Yesterday I wrote on the Council’s Attempt to have the public vote on the CMS Field Issue with little to no detail on the actual agreement publicly available and with no presentation in front of the BOE – which would give the BOE an opportunity to ask questions and express concerns.

I followed up with an email to the full BOE asking why the Recreation Department has not yet presented the proposal to the BOE in a public meeting:

Why hasn’t the town presented on the CMS field issue in front of the full board?
Thanks..John

Ms. Akiri replied back:

John,

Thank you for your email. We received a proposed lease agreement from the township in February 2024. It was already decided on by the board in May.

The Open Public Meetings Act allows a public agency to formulate its negotiating position in closed session and the Board of education has done so. It has communicated its response to the township’s offers concerning the Lower Columbia land.

I believe the Recreation Commission Chairperson and the Town council being dissatisfied with the BOE response wants to put a biased interpretation of a non-binding referendum question to the voters, stating only one advantage of such a land agreement and omitting any disadvantages to the citizens of Berkeley Heights.

Knowing that board members are limited in their ability to respond to matters discussed in Exec sessions, the recreation department appears to be engaging in a public campaign to sway the community while presenting only their side of the argument in public. If they want to truly be transparent, let them share a copy of the proposed agreement on the same Facebook page and group where the Recreation Department chair chose to write an open letter to the board vice president.

I believe this is a seriously misguided effort to pressure the Board of education to adopt their view and to reveal confidential information of the parties and circumvent the normal negotiation process.

As always these are my thoughts and opinions as an individual and do not represent the opinion of the Berkeley Heights Board of Education.

Best regards,
Sai Bhargavi

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