello are trying to create the impression that the developer was granted concessions on this site in return for footing the entire cost of a new fire house.  That is a gross misrepresenation of the facts and you will not find any linkage to the site plan as approved and the constrution of a fire house.  Lets face it they just don't like developement no matter what they claim.

The Fire Commissioners are in the last phase of gathering all of the financial information and cost estimates and will be putting together a public presentation which will once and for all dispel all of the false information that Iradi, Fariello & Coppola are circulating.

 

 
Tom Sutcliffe

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