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* Chaotic Harrison Council Meeting


JohnPinho

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In a chaotic meeting of the Mayor and Council, Mayor Raymond McDonough walked out of the council chambers after announcing that he was moving to adjourn the meeting. As the Mayor walked out, a crowd of residents jeered and booed while others expressed approval. A large contingency of town workers were in attendance at the meeting matched by an as large contingency of town residents. Town Clerk Paul Zarbetski advised that the Mayor had taken the vote and had enough votes to adjourn the meeting. This is not the first time the Mayor abruptly ended a council meeting. In June of 2008, the Mayor walked out of a council meeting in a similar manner.

On the Agenda tonight were two items involving the Harrison Commons project. The first, a Resolution of the Town of Harrison, in the County of Hudson, New Jersey approving an agreement by and among the Town, the Hudson County Improvement Authority and Harrison Commons, LLC relating to the issuance of Redevelopment Area Bond Anticipation Notes and Providing for the Repayment thereof. The Second item, the introduction of Ordinance 1215 which proposes to authorize the Mayor and Town Council to enter into a Financial Agreement for Certain Property Within the Waterfront Redevelopment Area. Both of these items were removed from the Agenda.

Mayor McDonough promised me in the open session of the meeting that these two items would be discussed in the future at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Council. The Mayor and Council have in the past scheduled Special Town Meetings at noon and 5 p.m. when the Agenda contained very important items effecting the redevelopment and town finances.

The documents attached to the meeting Agenda state that CJUF II Harrison Holding,LLC (CJUF) apparently has obtained financing from PNC Bank, N.A. for the construction of Building 1 in the Harrison Commons project. CJUF the names of three entities on its letter to the town; CJUF II Harrison Holding, LLC, CJUF II Harrison Phase I Urban Renewal Company, LLC and Harrison Commons, LLC. Their mail is directed to c/o the Pegasus Group, 1018 Washington Street, 3rd Floor, Hoboken, New Jersey.

The letter states that although financing has been obtained that in addition to the financing Harrison Commons will require public financing in the form of Bonding by the Town of Harrison. The letter states that "in light of the prevailing conditions in the bond market, the Town, the Hudson County Improvement Authority, and CJUF believe that it is not prudent to issues the Supplemental Series D Bonds at this time. Accordingly, in lieu of issuing the Supplemental Series D Bonds at this time, the Town of Harrison would issue bond anticipation notes in an amount not to exceed $8.2 million and make those proceeds available to CJUF.

It appears from the information available that the Town is partially funding the building of Building 1 on behalf of Harrison Commons. Harrison Commons is building rental apartments next to the PATH station along Middlesex Street consisting of 253 residential apartments and 14,325 sq ft of ground level retail space. Two additional buildings are proposed.

Bond Anticipation Notes are short term financing which are issued for a period not exceeding one year and may be renewed from time to time for two additional years in one year increments with special repayment criteria. My understanding is that short term financing is not traditionally used for this type of project.

In my opinion, if the Bonding market is not favorable, the Town should not bond for this project. Harrison Commons should finance the project on their own or wait until the market is more favorable. More troubling than the bonding is the proposed Financial agreement for Long Term Tax Exemption contained in the meeting package. The Long Term Tax Exemption is for thirty-five (35) years from the date of execution of the agreement or thirty (30) years from the following January 1st date following the issuance of the first Certificate of Occupancy. Thirty years is a long time to give someone a property tax exemption.

What benefit will the Town of Harrison receive in exchange for its bonding? I welcome anyone who wants to explain the benefit to the taxpayers of Harrison to send me an explanation. I will post it on this site.

The proposed agreement also contains a troubling section that states, "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, if the Entity fails to make any payment of the Annual Service Charge or Land Taxes set forth in this Financial Agreement, the sole remedy of the Town shall be in Rem Tax Foreclosure, and in no event shall the Entity be liable for payment of all or any portion of the Annual Service Charge or Land Taxes."

In other words, Harrison Commons LLC and its various CJUF entities could walk away from the project and not be obligated to make the Annual Service Charge. If PNC Bank is in first place with a Mortgage, the Town could foreclose and not recover the necessary funds to pay back the bonds. Why isn't Harrison Commons and its principals personally guaranteeing the payment of the Annual Service Charge which is designed to pay back the Loan (Bonds)?

When the average person purchases a home, the bank holds a Mortgage and a Note. The Mortgage insures that you do not sell the house without first paying the amount you owe on the Note. In today's economy, banks are allowing homeowners to sell their house for less than they owe (called a "Short Sale") in order to release the Mortgage on the property. The bank however still holds the Note and can collect the difference between what was owed and what was paid back through the Short Sale. Why should Harrison Commons be any different than an average person when it come to paying back the bond?

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In a chaotic meeting of the Mayor and Council, Mayor Raymond McDonough walked out of the council chambers after announcing that he was moving to adjourn the meeting. As the Mayor walked out, a crowd of residents jeered and booed while others expressed approval. A large contingency of town workers were in attendance at the meeting matched by an as large contingency of town residents. Town Clerk Paul Zarbetski advised that the Mayor had taken the vote and had enough votes to adjourn the meeting. This is not the first time the Mayor abruptly ended a council meeting. In June of 2008, the Mayor walked out of a council meeting in a similar manner.

On the Agenda tonight were two items involving the Harrison Commons project. The first, a Resolution of the Town of Harrison, in the County of Hudson, New Jersey approving an agreement by and among the Town, the Hudson County Improvement Authority and Harrison Commons, LLC relating to the issuance of Redevelopment Area Bond Anticipation Notes and Providing for the Repayment thereof. The Second item, the introduction of Ordinance 1215 which proposes to authorize the Mayor and Town Council to enter into a Financial Agreement for Certain Property Within the Waterfront Redevelopment Area. Both of these items were removed from the Agenda.

Mayor McDonough promised me in the open session of the meeting that these two items would be discussed in the future at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Council. The Mayor and Council have in the past scheduled Special Town Meetings at noon and 5 p.m. when the Agenda contained very important items effecting the redevelopment and town finances.

The documents attached to the meeting Agenda state that CJUF II Harrison Holding,LLC (CJUF) apparently has obtained financing from PNC Bank, N.A. for the construction of Building 1 in the Harrison Commons project. CJUF the names of three entities on its letter to the town; CJUF II Harrison Holding, LLC, CJUF II Harrison Phase I Urban Renewal Company, LLC and Harrison Commons, LLC. Their mail is directed to c/o the Pegasus Group, 1018 Washington Street, 3rd Floor, Hoboken, New Jersey.

The letter states that although financing has been obtained that in addition to the financing Harrison Commons will require public financing in the form of Bonding by the Town of Harrison. The letter states that "in light of the prevailing conditions in the bond market, the Town, the Hudson County Improvement Authority, and CJUF believe that it is not prudent to issues the Supplemental Series D Bonds at this time. Accordingly, in lieu of issuing the Supplemental Series D Bonds at this time, the Town of Harrison would issue bond anticipation notes in an amount not to exceed $8.2 million and make those proceeds available to CJUF.

It appears from the information available that the Town is partially funding the building of Building 1 on behalf of Harrison Commons. Harrison Commons is building rental apartments next to the PATH station along Middlesex Street consisting of 253 residential apartments and 14,325 sq ft of ground level retail space. Two additional buildings are proposed.

Bond Anticipation Notes are short term financing which are issued for a period not exceeding one year and may be renewed from time to time for two additional years in one year increments with special repayment criteria. My understanding is that short term financing is not traditionally used for this type of project.

In my opinion, if the Bonding market is not favorable, the Town should not bond for this project. Harrison Commons should finance the project on their own or wait until the market is more favorable. More troubling than the bonding is the proposed Financial agreement for Long Term Tax Exemption contained in the meeting package. The Long Term Tax Exemption is for thirty-five (35) years from the date of execution of the agreement or thirty (30) years from the following January 1st date following the issuance of the first Certificate of Occupancy. Thirty years is a long time to give someone a property tax exemption.

What benefit will the Town of Harrison receive in exchange for its bonding? I welcome anyone who wants to explain the benefit to the taxpayers of Harrison to send me an explanation. I will post it on this site.

The proposed agreement also contains a troubling section that states, "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, if the Entity fails to make any payment of the Annual Service Charge or Land Taxes set forth in this Financial Agreement, the sole remedy of the Town shall be in Rem Tax Foreclosure, and in no event shall the Entity be liable for payment of all or any portion of the Annual Service Charge or Land Taxes."

In other words, Harrison Commons LLC and its various CJUF entities could walk away from the project and not be obligated to make the Annual Service Charge. If PNC Bank is in first place with a Mortgage, the Town could foreclose and not recover the necessary funds to pay back the bonds. Why isn't Harrison Commons and its principals personally guaranteeing the payment of the Annual Service Charge which is designed to pay back the Loan (Bonds)?

When the average person purchases a home, the bank holds a Mortgage and a Note. The Mortgage insures that you do not sell the house without first paying the amount you owe on the Note. In today's economy, banks are allowing homeowners to sell their house for less than they owe (called a "Short Sale") in order to release the Mortgage on the property. The bank however still holds the Note and can collect the difference between what was owed and what was paid back through the Short Sale. Why should Harrison Commons be any different than an average person when it come to paying back the bond?

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Dolaghan will explain it to you.

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Why is this going on? Because you cannot have plummers, janitors and high school flunkies involved in business contracts thats why. These developers are licking their chops when they realize that our town personnel are not educated enough to make these decisions. Vote them out. I for one could care less if they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents. Stop voting for those with questionable backgrounds and lack the education to make these informed decisions. Wake up people and get some new leadership.

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In a chaotic meeting of the Mayor and Council, Mayor Raymond McDonough walked out of the council chambers after announcing that he was moving to adjourn the meeting. As the Mayor walked out, a crowd of residents jeered and booed while others expressed approval. A large contingency of town workers were in attendance at the meeting matched by an as large contingency of town residents. Town Clerk Paul Zarbetski advised that the Mayor had taken the vote and had enough votes to adjourn the meeting. This is not the first time the Mayor abruptly ended a council meeting. In June of 2008, the Mayor walked out of a council meeting in a similar manner.

On the Agenda tonight were two items involving the Harrison Commons project. The first, a Resolution of the Town of Harrison, in the County of Hudson, New Jersey approving an agreement by and among the Town, the Hudson County Improvement Authority and Harrison Commons, LLC relating to the issuance of Redevelopment Area Bond Anticipation Notes and Providing for the Repayment thereof. The Second item, the introduction of Ordinance 1215 which proposes to authorize the Mayor and Town Council to enter into a Financial Agreement for Certain Property Within the Waterfront Redevelopment Area. Both of these items were removed from the Agenda.

Mayor McDonough promised me in the open session of the meeting that these two items would be discussed in the future at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Council. The Mayor and Council have in the past scheduled Special Town Meetings at noon and 5 p.m. when the Agenda contained very important items effecting the redevelopment and town finances.

The documents attached to the meeting Agenda state that CJUF II Harrison Holding,LLC (CJUF) apparently has obtained financing from PNC Bank, N.A. for the construction of Building 1 in the Harrison Commons project. CJUF the names of three entities on its letter to the town; CJUF II Harrison Holding, LLC, CJUF II Harrison Phase I Urban Renewal Company, LLC and Harrison Commons, LLC. Their mail is directed to c/o the Pegasus Group, 1018 Washington Street, 3rd Floor, Hoboken, New Jersey.

The letter states that although financing has been obtained that in addition to the financing Harrison Commons will require public financing in the form of Bonding by the Town of Harrison. The letter states that "in light of the prevailing conditions in the bond market, the Town, the Hudson County Improvement Authority, and CJUF believe that it is not prudent to issues the Supplemental Series D Bonds at this time. Accordingly, in lieu of issuing the Supplemental Series D Bonds at this time, the Town of Harrison would issue bond anticipation notes in an amount not to exceed $8.2 million and make those proceeds available to CJUF.

It appears from the information available that the Town is partially funding the building of Building 1 on behalf of Harrison Commons. Harrison Commons is building rental apartments next to the PATH station along Middlesex Street consisting of 253 residential apartments and 14,325 sq ft of ground level retail space. Two additional buildings are proposed.

Bond Anticipation Notes are short term financing which are issued for a period not exceeding one year and may be renewed from time to time for two additional years in one year increments with special repayment criteria. My understanding is that short term financing is not traditionally used for this type of project.

In my opinion, if the Bonding market is not favorable, the Town should not bond for this project. Harrison Commons should finance the project on their own or wait until the market is more favorable. More troubling than the bonding is the proposed Financial agreement for Long Term Tax Exemption contained in the meeting package. The Long Term Tax Exemption is for thirty-five (35) years from the date of execution of the agreement or thirty (30) years from the following January 1st date following the issuance of the first Certificate of Occupancy. Thirty years is a long time to give someone a property tax exemption.

What benefit will the Town of Harrison receive in exchange for its bonding? I welcome anyone who wants to explain the benefit to the taxpayers of Harrison to send me an explanation. I will post it on this site.

The proposed agreement also contains a troubling section that states, "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, if the Entity fails to make any payment of the Annual Service Charge or Land Taxes set forth in this Financial Agreement, the sole remedy of the Town shall be in Rem Tax Foreclosure, and in no event shall the Entity be liable for payment of all or any portion of the Annual Service Charge or Land Taxes."

In other words, Harrison Commons LLC and its various CJUF entities could walk away from the project and not be obligated to make the Annual Service Charge. If PNC Bank is in first place with a Mortgage, the Town could foreclose and not recover the necessary funds to pay back the bonds. Why isn't Harrison Commons and its principals personally guaranteeing the payment of the Annual Service Charge which is designed to pay back the Loan (Bonds)?

When the average person purchases a home, the bank holds a Mortgage and a Note. The Mortgage insures that you do not sell the house without first paying the amount you owe on the Note. In today's economy, banks are allowing homeowners to sell their house for less than they owe (called a "Short Sale") in order to release the Mortgage on the property. The bank however still holds the Note and can collect the difference between what was owed and what was paid back through the Short Sale. Why should Harrison Commons be any different than an average person when it come to paying back the bond?

View the full article

--------------

PLEASE RUN FOR MAYOR!!

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Guest BlueTideBacker
In a chaotic meeting of the Mayor and Council, Mayor Raymond McDonough walked out of the council chambers after announcing that he was moving to adjourn the meeting. As the Mayor walked out, a crowd of residents jeered and booed while others expressed approval. A large contingency of town workers were in attendance at the meeting matched by an as large contingency of town residents. Town Clerk Paul Zarbetski advised that the Mayor had taken the vote and had enough votes to adjourn the meeting. This is not the first time the Mayor abruptly ended a council meeting. In June of 2008, the Mayor walked out of a council meeting in a similar manner.

On the Agenda tonight were two items involving the Harrison Commons project. The first, a Resolution of the Town of Harrison, in the County of Hudson, New Jersey approving an agreement by and among the Town, the Hudson County Improvement Authority and Harrison Commons, LLC relating to the issuance of Redevelopment Area Bond Anticipation Notes and Providing for the Repayment thereof. The Second item, the introduction of Ordinance 1215 which proposes to authorize the Mayor and Town Council to enter into a Financial Agreement for Certain Property Within the Waterfront Redevelopment Area. Both of these items were removed from the Agenda.

Mayor McDonough promised me in the open session of the meeting that these two items would be discussed in the future at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Council. The Mayor and Council have in the past scheduled Special Town Meetings at noon and 5 p.m. when the Agenda contained very important items effecting the redevelopment and town finances.

The documents attached to the meeting Agenda state that CJUF II Harrison Holding,LLC (CJUF) apparently has obtained financing from PNC Bank, N.A. for the construction of Building 1 in the Harrison Commons project. CJUF the names of three entities on its letter to the town; CJUF II Harrison Holding, LLC, CJUF II Harrison Phase I Urban Renewal Company, LLC and Harrison Commons, LLC. Their mail is directed to c/o the Pegasus Group, 1018 Washington Street, 3rd Floor, Hoboken, New Jersey.

The letter states that although financing has been obtained that in addition to the financing Harrison Commons will require public financing in the form of Bonding by the Town of Harrison. The letter states that "in light of the prevailing conditions in the bond market, the Town, the Hudson County Improvement Authority, and CJUF believe that it is not prudent to issues the Supplemental Series D Bonds at this time. Accordingly, in lieu of issuing the Supplemental Series D Bonds at this time, the Town of Harrison would issue bond anticipation notes in an amount not to exceed $8.2 million and make those proceeds available to CJUF.

It appears from the information available that the Town is partially funding the building of Building 1 on behalf of Harrison Commons. Harrison Commons is building rental apartments next to the PATH station along Middlesex Street consisting of 253 residential apartments and 14,325 sq ft of ground level retail space. Two additional buildings are proposed.

Bond Anticipation Notes are short term financing which are issued for a period not exceeding one year and may be renewed from time to time for two additional years in one year increments with special repayment criteria. My understanding is that short term financing is not traditionally used for this type of project.

In my opinion, if the Bonding market is not favorable, the Town should not bond for this project. Harrison Commons should finance the project on their own or wait until the market is more favorable. More troubling than the bonding is the proposed Financial agreement for Long Term Tax Exemption contained in the meeting package. The Long Term Tax Exemption is for thirty-five (35) years from the date of execution of the agreement or thirty (30) years from the following January 1st date following the issuance of the first Certificate of Occupancy. Thirty years is a long time to give someone a property tax exemption.

What benefit will the Town of Harrison receive in exchange for its bonding? I welcome anyone who wants to explain the benefit to the taxpayers of Harrison to send me an explanation. I will post it on this site.

The proposed agreement also contains a troubling section that states, "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, if the Entity fails to make any payment of the Annual Service Charge or Land Taxes set forth in this Financial Agreement, the sole remedy of the Town shall be in Rem Tax Foreclosure, and in no event shall the Entity be liable for payment of all or any portion of the Annual Service Charge or Land Taxes."

In other words, Harrison Commons LLC and its various CJUF entities could walk away from the project and not be obligated to make the Annual Service Charge. If PNC Bank is in first place with a Mortgage, the Town could foreclose and not recover the necessary funds to pay back the bonds. Why isn't Harrison Commons and its principals personally guaranteeing the payment of the Annual Service Charge which is designed to pay back the Loan (Bonds)?

When the average person purchases a home, the bank holds a Mortgage and a Note. The Mortgage insures that you do not sell the house without first paying the amount you owe on the Note. In today's economy, banks are allowing homeowners to sell their house for less than they owe (called a "Short Sale") in order to release the Mortgage on the property. The bank however still holds the Note and can collect the difference between what was owed and what was paid back through the Short Sale. Why should Harrison Commons be any different than an average person when it come to paying back the bond?

View the full article

Another 8.2 million in bonded debt ??!! This mayor and council is out of control, Harrison is headed for bankruptcy. Does anyone know the total amount of bonded debt this town has incurred over this redevelopment ?? I lost count about 20 million ago.

I think Pegasus knows they're dealing with a bunch of amateurs and are laughing all the way to the bank.

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--------------

PLEASE RUN FOR MAYOR!!

I spelled plumbers wrong..... I really wanted to hit that B.... what a douche I am. See thats why I should not be writing business contracts.

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Why is this going on? Because you cannot have plummers, janitors and high school flunkies involved in business contracts thats why. These developers are licking their chops when they realize that our town personnel are not educated enough to make these decisions. Vote them out. I for one could care less if they are Democrats, Republicans or Independents. Stop voting for those with questionable backgrounds and lack the education to make these informed decisions. Wake up people and get some new leadership.

Who do you know that wants he Job???

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:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

he couldn't run for shoemaker.

BORAT..YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ..... MOVE IN TOWN FIRST ...AS*WIPE...

You would be shocked at how many fed up people who be happy to vote for him. Really shocked.

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You would be shocked at how many fed up people who be happy to vote for him. Really shocked.

Man, you are NOT kidding. Count me in. I've HAD IT with the screwed up leaders in Harrison. Pinho sounds as though he understands this stuff much more than your average citizen (or plumber). I would absolutely support him if he ran and everyone I know would to. And I know a lot of people.

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Who do you know that wants he Job???

Most of all those elected officials took a political job when elected, even Pettigrew and Vilarta had political job that came when they were elected. Why would they put themselves in that position? and many have two jobs, two pensions, two health benefits. they all need to go - Harrison need to change this maffia

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Most of all those elected officials took a political job when elected, even Pettigrew and Vilarta had political job that came when they were elected. Why would they put themselves in that position? and many have two jobs, two pensions, two health benefits. they all need to go - Harrison need to change this maffia

let's see, Jesus Haranga took office took job in the BOE, son was given job in the BOE, brother was given job in the BOE - Nasimento given job as vice principal in the BOE, wife works for the BOE, son will work for the night school BOE. - too many jobs given out too many pensions on the backs of taxpayers and residents -

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