Millville Insider

The CCIA has been trying to sell the old bank on the corner of High and Main. Do you remember when just a few months ago the CCIA was going to sell the city this building for 2 million dollars? Mr. Pepitone thought it was a great idea and fought to make it happen. Luckily the citizens of Millville spoke up and the sale did not go through. Now, according to a Daily Journal article, the price is $500,000 for a new buyer. Remember at election time that Mr. Pepitone thinks a good deal for Millville is blindly paying 4x what a property is worth!  The $500,000 sale is set up as a lease purchase. No taxes will be paid for the property to Millville. Instead the CCIA will pay in lieu of taxes only $625/month. The taxes would cost a citizen of Millville $1500/month! This is how the CCIA does business.  The CCIA is building the Complete Care on the corner of High and Broad. This is a good project in the wrong place. Medical facilities are zoned to be near the old hospital which...

Another affordable housing project is coming to town. This one is being discussed in a closed session at the July 20, 2021 commission meeting. So much for transparency! The developers of this project do not want to pay their fair share of taxes. They are requesting a 35 year tax abatement from this commission. Yes, you read it right,  a 35 year tax abatement . That means once again the taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the additional needs of  the fire and police departments, the rescue squad, the schools, and the sewer and water plants. Millville cannot afford this project. Is this one of the "good things to come" promised by this commission? This affordable housing project has not been approved yet. Let the commissioners know that you are not for this 35 year tax abatement project.  Remember the trailer park project on Cedar Street? This project will also not be paying their fair share of the taxes. The city will receive $53.00 per trailer instead of the $345 a ...

 On July 1, 2021 the Zoning Board will decide if a mobile home park can be built off Cedar Street. This mobile home park will house 322 manufactured homes. (Mobile homes are now called manufactured homes). This is an important decision as presently this area is not zoned for a mobile home park. If approved additional mobile home parks may be built anyplace in town. The zoning board will vote based on the positives vs. the negatives of this development. The developer claims that this mobile home park will be like Liberty Village however there is one very important difference. Liberty Village is a 55 and over community while this mobile home park is open to all ages.  The developer and his attorney will cite as the benefits the need for more housing and the tax revenue. Don't fall for it! The developer and the attorney will state this is affordable housing. But is that true? The city has many abandoned and foreclosed houses that could be purchased. The city also has filled its a...

 At the February 16th meeting, Commissioner Udalovas  discussed economic development in Millville.  Remember Team Santiago promising good things to come? Where are those good things?  She brought up the disbanding of the Industrial Commission stating:          "I need only to highlight the fact that in the early months of this Commission, a Board titled            in our city's Ordinance as the Industrial Commission was dissolved without thought for its           mission or even the contributions in time and volunteerism of it members. It is confirmed           through this action alone, that the due process and expertise that our constituents and local          volunteers bring to the City's process are only valued when favoring the will of a            Commissioner."...

 At the February 16th commission meeting, Commissioner Udalovas opened up about what is going on behind the closed doors of Team Santiago. She discussed that it was time for Team Santiago to do their job and stop the campaigning. She commented how Parent is not doing his job as director of revenue of finance. From Commissioner Udalovas' comments, the CFO was never consulted regarding the recent police contracts:           "......when I stated it during the meeting did not prevent Vice Mayor Parent who is the Director             of Revenue and Finance from voting to approve even though it did not appropriately follow             the channels of his own department for which he should require all Commissioners." and          "Commissioner Pepitone, Commissioner Cooper and Vice Mayor Parent did not express the           reality of the City's finances a...

The resolution to replace Judge Witcher was taken off the agenda at the January 19, 2021 commission meeting due to the public outcry. Pepitone made another poor attempt to explain why he was replacing Judge Witcher. Pepitone's explanation as usual was unclear and made no sense. It just proved once again that he should not be a city commissioner. Several members of the public asked who put the resolution on the agenda to replace Judge Witcher. No commissioner came forward to take responsibility. However in the final minutes of the meeting the truth came out thanks to Commissioner Udalovas' closing statement. The member of Team Santiago who pushed for the replacement of Judge Witcher was BRUCE COOPER. Yes it was Bruce Cooper who was too much of a coward to admit it or defend his lapse in judgement in pushing for the replacement. This meeting showed that the public can make a difference. If enough individuals speak up then change can happen. Please keep speaking up. Tonight you ma...

Team Santiago is up to their old tricks.   The more they promise transparency the more they hide the facts. It is time to appoint a judge. When the previous commission appointed Judge Witcher, 6 candidates were interviewed. Judge Witcher promised to clean up the backlog -   he  did. Judge Witcher promised to be involved in the community – he is. Judge Witcher promised to work with code enforcement – he is. So why is he being replaced with Laura Van Embden? When Laura Van Embden was the judge she increased the backlog, did not start court on time, and sat on cases costing the city time and money.  Judge Witcher posted this on facebook: The struggle continues.... without notice, not even granted a performance review or interview, something that has been customary for all my predecessors, a motion was quietly made to have another judge appointed in one of my municipalities. But for a friend, I would have went to court only to find another sitting on the bench....

 Chief Farabella was just reappointed for another 3 years even though a lawsuit was filed against  Farabella and Pepitone by a city employee.The lawsuit is worth reading.  The allegations, if true, are startling. These allegations also raise the question should Farabella have been reappointed at this time? Did the commissioners look into the allegations prior to voting? The lawsuit involves the departments of Parent and Pepitone who both voted to reappoint Farabella. Did they do their due diligence? Of interest is line 55 in the lawsuit. It clearly states that Doug Long was performing legal duties for the city in 2019. Didn't the commissioners claim that Mr. Long was not involved in the city, only Marmero and Grace. Remember at election time the lack of transparency, the lies, the lack of due diligence and the waste of your tax payers money. Millville needs commissioners who are transparent, who do their due diligence and have the interests of the citizens of Millville at...

September has been a busy month in Cumberland County for investigations and lawsuits.   According to the Daily Journal, the FBI is investigating the Cumberland County Improvement Authority (CCIA) for the United States Attorney General. Records have been seized at both the CCIA and the Cumberland County Technical Education Center. So how does this affect Millville? The Cumberland County Improvement Authority is in charge of economic development for the city of Millville under the direction of Kim Warker Ayres. If the CCIA is under federal investigation should Millville be paying the CCIA to redevelop the city? How does it look to outside investors if the city’s redevelopment entity is being investigated? Tell your Team Santiago to fire the CCIA. Millville’s association with the CCIA gives Millville a bad name.   The Division of Community Affairs (DCA) has been to Millville’s city hall in the recent months. The DCA is in charge of regulating construction departments. Team Santia...

Team Santiago reported good things to come on the redevelopment front. To accomplish the “Team” fired the city’s redevelopment attorney who had a proven track record of successes in Collingswood and Glassboro and appointed the CCIA . Yes the CCIA. The same CCIA that moved out of its High and Main Street offices and tried to sell the building back to the City. That deal was going to cost the city millions until the taxpayers stood up and voiced their opposition resulting in the cancellation (for now) of the deal. The CCIA’s job is and has been to assist Cumberland County’s municipalities. Why does the city have to “hire” the CCIA to discharge its duty?   What has the CCIA done to redevelop the Wheaton Property? Did the CCIA advise Team Santiago not to collect the taxes due on the property? Did the CCIA advise Team Santiago to pay GGI $100,000 to acquire the property? Did the CCIA advise Team Santiago not to hold GGI accountable to maintain the property? Is the CCIA adv...

It is no surprise that Team Santiago raised Millville’s taxes again. Last year it was by 4.5% and this year it is 5%.   The county and the school board also raised their taxes so the taxpayer in Millville is looking at a 10% increase in their property taxes. This comes at a time when many individuals are out of work due to COVID-19 and there is no end in sight. This affects not only the taxpayers but every citizen in Millville as landlords will have to increase rents and businesses will have to charge more to meet expenses. So what did Team Santiago have to say for themselves when they voted for the tax increase –nothing. As usual they did not answer the public’s questions and did not explain their votes. Mr. Pepitone once again voted for the tax increase even though he is behind on paying his own taxes. He should understand the burden of taxes as it seems to be a burden to him. In his ending comments Mr. Parent said this was the toughest budget he had to work with (wh...

Team Santiago voted May 5, 2020 to keep Doug Long and his firm as the personnel attorney for the city of Millville by a vote of 3-2. Pepitone started the discussion stating they voted originally for Long and there was no need to replace him. Apparently conviction of a crime, ethics violations, and money mismanagement do not matter to Pepitone. Pepitone also stated falsely that Long was less expensive then than the replacement law firm. The city is actually paying more for Doug Long’s law firm at a time when the city should be looking for ways to save money. Next up was Cooper who also supported Long and his firm. He stated that they were consistent. This is true. Long and Marmero have consistently donated PAC money to cities in return for lucrative legal contracts. Team Santiago was the beneficiary of those donations in the last election. Remember Cooper’s ethics when he is up for freeholder election in November. Santiago also backed Long and his firm singing their praises. Sa...

Doug Long and his firm, Marmero and Grace were awarded several lucrative no bid contracts by Team Santiago that have so far paid over $480,000. Yes, that is correct close to a half a million dollars with more yet to come! Team Santiago awarded these contracts even though Long, Marmero,  and Grace had their share of ethical and financial complaints which were known to Team Santiago.  These are the ones that we know about so far: 1. Ethics and election violations against both Long and Marmero. The common thread throughout all the complaints is that Long and Marmero engage in a pattern of illegal use of campaign donations to secure government positions for their law firm. This pattern continued when Team Santiago awarded lucrative law contracts to Long and Marmero as a payback for contributing to Team Santiago. For more information see the links at the end of this article. 2. Marmero and Long were reprimanded by the NJ Supreme Court for the misappropriation of trust ...